LEMON BLUEBERRY CREAM CHEESE GALETTE
Each year around this time, I see beautiful images of rusty galettes appear in the food industry’s digital world. Their simple, minimal, yet elegant shape is the perfect way to showcase the natural flavor of fresh summer fruits. It’s unnecessary to mash the galette with sugar; let the beauty of fresh fruit take care of the work. Want to know a secret? You can make incredible galettes at any time of the year with frozen fruit such as the one below. Blueberry Cream Cheese Galette
INGREDIENTS
GALETTE CRUST
1.5 cups flour (plus some for dusting) ($0.09)
1 teaspoon sugar($0.02)
Pinch salt ($0.01)
8 Tbsp of cold butter ($1.07)
3 Tbsp of ice water ($0.00)
LEMON BLUEBERRY FILLING
1/2 lb. blueberries (frozen or fresh) ($1.80)
1 Tbsp sugar ($0.02)
One teaspoon of cornstarch ($0.02)
Fresh lemons cost $0.75. ($0.75)
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature ($0.75)
2 tsp sugar ($0.04)
One large egg divided ($0.26)
INSTRUCTIONS
To make the galette pastry make a mixture of sugar, flour, and salt in a bowl of enormous size. Cut the butter into pieces and mix it with the salt and flour. Make use of a pastry cutter or your hands to incorporate it into flour till it appears as if it is damp sand. Add small chunks of butter.
Add the ice water by adding a tablespoon until a dough begins to form and there’s no dry flour at the surface of your bowl. Form the dough into a smooth disc, cover it with plastic, and chill for an hour or until firm.
When the dough has finished cooling, mix the blueberries with sugar and cornstarch with 1/2 tsp of zest and 1 Tbsp liquid from the juiced lemon. Mix them well, and then set the mix aside.
In another bowl, mix the cream cheese that is room temperature, egg yolk, sugar, and one tablespoon juice of the lemon until it’s an even mixture. Use the egg white to apply a glaze to the crust before baking.
Preheat the oven until it is at 400oF. Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Get the dough out of the refrigerator and then roll the dough into a 14-16″ circle. The dough could appear to be a bit stiff at first, but it will get more flexible when it gets warmer. Keep your work area coated with flour while you roll out the dough to keep it from sticking.
Cover a large baking tray with parchment. Transfer the dough you have rolled onto the paper (you can fold or move it to transfer it without tearing). Place the mixture of cream cheese across the middle in the circular area, leaving around two inches of uncooked dough on the edges. I prefer to leave an additional “lip” on the outer edge of the cream cheese to aid in holding the berries and juice.
Mix the blueberries one more time and then pour it over cream cheese. Include all the juice in the bowl. Begin to fold the edges of the dough and place them over it, alternating with the cream cheese blueberries and berries, leaving the center unopened.
Whisk the egg white that you have left using a fork. Add one or two drops of water to increase the fluidity. Spread the egg white across this galette pastry dough.
Baking the pastry for about 30 minutes ensures the cake turns golden brown. Allow the galette to cool for 10 minutes before cutting the galette into six pieces before serving.
