A galette is a free form, rustic style of tart with a thin layer of fruit, sliced and of a single variety. This is baked on top of a buttery, crisp crust. Instead of the straight sides in a tart pan, the edges here are folded over on the fruit. The galette?s beauty lies in its simplicity.

Making your own galette, both savoury or sweet, is quite simple once you get the hang of it. The galette dough should be easy to mix and roll, and ideally should bake up sturdy yet flaky. One can use a food processor or cut the butter into the flour. For best results, don?t cut the butter too small. Leave it in big chunks, the size of sugar-cubes. You should be able to see streaks of butter when you gather the dough into a disk. In the oven, those help create light, flaky, buttery layers.

Frangipane, a rich almond filling, prevents the tart from getting soggy as it absorbs the juices from the fruit, making it easier to slice.

The beauty of a galette is that because it is so rustic, one needn?t worry about creating a picture-perfect tart! However, one can play around with the look of the tart by changing the way you pleat the edges as you fold them in over the filling. You can also create more or less crust by folding the edge in a little or a lot. A little means that you see most of the fruit.

If one is making a galette as a dessert, have your dough rolled out and the other ingredients ready. All you have to do is assemble the galette. Remember it doesn?t have to look perfect, so go ahead and bake it. If you do make your galette ahead, reheat it before serving.

sweet galette dough

Ingredients: 21/2 cups flour; 2 tbs sugar; 1/2 tsp salt; 8 oz unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled; 2/3 cup ice water

Method: In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the chilled butter using a food processor, or by cutting the butter in until it is evenly distributed but still in large, visible pieces. Add the ice water all at once to the flour and butter. Mix the dough just until it begins to come together. Gather the dough with your hands ? don?t worry if you see streaks of butter ? and shape it into two disks. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.