Easy Plum Galette with Luxurious Créme Fraîche Topping
A easy rustic plum galette topped with luxurious vanilla bean paste créme fråiche is the perfect late summer fall dessert
What is a plum galette?
A galette is an open-face, nofuss pie filled with delicious stone fruit.
My “Vodka” dough needs a few hours to “rest” for the flour to be hydrated by the butter, shortening and water. The crust is a breeze to whip I up in your food processor- if you do not have a food processor, mix the dough with clean, cool hands in a large bowl. As the crust bakes, the alcohol evaporates and makes the crust extra flakey.
The filling is just tart plums, sugar, cinnamon, a bit of lemon juice and instant tapioca to thicken the juices. Chill and roll out onto a dough speckled with butter. Fold up the edges and chill before baking for an extra flakey crust. This recipe is very forgiving. No fancy crust edges to fiddle with or decorate.
Why this recipe plum galette recipe works:
- It’s forgiving- I make a lot of galettes and this crust is meant to look rustic. Don’t fuss over perfect edges.
- The butter and shortening make for a flakey yet sturdy crust that holds the fruit beautifully.
- Vodka added to the crust but a 2 hour rest time means the flour is fully hydrated and the vodka, as it burns off helps to “lift” the butter and shortening for a very flaky crust.
- Sanding sugar adds for a surprising little crunch in your crust.
Pro-tips for a perfect rustic plum galette:
- Be certain to let the dough fully chill for 2 hours.
- Let the plums and sugar and tapioca rest for an hour. This allows the tapioca to dissolve.
- Mound the plums in the center of the dough once rolled out- this creates an ideal rustic look for the galette.
- Make certain the dough is very cold when working with it.
- Line your pan with parchment paper and use a rimmed baking sheet for easy clean up.
Ingredients in this Easy Plum Galette with luxurious créme fraîche topping:
fresh ingredients-
- fresh plums
- eggs
- butter
- créme fråiche
- heavy whipping cream
- lemon
pantry ingredients-
- all purpose flour
- whole wheat flour
- salt, cinnamon
- sugar
- sanding sugar
- confectioners sugar
- vanilla paste
- instant tapioca
- vegetable shortening
- water
- vodka
What is Créme Fraîche?
Créme Fraîche is French for “fresh cream” . It is tangy like cream cheese and sour cream- thick like mascarpone. The taste is a bit sour so I like to sweeten it a bit. It has a fat content of about 30%.
The Créme Fraîche topping is a true indulgence. If you do not want to make this, a simple whipped cream topping or a scoop of vanilla ice cream would be wonderful. You can use a sweetened sour cream, whipping cream and sugar topping as well, but I promise you, the Créme Fraîche is heavenly. You can find tubs of Créme Fraîche in the fancy cheese section of your grocery store. It is sold in little tubs.
Equipment needed for this easy plum galette with créme fraîche:
Other rustic pie recipes to try:
- rustic peach and rhubarb pie
- double apple pie with a buttery crust
- bourbon peach pie
- late summer peach pie
- apricot galette with vanilla bean mascarpone
Plum Galette
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 2 cups All Purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 6 TBSP unsalted butter- cold
- ⅔ cup vegetable shortening
- ¼ cup ice water
- ¼ cup vodka – ice cold ( you can use all water if you prefer)
For the Fruit Filling
- 8-10 large plums , sliced and pitted
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
- 1 TBSP instant tapioca
- 1 large egg , beaten well
- 1 TBSP sanding sugar *- for dusting the crust
Fo the topping
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar
- 4 oz Créme Fraîche – room temperature
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
For the Topping
- Making the topping and chill: Mix the Crème Fraîche in the bowl of a stand mixture on low until softened. Add in the heavy whipping cream and beat until thick and creamy. On low speed stir in the sugar and vanilla paste. Chill until ready to serve the galette. Keeps for 2-3 days the fridge in an air tight container.
For the Crust
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse 2 cups of AP flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1 tsp kosher salt. Add in the cold butter and shortening . Slowly add in the 1/4 cup of ice water and then the 1/4 cup of ice cold vodka. if you live in a humid climate, you may need to add less water. Watch the dough carefully while adding the liquid . You want it to resemble coarse sand.
- Transfer to the dough to a clean lightly floured surface add pat into a large flat disc. Wrap in plastic wrap tightly and chill at least 2 hours or overnight.
For the Filling
- Combine the sliced plums, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and tapioca . Stir well to completely coat the fruit. Chill for 1 hour.
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a 10 inch’ish circle. Transfer the dough to a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet using a rolling pin to carry the dough. You can let the edges be rough and cracked. The dough does not need to be perfect.
- Spoon the chilled plum filing onto the dough mounding it into the center leaving a 2-3″ edge around the dough. Fold the edges up onto the filling. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Chill the galette for 10 minutes in the freezer.
- Bake the galette at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden and filling bubbly. Let rest at least 2 hours. Slice into wedges with a large serrated knife- like you would a pizza. Top with the vanilla bean crème fraîche.
Notes
Nutrition
I recently stumbled upon a house in town and the owners shared their bounty of plums. I asked the owner if she could spare a few plums and she picked me about a gallon. I’ve made plum jam and this gorgeous galette with the bounty. Sorry bears- these plums are all mine.
