The Best Cherry Galette with Flaky Sour Cream Pastry Recipe
Juicy, in-season cherries baked in an easy, buttery sour cream pastry. A rustic summer dessert that's simpler than pie and serves 6 to 8.
Print Recipe
Ingredients
PASTRY
- 160 grams flour
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 1 tsp caster or granulated sugar
- 115 grams cold butter cut into small cubes
- ¼ cup full-fat sour cream
FILLING
- 3 slightly heaped cups fresh cherries pitted
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 3 Tbsp cornflour cornstarch
- Pinch of salt
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
TO FINISH
- 1 egg beaten
- Sugar for sprinkling
- Vanilla ice cream to serve
Instructions
- For the pastry, whisk the flour, salt and sugar together in a large bowl. If the butter is very hard, leave it at room temperature for a few minutes to soften slightly.
- Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it starts to clump together. Add the sour cream and mix to form a dough. If it's too wet, add a little more flour. If it's too dry, add a splash more sour cream.
- Gather the dough together without overworking it. Flatten it into a disc about 2 cm thick, wrap it tightly and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- For the filling, stir the cherries, sugar, cornflour, salt, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla together in a bowl until the fruit is evenly coated.
- Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface into a circle about 30 cm (12 inch) wide. Roll it loosely over your rolling pin and transfer it to the lined tray.
- Pile the filling into the centre, leaving a wide border. Fold the edges up over the fruit, overlapping the pastry as you go. Brush the pastry with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the pastry is golden and the fruit is bubbling. After about 10 minutes, cover the galette loosely with foil to stop it browning too much.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Sweetness: this galette isn't overly sweet because ripe cherries need little help. If your cherries are tart or sour, use ½ to ¾ cup sugar instead.
Make ahead: pit the cherries and make the pastry the day before. Keep the wrapped pastry in the fridge overnight.
Other fruit: swap the cherries for the same quantity of apricots, plums, peaches, apples, pears or berries. Adjust the sugar and lemon to suit the fruit. Berries have more pectin, so use only 2 Tbsp cornflour.
Frozen cherries: I haven't tested this recipe with frozen cherries. If you try it, thaw them first, drain off the excess liquid and add a little extra cornflour. Short on time: use store-bought shortcrust pastry instead of homemade.
Storage: keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheating: warm slices in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for about 10 minutes to crisp up the pastry.
Servings: 6