This rustic cherry galette recipe combines the sweet and juicy goodness of fresh cherries with a buttery and flaky crust and a hint of almond, resulting in a mouthwatering dessert that is as beautiful as it is delicious. Baked to golden perfection, this galette emerges from the oven with bubbling, jammy cherries, and no pie-making skills are necessary.
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Galettes, also known as crostatas, are one of my favorite desserts to make in the summer. You don't need to have fancy pie-making skills at the ready, and I love their rustic, imperfect look.
This homemade cherry galette recipe is rich and buttery without being overly sweet. You can even use frozen cherries if you're making it out of season. And if you adore cherry season as much as I do, be sure to try my cherry coffee cake and chocolate cherry pie before the season is over!
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⭐️ Why This Galette is the Best
- A butter and flaky crust with a hint of almond is filled with sweet cherries that turn jammy in the oven. It's the perfect summer dessert!
- Easy and simple dessert that is rustic and beautiful, and so much easier than making pie.
- No baking equipment is required for this cherry galette - all you need is a rolling pin and baking sheet.
- Make ahead instructions provided
🤔 What is a Galette?
Originating from France, a galette is a type of pastry that is often described as a rustic, free-form tart or pie. Unlike a traditional pie that uses a pie dish, a galette is made by placing a sweet or savory filling in the center of a circle of pastry dough and folding the edges over to create a rustic, crimped crust.
Galettes are known for their simplicity and rustic charm, making them a popular choice for casual gatherings or everyday desserts - no pie-making techniques needed! The beauty of a galette lies in its imperfections, with the folded edges showcasing the homemade and artisanal nature of the pastry. They're essentially fool-proof!
🍒 Ingredient Notes
- Fresh or frozen pitted cherries - You'll need 4 cups of fresh or frozen pitted sweet cherries. If you don't have a cherry pitter (I definitely don't!), then try this hack using chopsticks and a wine bottle to pit your cherries. It works like a charm!
- Unsalted butter - Make sure that your butter is very cold to ensure a light and flaky crust.
- Almond extract - We get a hint of almond flavor by adding this to the galette dough.
- Light brown sugar - Adds deep flavor with notes of molasses
- Cornstarch or all-purpose flour - This will thicken up the cherry filling and prevents the crust from becoming soggy.
- Fresh lemon juice - Adds bright flavor and makes the filling really pop.
- Egg - We make an egg wash for the crust to ensure a golden brown crust.
📝 Variations & Substitutions
- Sour cherries: You can substitute sour cherries, but you will need to add extra sugar to get the same amount of sweetness.
- Make it gluten-free: Substitute all-purpose gluten-free flour to make a gluten free galette.
- Make a dairy-free galette: You can easily swap plant-based butter to make a dairy-free galette.
- Use store-bought pie crust: If you're short on time, skip the homemade pie crust and use frozen pie crust from the store. No judgment here!
🔪 How to Make Cherry Galette
Make the crust:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using a fork or your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until you are left with large pieces of butter that are about the size of peas.
Whisk together almond extract and ice water. Slowly add to the dough, stirring continuously, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to mix together until you have a cohesive dough. *For an extra flaky crust, follow the instructions mentioned in the Notes section below.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and flatten it into a disc. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour.
Make the filling:
In a medium mixing bowl, combine cherries, ⅓ cup brown sugar, cornstarch, fresh lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt. Set aside.
Assemble galette:
After dough has chilled, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it out to a circle measuring 12" in diameter and ¼" thick.
Transfer dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the cherry filling in the center of dough, leaving a 2-3 inch border around the edge. Fold edge up and over filling, overlapping the dough in a circular fashion the entire way around, leaving a 5-inch window of fruit exposed.
Using a pastry brush or spoon, brush the top of dough with egg wash, then sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake galette for 45-50 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing into wedges.
👩🏼🍳 Expert Tips
- Storage: Cover galette and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- How to freeze: Let galette cool completely, then wrap individual slices in foil and place them in a freezer bag. Freeze galette for up to 3 months, and thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Use cold butter. We want a light and flaky crust, and this is only achieved if you use butter that is cold. Additionally, when incorporating your chilled butter, be sure to keep the butter pieces around the size of a pea. You want sizeable chunks of butter in your dough in order to create pockets of steam. This helps to make your crust extra flaky.
- Use fresh or frozen cherries. If it's cherry season, I recommend that you go for the fresh cherries, but frozen cherries can be used as well. If you don't have a cherry pitter (I definitely don't!), then try this hack using chopsticks and a wine bottle to pit your cherries. It works like a charm!
- Use the spoon and level method. For the most accurate measurement, spoon your flour into the measuring cup and level with a knife. Try to avoid scooping your flour into your measuring cup.
- Let it cool. I know it's hard, but try your best to let your cherry galette cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting into it. This allows the cherry filling to thicken up, creating the best consistency.
- For an extra flaky crust, use the letter-folding technique: Roll out dough into a rectangle that is about ¼" thick. Fold it into thirds, like you would a business letter. Pat down dough and repeat once more.
- Time-saver tip: Make the dough ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
🥧 Topping Suggestions
Although this galette is delicious as is, you can never go wrong with adding a topping to take it to the next level. Top your galette with vanilla ice cream, fresh whipped cream, or toasted almonds for a decadent summer dessert!
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
Tossing your fruit with flour or cornstarch should do the trick. Another trick is to brush the interior crust with egg white before adding the fruit filling.
The two doughs are interchangeable for the most part. The main difference is that pie dough is fitted into a pan (often with a top and bottom crust), giving it a structure to hold the pie filling. Galette dough, on the other hand, is much more rustic and only contains bottom dough. The edges of the dough are folded up around the fruit filling, creating a free-form structure.
Galette dough is essentially interchangeable with pie dough. Puff pastry, on the other hand, includes much more butter and has several flaky layers due to the folding of the dough.
Galettes are traditionally served warm, but you can serve them at room temperature or even chilled if you prefer.
🍽 Related Recipes
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Rustic Cherry Galette Recipe
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 6-8 Tablespoons ice water
For the filling:
- 4 cups fresh or frozen sweet cherries, stemmed, pitted, and halved
- ⅓ cup + 1 Tablespoon light brown sugar, divided
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch or all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg + 1 Tablespoon water, beaten (for egg wash)
Instructions
Make the crust:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using a fork or your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until you are left with large pieces of butter that are about the size of peas.
- Whisk together almond extract and 6 tablespoons of ice water. Slowly add to the dough, stirring continuously, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to mix together until you have a cohesive dough. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of ice water if needed. *For an extra flaky crust, follow the instructions mentioned in the Notes section below.
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and flatten it into a disc. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour.
Make the filling:
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine cherries, ⅓ cup brown sugar, cornstarch, fresh lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt. Set aside.
Assemble galette:
- After dough has chilled, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it out to a circle measuring 12" in diameter and ¼" thick.
- Transfer dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the cherry filling in the center of dough, leaving a 2-3 inch border around the edge. Fold edge up and over filling, overlapping the dough in a circular fashion the entire way around, leaving a 5-inch window of fruit exposed.
- Using a pastry brush or spoon, brush the top of dough with egg wash, then sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake galette for 45-50 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing into wedges.
Video
Notes
- Storage: Cover galette and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Use cold butter. We want a light and flaky crust, and this is only achieved if you use butter that is cold. Additionally, when incorporating your chilled butter, be sure to keep the butter pieces around the size of a pea. You want sizeable chunks of butter in your dough in order to create pockets of steam. This helps to make your crust extra flaky.
- Use fresh or frozen cherries. If it's cherry season, I recommend that you go for the fresh cherries, but frozen cherries can be used as well. If you don't have a cherry pitter (I definitely don't!), then try this hack using chopsticks and a wine bottle to pit your cherries. It works like a charm!
- Use the spoon and level method. For the most accurate measurement, spoon your flour into the measuring cup and level with a knife. Try to avoid scooping your flour into your measuring cup.
- Let it cool. I know it's hard, but try your best to let your galette cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting into it. This allows the cherry filling to thicken up, creating the best consistency.
- For an extra flaky crust, use the letter-folding technique: Roll out dough into a rectangle that is about ¼" thick. Fold it into thirds, like you would a business letter. Pat down dough and repeat once more.
Barb says
The almond in the crust sounds so good paired with the cherries!
MaryAnne says
Yes, it's one of my favorite summer flavor combos!