Plum and Berry Galette

This artistic spread of golden shiro plums and berries from SLO Farm inspired a fruit galette, in celebration of our twelfth wedding anniversary. My daughter had my husband look up official twelfth anniversary gifts, and decided that a good approximation of the recommended pearls was a selection of blueberries picked from our backyard bushes and presented in an elaborate handmade construction paper box. Some of them made their way into this tart.

I used a galette dough adapted from Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson. I mixed the sliced plums and their juices with a modest amount of sugar, vanilla extract (a vanilla bean would have been nice if I'd had one) and cornstarch. My daughter rolled out the dough and then we ladled over the fruit and crimped up the edges. My one mistake was to bake this on a baking sheet without a rim, because a fair amount of sugary juice seeped out and pooled on the bottom of the oven, where it proceeded to burn and fill the kitchen with smoke. Certainly not the first baking disaster in 12 years of marriage.

With a good airing out of the kitchen and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the galette was delicious.

Plum and Berry Galette

Galette dough
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (such as Camas Country Mill's Soft White Winter Wheat flour) 
1 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
8 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
3 Tbsp ice water, or more as needed
1 tsp fresh lemon juice


1. combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to mix.


2. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and add to the food processor. Pulse about 10 times until the butter is cut into pea sized pieces. Add the liquid and pulse again briefly. Feel the dough and if you can press it together into a clump with your hand, you are done. Otherwise, add a little more water. 


3. Transfer the dough onto a silicone mat or sheet of saran wrap. Pat it together into a ball, then flatten it into a disk, wrap it up and let it chill for at least an hour. You can make the dough a day in advance.


Galette filling
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 plums

1 cup berries, such as blackberries and blueberries

1. Adjust the oven rack to the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Use parchment paper to over a 12 inch wide baking sheet with a rim around the edge, or grease well with butter.


2. Mix together the sugar, cornstarch, salt, vanilla. 


3. Roll out the chilled galette dough to 13 or 14 inches in diameter and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of the sugar mixture on the dough, leaving a two inch rim bare.


4. Slice the plums into a bowl, collecting the juice. Toss with the remaining sugar mixture with the plumbs. Lift the coated plums out of the bowl and arrange on the galette dough, leaving a rim. Distribute the berries on top, then pour the remaining sugary plum juice over the fruit. Fold the outer edges of the dough over the outermost fruit. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn down the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for another 20 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before serving (if you can wait).