Cherry Galette with Puff Pastry
This cherry galette with rough puff pastry is one of the easiest fruit desserts you can make. The pastry bakes up so flaky around a juicy, sweet cherry filling, and the whole thing tastes like a cherry danish. It’s a free-form pie, so there’s no fussing with a pie dish, and the rustic shape is part of the charm.
About this recipe
A galette is a pie for a busy person. It’s a free-form pie, made from pastry dough rolled into a circle, topped with fruit, and the edges folded up. The taste is just like a pie, with a little more crispness from the exposed pastry.
I use a homemade rough puff pastry for this galette. It’s a lot faster than traditional puff pastry, but the flavor and texture are still amazing. The butter is left in large chunks and then folded and rolled 6 times to create all those flaky layers. When it bakes, the water in the butter evaporates and pushes the layers apart, giving you that beautiful puff. If you’re short on time, store-bought puff pastry works too, it’s just not going to taste quite as good since it’s usually not made with real butter.
The rough puff pastry needs about 2 hours of chilling time, but the actual hands-on time is very little. If you follow the full rough puff pastry recipe, you can make a larger batch and freeze portions for future baking. The recipe below makes just enough dough for one galette.
I usually use frozen (thawed) dark sweet cherries for this recipe. They’re available year-round and work perfectly. You can use fresh sweet cherries too, just make sure to pit and halve them first. The sugar may need increasing for tart cherry varieties.
A peek at some of the key ingredients
The rough puff pastry
- Rough puff pastry is made very similarly to my flaky pie crust, except with more butter and more lamination. Laminating means rolling the dough out and then folding it and rolling again to bring layers.
- Chop cold butter in flour, keeping lots of big pieces. It’s best to do this by hand with a pastry cutter.
- Add just enough liquid so it holds together when pressed but isn’t sticky or wet.
- Roll it out into a rectangle and fold into thirds. Repeat this 6 times in total.
- After the last roll and fold, wrap tightly and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Making the cherry galette
- Once your pastry has chilled, roll it out into a large circle and place it on a sheet of parchment paper or in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet.
- Mix cherries with cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, almond extract and salt and add to the middle of the pastry.
- Fold the edges of the dough over the filling, going around the edge of the circle. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake until deeply browned and the cherries are bubbling.
- Let it cool for 20 minutes so the cherry juices can thicken before serving.
Tips
Storing
This galette is best eaten on the day it’s made, ideally still a little warm with ice cream or whipped cream. If you do have leftovers, store them covered at room temperature for a day, or in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in the oven at 350°F (180°C) for about 10 minutes to crisp the pastry back up.
The rough puff pastry can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept refrigerated, or frozen for up to 2 months.
More galette and cherry recipes
- Blueberry Galette with Puff Pastry
- Apple Galette with Almond Filling
- Cherry Pie with Frozen Cherries
- Cherry Doughnuts
- Peach Honey Galette
- Soft Cherry Muffins with Crispy Streusel
Cherry Galette with Puff Pastry
Ingredients
Pastry
- 113 g unsalted butter cold and cubed
- 125 g all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar
- 50 g cold water
Cherry Filling
- 450 g dark sweet cherries Pitted and halved, weighed after pitting. Thaw first if frozen
- 65 g granulated sugar
- 15 g cornstarch
- 2 tsp lemon juice fresh
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbsp water
- Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
Rough Puff Pastry (or use 245 g / 8 oz store-bought puff pastry and skip to Shaping)
- Chop the butter into 1-inch cubes and place them in the freezer for 5 minutes to ensure it's nice and cold. 113 g unsalted butter
- To a large bowl add the flour, sugar, and salt and mix them together. Add the cold cubes of butter to the flour. 125 g all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
- Use a pastry cutter to roughly cut the butter into the flour, but not too small. A few small pieces are fine but the rest can be left in fairly large chunks. If the butter is melting at any point, place the bowl in the refrigerator.
- Pour the lemon juice into the ice-cold water. Drizzle it into the dough slowly, a tablespoon at a time. Use a spatula or your hands to combine it into a shaggy dough. Add enough water as needed but not too much. ¼ teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar, 50 g cold water
- It should hold together easily when pressed but not be sticky. If the dough is super crumbly, add a bit more water.
- Form the dough into a mound and let it chill in the fridge for 10 minutes. If your room temperature is very cold, you can begin rolling right away.
Laminating
- On a floured work surface, roll the dough with a rolling pin into roughly a 5×10 inch rectangle. You will see large chunks of butter in the dough. Dust off any excess flour from the top of the dough.
- Fold the bottom third of the dough up to the middle, then fold the top third of the dough over top to make a pamphlet shape. That was Fold 1. Turn the dough a quarter turn and roll it back out into a rectangle and repeat the folding. That was Fold 2.
- Repeat this process 4 more times so you do 6 folds in total.
- If you are making this on a cold day then there is no need for any fridge rest in between the rolling of the layers unless the butter is melting. In the summertime, the rough puff pastry will likely need a fridge rest in between every second fold to ensure the butter stays chilled.
- After the last fold, wrap the dough up tightly in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours or up to 24.
Shaping and Baking
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Roll the puff pastry dough out into a 12-14 inch (30-35 cm) circle on a lightly floured surface. It can be a rustic circle, no need for perfection. Place the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper or in a greased 12-inch cast iron skillet.
- In a large bowl, combine the cherries, cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, almond extract, and salt and toss it all together to coat. 450 g dark sweet cherries, 65 g granulated sugar, 15 g cornstarch, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp almond extract, 1/4 tsp salt
- Pile the cherry mixture into the center of the dough, leaving a 2-3 inch (5-7 cm) border. Fold the edges of the dough over the filling, overlapping the folds as you work your way around the circle.
- If you’re not baking it in a skillet, transfer the galette on the parchment paper to a baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg and water together. Brush the pastry edges with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar. 1 large egg, 1 Tbsp water, Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
- If your oven isn’t at temperature yet, place the unbaked galette in the fridge while you wait.
- Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 375°F (190°C) and continue baking for around 40 minutes more, until the edges are a deep golden brown and the cherry filling is bubbly and thick.
- Let the galette cool for at least 20 minutes before serving so the juices can set. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
- For full rough puff pastry instructions with step-by-step photos, see my rough puff pastry recipe. Make a larger batch and freeze portions for future baking.
- Tart cherries: The sugar amount is based on dark sweet cherries. If using tart (sour) cherries, increase the sugar to taste.
- Keep the pastry cold. If your kitchen is warm, refrigerate the assembled galette for 15-20 minutes before baking.
- Store-bought puff pastry: Use a 245 g (8 oz) sheet and skip the pastry-making steps. Go for an all-butter brand if you can find one.
- Cast iron skillet: Baking in a 12-inch cast iron skillet gives the bottom of the pastry great color and crispness.
- Both US customary and metric measurements are provided. Use the toggle to switch between the two.
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! 🙂