Make A Perfect Pear Galette With Exceptional Ease

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Today I'm going to let you in on a secret:

a pear galette that looks very fancy

but is actually ridiculously easy.

[galette crunches] [fork clinking]

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It looks like it would take a lot of time,

but it takes you about 30 minutes

from pulling out your ingredients

to putting it in the oven.

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[cupboard clunks]

The galette has a lot of store-bought ingredients,

but it's rooted in classic French patisserie techniques.

I'm going to start by making my almond cream.

Almond cream is a big element

in a lot of French pastry,

from pies to tarts.

You might recognize it in your morning almond croissant.

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[whisk clangs]

And here's what I mean about being easy fancy:

[egg cracks]

almond cream is just a bunch of ingredients

stirred together in a bowl,

and you can easily make this ahead.

[almond extract pouring]

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Candied ginger is

perhaps my favorite addition to this recipe.

It adds these little bursts of sharp, intense flavor,

which is not too overwhelming,

but it compliments the pears so well.

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Let's talk about canned pears.

Something that feels very old fashioned and forgotten,

but it really does the trick in this recipe.

Canned pears are doing what poached pears would.

It's just easier.

It has the perfect texture.

It's already peeled. [knife chopping]

Using canned pears saves you literal hours.

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Take your time slicing the pears.

[knife chopping]

It's a big part of the recipe,

it's the big hero moments of your pie.

This is the philosophy behind easy fancy cooking.

Just because something is store-bought

or canned doesn't mean you can't treat it right.

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The base of this tart is store-bought puff pastry.

Puff pastry is one of the few ingredients that,

don't even try to make it at home.

It's just not worth it.

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The secret to working with puff pastry

is to try and keep things as cold as possible.

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Thaw your pastry overnight in the fridge,

and then use it while it's still cold.

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If the pastry warms up,

the fat gets warm and melty,

and it's going to leak out of your pastry when you bake it,

and it's also just really messy to handle.

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In professional kitchens,

you have something called a docker,

which is like a paint roller, but with spikes,

it looks very painful,

but that's what you use to roll across pastry.

But at home, you can just use a fork.

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At first glance,

you wouldn't guess that half or more of this galette

is pre-made or store-bought.

But deployed judiciously,

store-bought ingredients can be nothing less

than smart cooking.

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[egg cracks]

[whisk clanging]

Shout out to my pastry brush,

which is the only pastry brush I use.

It's a Japanese goat hair brush.

The bristles are super soft.

They don't fall out, and it's just so delicate.

It's such a joy to use.

It looks so nice and artistic.

A lot of pastries are brushed with egg wash

on top because it browns and makes things look glossy.

Here, though, it's acting as a glue for my almonds.

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The almonds are here for two purposes,

it adds visual contrast, and also it adds some texture.

They also pick up the flavor

from the almond cream and amplify it.

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I bake the tart at two temperatures:

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higher in the beginning to set the pastry,

then lower to fully bake through

and make it super crisp.

[pan clanks]

While the galette cools,

I'm going to make the honey butter that goes on top.

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This honey butter is similar to the neutral gel

that most pastry shops will brush

on top of their fruit tarts.

If you've ever seen one looking very glazey and shiny,

it has neutral gel on it.

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[pan clanks and slides]

[paper rustling]

The honey butter adds this glossy element to the very top.

Again, putting the fancy in our galette.

This will give you that glossy sheen,

but with extra flavor from the honey.

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And the final flourish,

as always, with everything I bake,

is a hit of flaky salt.

Cutting into the pastry,

you can hear that audible crunch

[galette crunches]

from the pastry, from the almonds.

The pears are offering very little resistance.

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I love serving this with ice cream.

If you can find ginger ice cream,

that's over the top,

but vanilla will do.

[galette crunches] [fork clanging]

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[galette crunches]

I still maintain that it's best for breakfast,

but serving it with a scoop of ice cream

makes it perfect for a dinner party.

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