Saturday, August 2, 2008

Cherry Rhubarb Galette


This particular dessert was declared by my family to be absolutely fabulous. I made it using a very shallow pie plate instead of placing it on a baking sheet, as I didn't want to have stuff run all over the place.

With this recipe you can make either 1 large, or 2 small galettes. If making one, it will be placed onto a baking sheet. If making 2, they can either be placed into shallow pie plates, or on a baking sheet

Crust:

7 ounces of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced up in small bits
2 tablespoons shortening
1/4 cup iced water

In a sturdy bowl, mix the dry ingredients.
Add the butter and shortening, and mix them in using a pastry blender, or your fingers if you like.
You want it the consistency of rough cornmeal.
Using a fork, stir in the iced water, then finish mixing using your hands.
You want everything to adhere.
Then form into a ball or two, depending on how many you are making, wrap in plastic wrap, squish into a disc or discs, and refrigerate for about an hour.

Filling:

1-2 tablespoons jam
12 ounces of sweet cherries, pitted, and left as whole as possible
9 ounces of rhubarb, diced fairly small
1-2 tablespoons sugar to sweeten the rhubarb
2 graham cracker squares, crushed completely

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
If you are making one galette, take the disc of pastry, thoroughly flour it, and roll out on a piece of parchment paper to about 13 inches in diameter. This figure is not a precise one. Just roll it out to a thickness that you like. If making two, you'll need two squares of parchment, and roll out to about 10 inches in diameter.
Place the pastries on whatever you are going to cook them in or on.
Smear some jam on the center half of the disc(s).
Sprinkle with the graham cracker crumbs.
Put on the rhubarb, and sprinkle with the sugar.
Place the cherries on top, then fold up the sides of the pastry around the fruit.
Place into the oven for about 22-28 minutes.

While the galette(s) are cooking, make a custard mixture.

3 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
1/3 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup sugar

In a cereal bowl size dish, melt the butter in the microwave, just until melted
Add the sugar and stir.
Then add the egg and stir quickly.
Then stir in the vanilla.

When the galette has finished its first phase of cooking, take it out of the oven and carefully spoon in as much of the custard mixture as it will hold, and put back into the oven to cook for another 12-18 minutes. You be the judge for when you think the custard has finished cooking. It should look fairly firm.

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