Want a different fruit combination for pie? I got you! Pears and blueberries are so good together, and marrying them in a galette is such a great combination! This pear blueberry galette is sweet, buttery, and flaky and also has a touch of rosemary to intensify those fruity flavors.
So what is a galette? It’s basically just a free-form pie. It’s significantly less fussy because you don’t need to parbake with baking beans and because it’s meant to look rustic and not as “pretty” as a pie. This pear blueberry galette is a good alternative to your usual pie options because it’s not a very common fruit combo that you see people bringing to parties.
An improvement
So I’ve actually posted a recipe for a blueberry galette before. However, the pastry that I initially used for it is super buttery and flaky. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, BUT it’s not the most user-friendly pastry dough to work with, especially if you’re new to baking and just want to make easy pie. The whole point of making a galette is to scratch that pie itch but not go through all the work involved with the traditional pie. Hence, I simplified the pastry recipe to make it more repeatable by an entry-level home baker.
A variation
This pear blueberry galette is also my attempt at making a fancier blueberry pie. There’s nothing wrong with a regular blueberry pie. But, I’m always looking to explore flavor combinations that are meant to put your tastebuds through a bit of an adventure. Not only did I want to pear blueberries with pears, but I also wanted to add something that’s not typically used in desserts: herbs.
Herbs are so underrated in baking desserts, but they bring so much to the table! For this particular bake, I chose to use rosemary because it pairs really well with both pears and blueberries. It’s not enough that it tastes savory, but you will taste just enough to appreciate the nuances. I highly recommend using fresh rosemary though; the dried version will not work as well.
Tools you’ll need
Ingredients
Galette pastry
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), cold
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1 tbsp sour cream
- 1 egg yolk
- splash of heavy cream
Pear and blueberry filling
- 3 pears, sliced
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp corn starch
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- juice of 1 small lemon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven at 375 degrees.
- Pulse the flour, butter, sugar, and salt in a food processor until you get little bits of lumps of butter (about a size of a bean). Then, add the water and sour cream and pulse until the lumps are about the size of grains of rice. Just don't get your dough too "sandy." You want enough slightly bigger pieces in there to make your pastry flaky.
- Pour it out on a floured flat surface so you can squeeze it together to make a dough. Form it into a disk and wrap in plastic. Chill in the freezer while you make your filling. Don't worry, it won't freeze in that span of time.
- While the pastry dough is chilling, you can put the sliced pears and blueberries in a medium bowl and toss them in the sugar, corn starch, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, chopped rosemary, and lemon juice so that all the pieces of fruit are coated.
- Take our your chilled dough onto a floured flat surface and roll it out in a larger circle to about 1/4-inch thickness. Then, take your rolled-out pastry dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Arrange the fruit however you want in the middle of the pastry dough and leave about at least 1.5-inch pastry on the edges. Carefully fold the edges toward the center to encase the pear and blueberry filling. Slightly whisk the egg yolk and splash of heavy cream and brush it on the pastry.Â
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, making sure the pastry is a nice golden brown color.
- Let it rest. Add some lemon zest or powdered sugar on top if you want to be extra fancy. Enjoy!
// ON THE SCENE
- Back backdrop: Replica Surfaces — Biscotti Linen
- Bottom backdrop: Replica Surfaces — Toasted Marble
- Props: measuring cup, blueberries, pears, tea towel, wooden trivet