This Basil Berry Galette is the easy way to make a berry pie, for those days when you want want a refreshing dessert that doesn’t take too long to make. This pastry is made with a pie crust and a berry pie filling, but, unlike a traditional pie, this is free-form and doesn’t have a top crust.
It’s made with a small handful of basil, which adds complexity to the flavor (I think a bit of mint or rosemary or lavender would pair well with berries too, if you wanted to try one of those instead of basil — but I love basil with berries or peaches!).
This galette is thinner than a pie, so you don’t have to wait as long for it to cool before you can eat it. And because it’s relatively thin, you won’t have to worry too much about storing leftovers (this entire galette was gobbled up within an hour at my house!).
I made this berry galette a couple different times. At first, I tried cooking the berries on the stove before placing them on the crust and baking in the oven. What I found was that this did produce a tasty filling, but was an unnecessary extra step. Some recipes call for cooking berries ahead when making a berry pie, because a pie calls for so many berries that the juices might start to overflow your pie dish. But a galette is smaller than a pie, so you have less of a risk of overflow.
The recipe I’m sharing here is what I found to be the simplest way to make a berry galette. The homemade whipped cream is optional — you could easily sub it for vanilla ice cream!
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
- 7 tbsp (98g) butter, cold
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp ice cold water
- 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 cups strawberries, chopped
- 1.5 cups blueberries
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 5 basil leaves, chopped
- 1 tbsp butter, diced
- 1 egg
- course sugar
- 3/4 cups heavy cream
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1. Prepare the Dough: Dice your butter into large chunks. Place in the bowl of a standing mixer, along with the flour, sugar, and salt. Mix slowly, until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is in pea-sized chunks. Add the water and vinegar. Mix for another 30 seconds, and you should see the dough come together. If it’s too dry, you can add another tablespoon of cold water. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for half an hour.
- 2. Prepare the Filling: In a medium bowl, toss together the berries, sugar, lemon juice and basil. Allow to sit while you roll out the dough.
- 3. Assemble: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Roll out the dough into roughly a 12-inch circle. This is a galette, so it doesn’t need to be perfect. Transfer dough onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Place berry mixture in the middle of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border of dough. If your mixture has excess juices, set the juice aside (you don’t want the galette to be soggy). Fold the excess dough over the berries to create your crust.
- 4. Top the galette with the diced butter. Whip the egg and brush it onto the dough. Sprinkle a small handful of the course sugar on top. Bake for about 45-50 minutes.
- 5. Whipped Cream: in a small bowl, whip the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together. Whip slowly, just until stiff peaks form. Don’t over-whip, because this will cause your whipped cream to become chunky. Store your whipped cream in the fridge while you wait for the galette to finish baking.
- 6. Allow the galette to cool for about 10 minutes, then serve with chilled whipped cream on top. Tastes best fresh!
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