Serve the most elegant, delicious, and (shh… easy!) dessert in the room: Pear Galette with Sparkling Cranberries. Get ready for the compliment to roll in!
This beautiful and fancy dessert may look daunting, but if you can make a pie crust, you can make this spiced pear galette! You may be wondering what a galette even is. It is simply a French style free form pie dough that doesn’t require a pie dish-just a flat surface. This recipe is super easy to maneuver even for the first time cook. There are a few moving parts to this dessert but with proper timing and prep, it comes together seamlessly. You’re sure to love the spicy-sweet flavors of Chinese five spice and tart sugary cranberries.
How to Preparing Pear Galette
Use pears that are no taller than 4 inches when making this dessert in order to properly drape the dough over the fruit.
If you can’t find Chinese five spice where you live, pumpkin pie spice is a great stand in.
Swap tart apples for pears for variety.
The Sparkling Cranberries aren’t required but really bring the dessert to the next level.
For the integrity of the buttery, flaky crust to be maintained, eat the galette on the day it is cooked. Don’t ditch leftovers though. It is still delicious for up to two days.
Store, loosely covered with foil, for up to two days at room temperature.
Serve the most elegant dessert in the room by making this Pear Galette with Sparkling Cranberries. Shhh…no one needs to know that galettes are usually easier to make than traditional pies. Get ready for the compliment to roll in!
Scale
Ingredients
Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cane sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter (chilled, cut into ½ inch pieces)
2 egg
2 tablespoons milk
Filling
2 inches large bosc pears ( (about ⅔ pound, about 4tall), cored and cut into halves)
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter (melted)
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
Cranberries
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
Instructions
Cranberries
Make a simple syrup by bringing the water and sugar to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Let the syrup cool for 5 minutes and then add cranberries. Be mindful of temperature, as the berries will burst if the syrup is too hot. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.
Drain the cranberries and toss them in a large bowl with 1 cup of sugar until they are well coated. Do this in small batches, preventing the sugar from getting too damp. Using a large slotted spoon, place the coated cranberries on a parchment lined baking sheet to dry for a few hours. If necessary, do another toss in the sugar once cranberries have dried.
Crust
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
Whisk the eggs with the milk in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup.
Whisk flour, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Cut the chilled butter into the flour using your fingertips. Alternately, do this in a food processor in short bursts, ensuring that the butter pieces are a little smaller than pea-sized.
Add half of the egg/milk mixture to the flour mixture. Gently stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate.
Transfer to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round disk. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Cut a piece of parchment the size of a large, heavy bottomed baking sheet. After dough has chilled, place onto parchment and roll to a 12-inch round or 12-inch rectangle (about ⅛ inch thick). The shape doesn’t have to be perfect because this is a free form pie. Transfer parchment, with dough, to baking sheet.
Filling
While the dough chills, make the filling. Lay each pear half face down and cut vertically into thin pieces, about ⅛ inch thick. Each pear half should give you about 9 slices, excluding the rounded edges, which can be eaten or discarded.
Mix Chinese five spice with melted butter
Assembly
Decoratively layer pear slices on top of dough, leaving a 2-inch border. You can do this in a rose pattern, or simply layer them. Brush pears with butter/spice mixture. Gently overlap dough around pears, just covering the edges. Brush dough with remaining egg/milk wahs. Sprinkle pears with 2 teaspoons sugar.
Bake the galette in the center of the oven, for 25-30 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and pears are tender.
Once galette has cooled to room temperature, sprinkle with Sparkling Cranberries. Serve with sweetened whipped cream, if desired.