While galettes are quick and easy to make, they can be impressive-looking centrepieces! Galettes are made of a buttery pastry, sweet almond cream and fresh fruit—and you can adapt the recipe to suit your taste by changing the type of fruit used.

The pastry is less fussy to make than a typical tart or pie, given its free-form shape and that blind baking is not needed. And, to save time, the pastry and the frangipane can be prepared in advance.

Ingredients

MAKES ONE 20cm TART

Pastry

• 200g plain flour (plus a bit more for dusting)

• 40g light brown soft sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 110g unsalted butter, cold, diced

• 55ml ice-cold water

• 1 egg, beaten (to brush the pastry edges)

• 2 tablespoon Demerara sugar (to sprinkle the pastry edges)

Frangipane

• 50g unsalted butter, room temperature

• 50g light brown soft sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 1 small egg

• ½ teaspoon lemon zest

• ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste

• 100g ground almonds

Fruit topping

• 4 nectarines, sliced

• 1 tablespoon cornflour

• 1 tablespoon caster sugar

• Lemon juice from ½ lemon

• ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Steps

Pastry

1. In a large bowl (or food processor), whisk together flour, brown sugar and salt.

2. Add the butter and, using your hands, mix together until the mixture resembles large breadcrumbs.

3. Add ice-cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and bring the dough together.

4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball (try not to overwork the dough). Flatten into a disc, wrap and chill for about 2 hours or overnight.

Frangipane

1. Beat the butter with sugar and a pinch of salt until light and creamy.

2. Add the egg and whisk until combined, then add lemon zest and vanilla.

3. Finally fold in ground almonds.

Fruit Topping

1. In a separate bowl, combine the cornflour, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla, to create a syrup.

2. Add the nectarines and gently toss to coat.

Assemble

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. On a lightly floured surface roll the chilled pastry into roughly a 30cm circle.

3. Evenly spread the frangipane in the centre of the pastry, leaving a 5cm border around the edge. Arrange the fruit on top of the frangipane.

4. Gently fold the edges of the pastry over the filling, overlapping the dough as necessary.

5. Brush the pastry edges with the beaten egg and sprinkle with Demerara sugar.

6. Place on a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake for about 35 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

7. Remove from the oven and let it cool on the baking sheet before serving.

Tips

• For the pastry, it’s best to use cold ingredients. Butter should be chilled, and water ice-cold. You can also put the flour in the freezer 30 minutes before making the dough.

• We generally prefer an uneven, rustic finish for this bake, as you can see in the photos (this also means that there is no dough wasted). But if you rather have a perfect circle, just trim the edges of the dough when rolling it out.

• This bake works well with other fruit, such as peaches, apples, rhubarb or pears. You can experiment with the flavours too—try with cinnamon, nutmeg, zest of lemon, orange, etc.

• The pastry can be made 2-3 days in advance, kept in the fridge (wrapped in a plastic bag or cling film). You can also keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months; just thaw overnight in the fridge before using.