strawberry galette – the easiest fruit tart

A galette is such a forgiving way to bake fruit and is perfect for anyone who feels a tart is too stressful (which is a lot of us). When strawberries are in season, there is little that needs to be done to them. When they are just coming into season they can be a little watery and in need of a bit of help.

Roasting them before you make the strawberry galette, forces out some of the water, leaving behind a more concentrated jammy flavour. It also means you won’t be faced with a damp tart base.

Make ahead and an extra bonus

The strawberries can be roasted ahead of time and the pastry can be made ahead and frozen. Any leftover strawberry juice is lovely in a cocktail or a G&T.

The galette is best served warm or at room temperature as it can crumble when it is hot. You can make it earlier in the day and just leave it, covered away from sneaky fingers, out of the fridge until you’re ready to eat. If you prefer, don’t make the cream and serve the warm tart with vanilla ice cream.

Keep the de-zested oranges in the fridge so they won’t go off as quickly, then slice them into drinks or into wedges another time.

Strawberry galette ingredients

(serves 6)

• 500g (1lb) strawberries
• 180g (6 oz) plain flour (all purpose in the US)
• 90g (3 oz) cold salted butter, cut into thin slices
• 50g (1 ¾ oz) golden granulated sugar
• 1 orange
• 40 g (just over 1 oz) ground almonds (almond meal in the US)
• A pinch of sea salt flakes
• 2 – 3 tbsp cold water
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 400g (28 oz) creme fraiche
• 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon runny honey

Equipment

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• small roasting tin
• parchment or silicone mat
• knife and board
• flat baking tray
• food processor
• rolling pin
• pastry brush
• Microplane zester
• fish slice

To make your strawberry galette

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) 400°F (350°F convection).
2. Roast the strawberries Cut the green ends off the strawberries then half or quarter them and lay them flat in a large baking dish. They will release a lot of juice as they cook so be sure to choose a dish with sides. Put into the oven and roast for an hour, shaking once and pouring any juice off into a small bowl half way through.
3. Make the pastry – put the flour, sugar, butter, orange zest and a large pinch of salt into a food processor and blitz until you have fine crumbs. Then gradually add the cold water, pulsing as you do until the dough comes together into a ball. Flatten the dough and wrap in parchment before putting in the fridge to rest for an hour or overnight.
4. When you’re ready to assemble the tart, roll the chilled pastry to around 5mm (¼ inch) thick. I find it easiest to roll it out straight onto a silicone liner or parchment lined baking sheet.
5. Picture a circle that stops around 3 inches from the edge of the rolled out pastry and scatter the centre of the imaginary circle with the ground almonds.
6. Strain off as much of the juice as possible, using a slotted spoon and lay the roasted strawberries on the ground almonds in circles, starting at the inside and working out. Stopping 3 inches from the edge of the pastry.
7. Gently fold the pastry edges over so that the outer edge of strawberries are covered but the inner strawberries remain exposed. If any pastry rips, just squish it together.
8. Brush the pastry with a beaten egg yolk and scatter a teaspoon of granulated sugar over before baking at 200°C (180°C fan) 400°F (350°F convection) for 40 minutes or until the pastry is dark golden brown. Leave to sit on the tray for 30 minutes before serving.
9. To make the ripple cream, put the crème fraiche into a bowl and mix in the zest of an orange and the honey. Then spoon a couple of teaspoons of the strawberry juice that you set aside earlier and use the end of a knife to ripple it through the cream.
10. To serve, cut the tart into wedges, slide a fish slice or palette knife underneath to separate it from the parchment and serve with a blob of the flavoured cream.