I’m not much of a summer cook. I like to cook the foods of cooler weather — spicy gingerbreads, hearty stews, root vegetables that stick to your ribs. Summer, at least in Los Angeles, is really to hot to do this type of cooking, and those foods are literally the last food on earth you feel like eating. It doesn’t help that in the summertime I can live on Bacon and Tomato sandwiches and corn on the cob, which, while providing an entirely balanced diet (what? That’s what I’ve had for dinner for the past 4 nights in a row!), is not so much the stuff of food blogs.
The problem, of course, is that summertime is when my local farmer’s market offers its greatest bounty. I am confronted with weekly heaps of Gaviota strawberries, Blenheim apricots, Elephant Heart plums, and the biggest, fattest blackberries you’ve ever seen. And while I do LOVE fruit (and my love cannot hold a candle to that of my husband and my child) sometimes I am compelled to buy more fresh fruit than even our family can eat. And so I am forced to cook, even in the summer.
This blackberry galette is unfussy enough to suit even my summer doldrums, however. The crust is across between a crust and a shortbread, with some sturdiness that helps contain the juice (galettes do not lend themselves well to the world’s most flaky piecrust — more on that later). Furthermore, it’s easy to roll out, and can be rolled directly on the (parchment lined) cookie sheet. Just plop in your blackberries, fold up the sides, brush the whole thing with cream and sprinkle with sugar and bake.
The result may even be worth turning the oven on.
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 4 oz flour
- 1 oz sugar
- 1 pint blackberries
- ⅓ c. cream
- ¼ c. turbinado sugar
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine cream cheese, flour and sugar until thoroughly combined, form into a ball, and roll out directly onto a parchment lined cookie sheet until slightly less than ¼ inch thick.
- Place blackberries in center of crust, fold up edges. Brush entire tart with cream and sprinkle with
- Combine all ingredients, form into a ball, and roll into a thin crust directly onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place blackberries in center of crust, fold up edges of crust. Brush entire tart with cream and sprinkle with turbinado. Bake 30-40 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.
Loooks so good!! Is the dough really easy to make? I can’t knead to save my life but I have the mixer.
I’m so glad you chose blackberries for this! They’re my favorite berry & I might have missed what looks like an easy & wonderful recipe had you chosen a different fruit.
Also enjoyed the BLT reference – recently wrote a blog post partly about the perfect BLT & would love your thoughts on that: http://bit.ly/2rlOXy
Looks lovely! I can’t wait for the blackberry explosion here in a few weeks. I just made my first galette… it’s my new go-to summer fruit dessert!
This is so lovely! I am with you on the cooking in the summer feeling. Most of the recipes I am seeking out lately involve little to no cooking.
I love the rustic touch to galettes! This looks so great!!
C, what is this oz and grams biznay? I can handle it with the cream cheese, but flour and sugar I measure by volume. Conversion, s’il vous plait?
Thanks to this post, I just took some pate brisee out of the freezer and slid it into the fridge to thaw overnight. That bowl of blackberries on my counter is not long for this world! Thank you for the inspiration.
@Rebecca – I am with you lovely. Conversions would be fabulous.
Have just found the site, and although I am on the other side of the world, and our seasons clash – reading about your summer, puts a smile on my dial.
Inspiring the world, one dish at a time 🙂
Baking with a kitchen scale at hand does offer more precision, but I will say that a cup of flour usually weighs around 5 ounces and a cup of sugar around 7.
Looks gorgeous. I love rustic baking… and it has nothing to do with the fact that I can’t roll out a perfect circle. Honest!
Hey, have you read the reviews for that new fruit dessert cookbook, Rustic Fruit or something? It looks wonderful.
What gorgeous photos! I couldn’t help but link your tasty recipe on my own blog’s entry on galettes. 🙂
I haven’t made galettes with the crust you describe, only “traditional” pie crust, which has worked fine–but I like the idea of a shortbread-esque crust for a change!