Pear, Plum and Port Galette

Directions

1. Sift flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
2. Remove your butter from the freezer (you want it to stay as cold as possible, so leave it in the freezer up until you need it.) and grate it into your mixing bowl.
3. With your fingertips and without compacting your mixture, toss the curls of butter through the flour until they're coated.
4. Create a well in your flour/butter mix and pour in the cold water 1/3 at a time, bringing the dough together gently with your fingertips (again, no aggressive squeezing or kneading) after each third is added. You won't always need the whole 150ml, it is dependant on many factors, so keep an eye on your dough, it doesn't require any more water when it has all come together and the bowl is left clean, you don't want soo much water that the dough is sticky, or so little that the dough crumbles when small amounts of pressure is applied.
5. When the dough has come together, remove it from the mixing bowl, gently form it into a somewhat flattened ball shape, wrap in glad wrap, and store in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.
6. Core/pit and slice your fruit (you can also peel them if desired) and place in bowl. Add lemon juice and caster sugar and toss your fruit until they're evenly coated. Set aside.
7. Place 1/4 cup of white port into a saucepan and place over a medium heat, swirling the pot occasionally to ensure it doesn't burn, the glaze is ready when it begins to smell sweat and darkens slightly in colour. Set aside.
8. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
9. Remove puff pastry from the fridge, unwrap and place on a lightly floured benchtop. Lightly flour a rolling pin (or in my case an empty lime cordial bottle) and slowly roll out your pastry. The trick is to do it gently and gradually, applying too much pressure will cause the edges your working to crack, and keep an eye on the surface of the pastry to ensure it's not sticking to your rolling pin, if it starting to stick, apply more flour to your rolling pin.
10. Once your pastry is rolled out to approximately 4 - 5mm thick, cut your desired tart shape. I used a medium sized dinner plate and ran a sharp knife around the edge to achieve a perfect circle.
11. To create the taller edges, fold roughly 1cm of the outside edge of your tart inward, if your tart is also circular, gently pinch and fold it at roughly 1inch intervals to ensure a neat finish.
12. Drain any excess liquid from your fruit and arrange inside your puff pastry frame as desired. I layered mine, but your arrangement can be as abstract as you'd like!
13. Whisk your egg wash ingredients together (egg and milk or water) in a small bowl, and using a pastry, paint it onto the frame of your tart. This will ensure a golden finish on your pastry.
14. Place your tart into a pre-heated oven for 25 - 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
15. While still warm, using a pastry brush, paint your white port caramel over the top of your fruit, and serve warm with a dollop of double cream, whipped cream or ice cream.

Tip

If you reallyyy want, you can use pre-made sheets of puff pastry from your local supermarket, and I won’t hold that against you... but at least give it one go! If I can pull it off, so can you!

See it on my blog

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