Honeyed Plum Galette
A galette is nothing more than a casually made pie with far less fussing than the variation assembled in a pie plate. Containing both butter and vegetable shortening, the dough is supple and easy to work with while having that crisp-tender texture coveted in most summer fruit pies after it’s baked. Because of the shape of a galette, the edge of each piece has a double layer of crust that conceals a pocket of fruit and gooey fruit juices. The filling of this galette celebrates the natural syrupy sweetness of ripe plums by only sweetening the fruit with honey. The honey adds a depth of sweet richness while highlighting the characteristic juicy flavor of plums. Lemon juice is added to the plums to further brighten the flavor and cardamom is added as a spiced fragrant contrast to the subtlety of the honey and plums. Lastly, a thin layer of gingersnap crumbs are spread under the fruit in the pastry to soak up some of the juices of the fruit and to add a delightful hint of ginger to the honeyed plums. After the pastry has cooled, the liquid of the fruit sets into an irresistibly smooth and thickened fruit filling that doesn’t leak out of the pastry when it’s sliced. Recipes like this one are elegant and take advantage of the phenomenal taste of ripe plums, allowing you to do relatively little work to make something truly exceptional.
