Bourbon Cherry Galette

Warm, bourbon-soaked cherries pair with a flaky, free-form pie crust in this ridiculously simple Cherry Galette. A take-the-easy-road recipe, this rustic French pastry has all the comforting flavor of pie but is only a fraction of the work.

My coffee lied to me about how much we were going to get done today and I’m holding a grudge. A white lie I could’ve overlooked, but this black brewed lie had a decaffeinated indifference to my to-do list. Not a single action item has been crossed off and the day has officially gotten away from me. Want proof? It’s 2:30 in the afternoon and I’m still in my pajamas.

Motivation has eluded me since I rolled out of bed. Frankly, eating pie is my only ambition but the finicky fuss of blind baking, crimping and latticing is not conducive to my lazy day. Dough is labor intensive and, at the moment, I’m desperately anti-labor.

Pie making is undeniably daunting. To really do it right the butter has to be European then anything coming into contact with the dough must be prechilled: from the mixing bowl and the rolling pin to the scraper and prissy pie dish. Then you have to crank your A/C so low that you’re shivering and somehow every nook and cranny in the kitchen ends up covered in flour. All of it’s enough to make me swear like a French parrot that only knows one four-letter F word.

The French know this, which is why they invented the galette: a rustic, open-faced pie that takes dough making from the madhouse to the farmhouse. Galettes are the opposite of refined, instead they’re all about simplicity. If you have a food processor and 45 seconds then you’re done making the dough. Then, after a 30 minute chill in the refrigerator, roll it into a circle, pile boozy cherries in the center and fold the edges over the filling in any way, shape or form you want.

Basically, you can’t mess it up. Even if you’re doing shots of Jim Beam while your cherries soak in bourbon, you’re still as golden as the crust when it comes out of the oven.

The best part of Bourbon Cherry Galette isn’t even how ridiculously easy it is to make, instead it’s how deliciously yummy the flaky, buttery crust tastes warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top of the bourbon-soaked cherry filling.

Make every day a lazy day and try this no-fuss, all flavor dessert.

Before sharing the recipe for this Bourbon Cherry Galette, here are a few trips and tricks to help you out:

Ingredient Tips and Tricks

Choose bright red cherries that are plump and shiny. Soft spots and brown spots are not exactly appetizing.

Cornstarch thickens the cherry juices so the galette does not get soggy. If you do not have cornstarch then tapioca flour would work as a substitute.

Sprinkle galette with coarse sugar just prior to baking. Coarse sugar is larger in size than granulated sugar, which means it’s more resistant to heat and gives the galette texture.

This galette recipe is adaptable to all kinds of stone fruit and berry substitutions. Just reduce the cornstarch by 1/2 tablespoon for apples and blueberries and increase by 1/2 tablespoon for strawberries, blackberries and raspberries.

Preparation Tips and Tricks

If you do not have a food processor, use a pastry cutter to cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles damp sand. Then add ice water one tablespoon at a time until dough forms.

Be careful not to overstuff your galette with fruit or the filling will ooze out in the oven.

After the galette is assembled brush the dough with an egg wash. The egg/heavy cream mixture helps seal the edges, adds shine and enhances color during baking.

Dough can be made up to 3 days in advance. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Storage Tips for Bourbon Cherry Galette

Freezing fresh cherries gives you the opportunity to bake this galette all year long. Just stock up on cherries while they’re in season and super cheap. Then pit, stem and half cherries before placing on a cookie sheet in a single layer to freeze. Transfer frozen cherries to an airtight container then store in the freezer to 6 months.

Galettes taste best the day they are baked. If you have leftovers then store them loosely covered at room temperature up to 2 days.

I hope you enjoy this Cherry Galette recipe. Please leave a comment and a rating at the bottom of this blog post when you try it for yourself. And, while you’re at it, sign up for my weekly Recipe Newsletter so you never miss a tempting recipe.

Finally, the next time you’re craving fresh cherries try my recipe for Cherry Buckle. This rustic, cherry-filled cake is topped with a buttery walnut streusel that literally buckles as it bakes.

Bourbon Cherry Galette

Heather Wolf

Warm, bourbon-soaked cherries pair with a flaky, free-form pie crust in this ridiculously simple French tart. A take-the-easy-road recipe, this rustic galette has all the comforting flavor of cherry pie but is only a fraction of the work.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Chilling 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Pies and Tarts

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

Galette crust

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour unbleached
• 1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp sea salt fine
• 8 Tbsp unsalted butter cold and cut into pieces
• 3 Tbsp ice cold water

Cherry filling

• 2 ounces bourbon
• 3 cups fresh cherries pitted, stemmed and halved
• 1 tsp vanilla pure
• 1/4 tsp sea salt fine
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp orange juice

Egg wash

• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp coarse sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

 

Galette crust

• Combine flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine.
• Add butter to food processor. Pulse until butter looks like small peas and mixture resembles damp sand.
• Add ice water one tablespoon at a time, pulsing until dough forms.
• Remove dough from food processor then, using your hands, form dough into a ball then flatten like a disk.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes until firm.

Cherry filling

• Soak cherries in bourbon for one hour.
• Combine bourbon-soaked cherries, vanilla, sea salt, cornstarch, brown sugar and orange juice in a large bowl. Stir until well combined.

Egg wash topping

• Whisk together egg and heavy cream in a small bowl until combined.

Assembly

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
• Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator. Dust with flour and roll out on a floured surface until circle is approximately 14 inches in diameter.
• Transfer dough to your baking sheet. Spoon cherry filling and juices into the center leaving a 2 inch boarder around the perimeter.
• Carefully fold dough up and over the edges of the cherry filling, overlapping as you go. Pinch dough to seal.
• Brush edges of folded pastry dough with egg wash then sprinkle with coarse sugar.
• Bake 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling.
• Remove from oven and allow the galette to rest on the baking pan for 5 minutes then transfer galette on its parchment to a rack to cool for 20 minutes.
• Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.
• Cover and store leftovers at room temperature up to 2 days.

Keyword bourbon, cherry, galette, pie, tart