Stone Fruit Galette with Whipped Crème Fraîche Cream

Stone Fruit Galette with Whipped Crème Fraîche Cream
Makes 2 (8-inch tarts) Each tart serves 6.

For the dough:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, chopped to the size of a small grape (1/2 inch), and kept chilled
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1/3 cup ice water

For the tarts:
2 pounds ripe unpeeled plums, nectarines or apricots (about 5-6 large plums or 4-5 regular nectarines)
3 tablespoons sliced or slivered almonds, or 2 tablespoons almond meal
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (recipe for whipped cream below)

1. Make the dough: While you are setting up, place your chopped butter in a small bowl in the freezer. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Using your fingertips, quickly work half of the chilled butter into the flour until it becomes the texture of coarse oatmeal. Work in the rest of the butter until the biggest pieces are the size of large blueberries.

2. In stages, drizzle in SOME (not all) of the ice water and toss. Stop adding water when the dough comes together, feels damp, and there are still a few bits of dry flour at the bottom of the bowl. (Sometimes this means leaving up to 1 tablespoon behind. The dough should be ropy and rough. Gather the dough together. Do NOT play with it too much. The faster you work to keep the butter cold, and the less you touch the dough once the water has been added, the more likely that your finial dough will be flaky and crispy - exactly how you want it. Divide the dough  into 2 balls. Flatten them into discs and wrap each well in plastic. Set in the freezer for 15 minutes or so. (Ideal is to make the dough the day before and let it sit in the refrigerator.)

3. Remove 1 dough ball from the freezer. Place a long piece of plastic wrap (roughly 16 inches) down on a counter top. Place a ball of dough on it. Flatten the ball slightly. Place another 16-inch piece of plastic wrap over the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough between the plastic wrap to 1/8-inch-thick. Pull the top most plastic wrap from the dough between rolls, place it back over the dough, and flip the dough over from time to time to keep the rolled out dough smooth. Once it about 1/8 inch thick throughout and smooth, STOP! You don’t want to overwork the dough. Place it on a small baking sheet and set it in the freezer while you work on the filling. Repeat with the remaining dough half (if you want to bake it now. The dough freezes well wrapped in plastic.) Note: The shape of the disk will decide the shape of your galette: oval or circle. Remember, these are rough tarts. They should look imperfect! However, you can press a bit on the edges as you roll to smooth them out.

4. Prepare the tarts: Place an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 400°F.

5. Slice the stone fruit in half through the center. Twist the two halves so that one side releases from the pit. Remove the pit from the other half with a paring knife if needed. Lay the fruit halves flat-side down on a cutting board, and slice them into 1/3-inch thick crescents; set aside

6. If using sliced or slivered almonds, crush the almonds either in a mortar and pestle or using a rolling pin or mallet. If using a mallet, place them in a small sealable plastic bag, seal, and bang the almonds until ground. In a small bowl, whisk together the almonds with half of the sugar (¼ cup) and 2 tablespoons flour. 

7. Now it’s time to work fast: Place the chilled dough rounds on a large, parchment-lined baking sheet. 

8. Leaving a 2-inch border, sprinkle the mixture evenly over both tarts. Arrange the fruit slices, overlapping one over the other, in concentric circles (or lines) over the sugar mixture. Top the fruits of both tarts with the remaining ¼ cup of sugar (2 tablespoons per tart,) leave about a teaspoon of sugar per tart, to sprinkle on the folded crust edges.

9. Fold the border over, crimping to make a pastry rim around the fruit. Brush the rim with melted butter and drizzle with the extra sugar. Bake in the oven until the crust browns, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature with, if you choose, whipped (RECIPE BELOW) or ice cream. – Adapted from Jacques Pepin.

Whipped Crème Fraîche Cream
Make about 2 cups

1 cup cold heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)

1. Place the cold heavy cream in a large bowl. Use a large whisk to whip air into it. Continue to whip the cream, gradually adding in the sugar as you beat it, until soft peaks form, about 3 to 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in the crème fraîche, then continue to whip to stiff peaks. Keep the whipped cream chilled until ready to use. Adapted from Nancy Silverton via Food52.