Fig Galette

Lately, I have been on a dough kick. Ever since I discovered the perfect dough recipe, I had been using it as much as I can: in tarts, pies, galettes, you name it. If the directions at the bottom seem too complicated, believe me, it really isn't at all. The dough and the frangipane are so simple that they basically make themselves. And people will think that you are fancy if you throw out all of those French names and terms. It's a win-win!

Also, if you don't have a food processor...this could possibly be done in a blender. I have no idea. If anyone is brave enough to attempt it, please let me know! By the way, in case any of you were wondering, my first week of college has gone great so far! 7 classes this semester, and 4 of them are Human Nutrition classes. I already know I'm going to be super busy, but it'll be worth it.

I'm not sure what type of figs these are....I bought them from my local produce place called the Bush-N-Vine, and I suspect that they are Black Mission Figs. I think the type of fig I used in the other galette was a Turkish Fig.

You can arrange your figs any way that you would like. I arranged them differently each time I made the recipe. Don't stress too hard.

I should have left more room around the edges so that I could fold the galette over, but I forgot. As a result, a little bit of the fig juice leaked out, but it wasn't enough to affect the final product. This is an extremely unpretentious dessert, and it will forgive you if you make mistakes. And the silicone mat that I used in the recipe is so fantastic. It is a little pricey, but definitely worth the money; I can tell the difference between cookies/tarts/galettes baked on it and on parchment paper. 

I made the galette below with a different type of the fig that in the photographs above. I made two galettes because I had a lot of leftover ingredients and because the first one was so delicious! The crust is so buttery and flaky, and the sugar in the figs caused them to caramelize slightly. 

I used an icing spatula to fold the edges of the dough over; it made it so much easier.


Fig Galette
Adapted from Chez Pim


Frangipane Ingredients:

• 75g whole almonds (about 1/2 cup)
• 75g sugar, you can use half granulated sugar and half confectioner’s sugar, or just all granulated sugar (about 1/8 cup granulated plus 1/4 cup confectioner’s, or just 1/3 cup granulated)
• 75g butter at room temperature
• 1 large egg

Directions for Frangipane:

• Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).  Spread the almonds evenly on a baking sheet and place them in the oven.  Roast them for about 10 minutes, or until slightly toasted and fragrant.  Transfer to a plate and let cool to room temperature.
• Put the cooled almonds and the sugar into a food processor and process until fine.  Add the butter and the egg and pulse until well-combined.  If you don’t want to use it right away, divide the frangipane into four equal parts, wrap each tightly in plastic.  They will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, and up to a month in the freezer.

Pastry Dough Ingredients (makes two 9 inch rounds):
This dough was also used in the Nectarine Lattice Pie post!

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 5 tablespoons (or more) ice water
• Milk for crust
• 1 tbsp. sugar

Directions

• For the crust: whisk sugar, flour, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Add the butter and rub in with fingertips (or a pastry blender) until small pea-sized lumps form. Add 5 tablespoons of ice water. Mix lightly with a fork until the dough holds together when small pieces are pressed between fingertips. Add ice water by the teaspoon if too dry. Gather dough into a ball, and divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk, wrap separately in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes. This can be made two days ahead, just make sure to let it soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

To make a 9″ fig tart

• 1 9″ pie dough listed above
• about 10 large figs or about 15 small ones
• 1/4 the recipe of frangipane above

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).  Roll out your pastry dough to about 10-inch diameter – more or less won’t harm anything.  Spread about 1/4 of the quantity of frangipane on the dough, leaving about 1 inch parameter around the outer edge of the dough.  
• Quarter the figs (only halve if small) and arrange them -pointy end up will be prettier- in concentric circles to cover the frangipane.  Fold the edges in, pinching a little to make sure they stick.  If you want, you can brush the dough with eggwash and give it a good shower of sugar.  Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until the pastry edges are golden brown.