Cinnamon Pear Galette

A galette delivers all the pleasure of pie with a relaxed, free-form shape. Firm pears hold their fans in the oven, while ground almonds catch their juices and keep the base crisp.

Chill the shaped galette before baking. Cold pastry keeps its folds and turns especially flaky in a hot oven.

Ingredients

• 250 g plain flour
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 150 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 5–7 tablespoons ice-cold water
• 3 firm ripe pears
• 50 g ground almonds
• 60 g light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 egg, beaten
• 25 g flaked almonds
• 1 tablespoon runny honey

Method

1. Mix the flour, caster sugar, and salt. Rub in the butter, leaving some pea-size pieces, then add just enough cold water to bring the dough together. Shape into a disc and chill for 30 minutes.
2. Core the pears and cut them into thin slices. Toss them with the brown sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice.
3. Roll the pastry into a rough 32 cm circle on baking paper. Sprinkle the ground almonds over the centre, leaving a 5 cm border.
4. Arrange the pears over the almonds and fold the pastry edge over the fruit. Brush the edge with beaten egg and scatter with flaked almonds. Chill for 15 minutes.
5. Heat the oven to 200°C with a baking sheet inside. Slide the galette and its paper onto the hot sheet and bake for 38–45 minutes, until the pastry is deep gold and the pear juices bubble.
6. Warm the honey and brush it over the fruit. Cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Serve it with

Serve the galette barely warm with crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream. The pastry stays crisp for a day when kept loosely covered at room temperature.