It’s been a while. Since those spiced brown butter cookies Melbourne had a momentary reprieve from isolation. We thought we’d won (prematurely, it turned out). I maxed out on fresh pasta and wine-filled dinner parties and beach trips and even squeezed in a few nights out where you could almost forget the world was ever abnormal – right before the door slammed in our faces. Now in lockdown 2.0 I wish we’d lived even harder. This time lockdown is trickier – there’s no novelty factor in being shut up inside, and with the rest of the world emerging from hibernation (and neighbouring New Zealand acting like COVID never happened), it feels particularly claustrophobic. Silver linings? Few and far between, but I found my baking motivation again (sorry – it was superseded for a while there by the urge to see other non-pixelated human beings).
It’s a pear, walnut and miso butterscotch galette, and everything I want to eat right now. Some might say a galette is the lazy man’s version of a pie or a tart, but I’d say it’s the smart one. Less fiddly and more forgiving – no worrying about soggy crusts or blind baking, and imperfections are RUSTIC (and easily disguised with scoops of ice cream and butterscotch sauce). The pastry is heavy on the butter – you smear and crumble it into the flour with your hands until only thin shards and small pea-size lumps remain (remember, perfection isn’t the goal here). The resultant buttery, flaky, almost shortbread-like crust houses a layer of toasty walnut frangipane (rum spiked if you can handle it) and ripe fans of pear. Topped with a salty miso butterscotch (miso goes with everything, don’t knock it) and vanilla ice cream, it’s cold and warm and salty and sweet and nutty and fruity and everything you could want in an easy dessert. Especially when you can’t leave the house.
If you happen to be the in the northern hemisphere summer and aren’t feeling the pear caramel combination, another favourite involves swapping out the walnuts for pistachios and the pears for chopped rhubarb and strawberries, mixed with a little orange zest, juice and brown sugar before piling inside the same crust. Skip the butterscotch sauce with this version!
Prep the pastry ahead of time (it needs at least 30 min in the fridge, up to overnight).
- 185 g all purpose flour (plus extra for dusting)
- 2 teaspoons white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 170 g unsalted butter chilled
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 tablespoons ice water
- 75 g walnuts, toasted (3/4 cup)
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- pinch salt
- 30 g unsalted butter (2 tablespoons)
- 1 small egg
- 2 teaspoons rum (or vanilla essence)
- 3-4 ripe pears (I use beurre bosc)
- squeeze of 1/2 lemon
- 20 g butter (cut into tiny cubes, see photo)
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
- 1/3 cup demerera sugar (for sprinkling)
- 3/4 cup cream (185ml)
- 75 g unsalted butter
- 150 g brown sugar (3/4 cup)
- 2 teaspoons white miso (adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- Vanilla ice cream to serve.
-
To make the pastry: cut the cold butter into thin slices. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the sliced butter and use your hands to rub it into the flour, smearing and pressing it into thin flat sheets between your fingers and palms.
Once the butter is mostly incorporated (it should still be crumbly with visible sheets of butter but no large chunks left), sprinkle the vinegar and ice water over it and toss to incorporate. Tip the pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use a bench scraper and your other hand to press the pastry roughly until it comes together into a cohesive mass- there may be a few dry bits around the edges but it should be mostly together, and not crumbly anymore. The time in the fridge will also allow it to hydrate further, so don’t add too much extra water here.
-
Shape into a disc, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, ideally 2 hrs.
-
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
-
Combine the toasted walnuts, butter, sugar, salt, rum/vanilla and egg in a food processor / bullet blender and blitz until smooth. Set aside.
-
Cut the pears in half and scoop out the core with a teaspoon. Cut vertical slices through the pears, leaving a small part attached at the top of the stem so you can fan the slices out. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over them to prevent browning.
-
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to a circle approximately 40cm in diameter. Spread the walnut frangipane in an even layer in the centre, leaving a 4cm border (see photo). Fan the pears out over the walnut layer.
-
Fold the pastry border up and over the edge of the pears, patching up any holes as you go.
-
Whisk together the egg with a tablespoon of water, and using a pastry brush, brush the visible pastry of the galette with this mixture. Dot the pears with tiny cubes of butter (see photo), then sprinkle both the pears and the egg-washed pastry with demerera sugar.
-
Bake for 40-50 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the pears are tender.
-
Leave for about 10 minutes before serving to allow the filling to set.
-
While it’s in the oven, make the butterscotch sauce. Combine all ingredients in medium pot and cook until the butter melts. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 5 minutes, making sure the miso has dissolved. Turn the heat off and set aside.
-
Serve up slices of galette with vanilla ice cream and miso butterscotch on top
Gracias Claudia, soy Elena, vivo en Colonia Suiza, San Carlos de Bariloche, argentina, con mi madre tenemos una cabaña pequeña dónde elaboramos y vendemos apfhel strudel… Gracias por tus recetas salen muy bien… Saludos!!!