White Peach, Pecan, and Muscovado Galette

Have you seen the July issue of Bon Appetit? It has a killer photo by Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott of a luscious bluebery galette with a melty scoop of ice cream on top, a perfect July cover if you ask me. There was even a little web exclusive that explained how they chose the perfect vanilla ice cream for the cover, Breyer's Vanilla Bean if you were wondering. 

It's been a long time since I've baked anything from Bon Appetit, but that cover looked so good (and the crust looked a little unusual) so I flipped through the mag and discovered it was full of ground pecans, then later realized that the same info was on the cover too (doh!). Pun...intended. The dough came together easily, although it was very delicate to work with and tore a bit as I was moving it around my cutting board and on to the baking sheet, but good news - it patched well, and it doesn't really matter if your dough isn't perfect when you are making a galette.

Instead of the blueberries, I used a couple of super ripe white peaches and a handful of white currants I had around (the currants are totally optional, but provided a nice tart burst). The fruit was super sweet and juicy so I sprinkled the dough with about a tablespoon of flour and tablespoon of muscovado sugar, then sprinkled another tablespoon or so of sugar on top, brushed the dough with egg wash, and baked it until it was golden and juicy.

It was what I like to call an easy summer dessert situation.

White Peach, Pecan, and Muscovado Tart

adapted from Bon Appetit's July 2015 issue

The original recipe calls for bit of cinnamon in the crust (1/4 teaspoon) and a blueberry filling which I imagine is also quite delicious. I used light muscovado sugar to sweeten this tart, I like India Tree, but light brown or granulated sugar will work as well. Check out the link above for the original blueberry filling.

NOTE 9/2/2015: The original recipe calls for 4 tablespoons of water to be added to the dough, but you may need a little less. Start with 2 tablespoons, then add more bit by bit until the dough easily sticks together when squeezed. 

Crust

1/2 cup pecans

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Filling

4 medium white peaches

small handful white currants (optional)

3 tablespoons muscovado sugar, or more to taste

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

pinch salt

1/2 lemon

1 egg, lightly beaten for egg wash

turbinado sugar, to finish

Preheat oven to 350°. Toast pecans on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until fragrant and slightly darkened, 10–15 minutes; let cool. Pulse the pecans in a food processor until they are coarse meal. Add flour, sugar, salt,  and pulse combine. Add butter and pulse until the butter is mostly worked into the dough, with a couple of pea-sized pieces remaining. 

Transfer the dough to a large bowl and drizzle with 4 tablespoons ice water (see note above) and mix gently, adding another tablespoonful of water if needed, just until mixture comes together. Gently pat dough into a 6"-diameter disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour.

To assemble and bake: Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Pit and slice the peaches into 1/4-inch slices. Roll the dough out to a roughly 12-inch circle, 1/8-1/4-inch thick and transfer it to the baking sheet. Sprinkle the flour and one tablespoon of the sugar over the top. Arrange the peach slices on top of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border around the edges. Sprinkle the currants over the top, along with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and a pinch of salt. Squeeze the lemon over the top. Fold the edges of the dough over the fruit and chill the galette until the dough is firm, about 15 minutes. 

Brush the chilled dough with egg wash, sprinkle with turbinado sugar, and bake the galette until deep golden brown 30-40 minutes.

White Peach Tart

A perfect summer dessert should be easy to put together and it should definitely utilize and enhance the delicious fruit available this time of year. There are quite a few types of desserts that fit these requirements: crumbles, cobblers, and grunts for example, but sometimes I feel fancy and I want to make a tart. Something about lining a pan with fruit arranged in concentric circles just makes me feel elegant. What? Just me?

Tarts can be really easy you guys, especially when you can just pat the crust into a pan (no rolling! and for the love of unicorns, no blind baking!) Then, all you have to do is slice up some of summer's sweetest, blushing white peaches (no peeling!), toss them gently with a bit of ginger and lime for a punch of flavor, tuck them into your previously patted crust, and wait patiently.

After a few minutes in a hot oven the peaches soften and release their juices, the corny crust crisps and browns, and it's done. A perfect summer pair, all baked up in a fancy dessert that was a cinch to put together.

Not that this even needs to be said, but the leftovers (if there are any) make a delicious breakfast.

White Peach Tart with Ginger and Lime in a Cornmeal Crust

yield, 1 10'' or 11'' tart

For the Crust

This makes a nice, thick crust (about 1/4'') which is my preference. If you prefer your crusts on the thin side, you may want to set aside a bit of the dough for another use before patting it into the pan.

4 ounces corn flour (or very fine cornmeal)

4 ounces all purpose flour

1.75 ounces sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon lime zest

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 ounces butter, melted and cooled

1 egg yolk

1. In a medium bowl, stir the flours, sugar, salt and lime zest. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add in the olive oil, butter and egg yolk. Stir gently to combine.

2. Turn the dough out into a 10'' or 11'' removable bottom tart pan and pat it evenly on the bottom and up the sides. Refrigerate the shell while you prepare the filling.

For the Filling

4 medium white peaches

1'' piece of ginger, peeled and grated

1/2 teaspoon lime zest

juice of 1/2 a lime

1.75 ounces turbinado sugar (or white sugar)

3/4 ounce all purpose flour

1 ounce cold butter (cut into small cubes)

Preheat oven to 425º

1. Cut the peaches into wedges about 1/2'' thick (I cut my peaches into eighths).

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the grated ginger, lime zest and juice, turbinado sugar and flour. Add the sliced peaches and toss gently to coat them in the mixture.

3. Arrange the peaches in tight concentric circles on top of the prepared shell, pour any juices left in the bowl on top, and dot the tart with the cold butter cubes.

4. Slide the tart into the oven and bake until the peaches are soft and have released their juices and the crust is golden, about 30-40 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature with whipped cream, creme fraiche or a scoop of ice cream.