Rhubarb and Almond Frangipane-Galette
I first created this recipe for my Spring Series 2023 to mark the end of the forced rhubarb season. I make a variation on it year-round though, using apples, pears, berries and cherries - just whichever fruit is best at the time. It has thin, crisp pastry edges and a squidgy centre - just delicious.
Serves 6
Pastry
150 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
pinch of sea salt flakes
85 g cold butter (salted or unsalted), cut into cubes
4 stems forced Yorkshire rhubarb, cut into 2cm lengths
demerara sugar for sprinkling
a few splashes of milk for washing
Almond Frangipane
50 g ground almonds
30 g butter (salted or unsalted), soft/at room temperature
70 g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
pinch of sea salt flakes
2 tablespoons cream or milk (ideally whole/full-fat)
Rub the flour, salt and butter together in a large bowl, using your index and middle fingers and thumbs, until you’ve got large, rough flakes. (Don’t worry if some of the butter remains quite chunky.) Stir in a few splashes of cold water until the mixture is combined to a dough.
When the pastry has been chilling for 1 hour, preheat the oven to 180C fan (400F/gas 6). Lay a sheet of baking paper on your work surface and lightly dust it with flour. Roll out the pastry to a rough circle, around 28 cm (11 in) in diameter, on the floured paper. You can use a rolling pin or even a wine bottle to do this and don’t worry about the pastry circle being perfectly round or neat at the edges, in fact, the scruffier the shape, the better.
Transfer the pastry circle – still on the paper – to the baking tray. Using a spoon, carefully spread the frangipane over the pastry, leaving a 2-cm clear border all the way round. Cover the frangipane with the rhubarb. Rather than arranging them in neat rows, I prefer the rhubarb to be placed randomly and rustically, but you do as you wish.
Fold the edges of the pastry inwards to slightly overlap the rhubarb, pinching it slightly to create a crust. Brush the pastry crust with milk, sprinkle over Demerara sugar on the crust and filling then bake in the preheated oven for 50–55 minutes or until golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly.
To serve, slice the galette into 6 (as you would a pizza).
This galette is best eaten on the day it’s baked, but will still taste great the following day when left covered, but out of the fridge.
