Summer, with its berries, 90-degree afternoons, and sunny mornings is winding down.
In case you didn't know.
I'm in slight denial of this. Yep, I'm also a normal person. At any other time in life I'd welcome the change, what with autumn being my favorite season and all. But this fall is different. It's likely my last one at home, before I turn 18 and get out of here.
I won't be going back to my old seasonal job next year, this was my older sister's last time coming home for the summer, and I'll be dying slightly without the beloved stand mixer. I'm touring my prospective college in a couple weeks with so many majors in mind, but with no idea what I'd do with any of them. What the crap happened to my life?
Right now I'm just trying to take things one step at a time, because otherwise I'm pretty sure I'd keel over. You can only take so much at once!
But enough about all that, especially since you'll probably hearing a lot more about it as the school year passes. I think too much, and I feel a wee bit too deeply. Those are two things that don't come in handy very often. Not at all!
So whatever, I'm a sensitive soul. I hope that somehow things fall into place. Ya hear that, gravity?
I can't think of a better way to kiss summer goodbye than with a few raspberry galettes. It's a rustic pastry that reminds me of why I love autumnal things, and when stuffed with fresh raspberries they also retain a bit of summer's sweetness. I'm happy the Sundays with Joy schedule let me work in just a bit of summer before fall takes over.
Caramel apples, and senior year, I'm comin' atcha!
Mini Raspberry Galettes with Lemon Streusel
Yield: 8 mini galettes
Ingredients for the topping:
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup flour
- Pinch of salt
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
Ingredients for the crust:
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup cold water
Ingredients for the egg wash:
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup sugar
Ingredients for the filling:
- 2 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
- 1/4 cup sugar (use more or less as needed, depending on how sweet your berries are)
Directions:
To make the topping, place the lemon zest and sugar on a cutting board. Rub together with a bench scraper or the back of a spoon for about 2-3 minutes, sugar will be very fragrant. Whisk together the flour, salt, and lemon zest sugar in a medium bowl. Add butter and, working quickly, rub the butter into the flour with you fingers until mixture resembles a coarse meal (take care not to overwork and melt the butter). Some butter bits will be the size of oats, others the size of small pebbles. Place in a small bowl in the refrigerator until ready to use.
To make the crust, in the same medium bowl used to prepare the topping, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter to the mixture and use your fingers to incorporate, following the same rules as described in the topping (Until mixture resembles a coarse meal, etc.). Create a well in the center of the bowl and add the water. Use a fork to stir the ingredients together, moistening all of the flour mixture. Turn onto a lightly-floured work surface. Knead 5-10 times, just enough to bring it together into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove the chilled dough from fridge and use a knife to cut the disk into 8 even wedges. Shape each of the wedges into a sphere and place them on a lightly-floured work surface. Working with one sphere at a time, gently roll them out into rough 4 1/2-5 inch circles (Don't worry about perfection here, galettes are supposed to look very rustic.). Place 4 completed circles on each baking sheet.
For the egg wash, beat the egg. Lightly brush the top of each round with egg wash. Place about 1/3 cup of berries in the center of each circle. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup sugar over the berries. Remove the topping from the fridge and distribute evenly over the berries. Fold the dough up around the filling, pinching and crimping as you go. Brush each crust lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake galettes for 10-20 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. Allow to cool on the pan for 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm; vanilla ice cream or whipped cream is recommended, but the galettes are also just fine on their own.
Best served the day made, but they will also last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat, wrapped in foil, in a 300 degree F oven for 15 minutes.
Sources: adapted from Joy the Baker's Cookbook
