Strawberry, white chocolate and crème fraiche galette

This is my favourite flaky pastry recipe and it’s so versatile that I use it across sweet and savoury baking, swapping out the sugar for a herb or a spice if I’m making a savoury tart. Don’t be tempted to over work the dough or make the butter too small, the big chunks of butter will help to achieve the nice flaky result.

Strawberry and white chocolate and crème fraiche galette Credit: Danielle Abou Karam

• serves

  8

• prep

  40 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 60 g white chocolate, finely chopped
• 70 g unsalted butter, chopped, at room temperature
• 150 g (1½ cups) almond meal
• 55 g (¼ cup) caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 1 tbsp demerara sugar
• 400 g strawberries, hulled, halved  
• 300 ml creme fraiche
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon 

Pastry

• 250 g (1⅔ cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 30 g caster sugar
• ½ tsp sea salt flakes
• 170 g cold unsalted butter, chopped in big chunks
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 60 ml (¼ cup) iced water

Chilling time: 2.5 hr

Instructions

1. For the pastry, combine the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and toss to coat. Using your fingertips, roughly rub the butter into the dry ingredients, leaving plenty of big pieces of butter. Combine the vinegar and iced water in a jug. Add most of it to the flour mixture, stirring just until the pastry is starting to come together, adding a little more water if necessary. Turn out onto a clean work surface and gently knead into a rough rectangle shape until the dough comes together. The dough seems drier than you would think but stick with it – the flour will hydrate. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, place the white chocolate, butter, almond meal and caster sugar in a food processor and combine. Add 1 egg, flour and 1 tsp vanilla, and pulse to form a thick paste.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry to a 3mm-thick large rectangle, trimming to form a clean edge. Place on a lined baking tray. Spread the white chocolate mixture over the pastry, leaving a 7cm border. Arrange the strawberries over the top of the paste. Fold the border over the strawberries to partially enclose. Lightly beat the remaining egg and brush the edges with egg wash. Scatter with demerara sugar. Chill for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C. Place tart in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until the pastry is just golden. Reduce oven to 180C and cook for a further 30 minutes or until pastry is deeply golden and crisp. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. 
5. Combine creme fraiche, lemon zest and remaining 1 tsp vanilla in a bowl and serve with the galette.

 

Photography by  Danielle Abou Karam.

Want more from The Cook Up?

• Stream free here at SBS On Demand.

• Get the show recipes, articles and more here.

 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.