Apricot Galette with Elderflower Whipped Cream

I’ve always had to laugh at myself and my funny personality combination of traditional and carefree!! My parents were two self-avowed ‘hippies’. They lived the free~flow~free life of the sixties, but once they had children, the importance of good manners seemed to filter a bit into their parenting! They instilled some pretty Old-World etiquette into myself and my siblings! Our pleases & thank yous were recited as if by rote, and we were obliged to hand-write thank you cards after a gift or party invite. One of the most important rules my mom taught me was to never show up to someone’s home empty handed! Whether for a playdate, party, or chat over tea, she was ready with a plate of Mandel bread or other treats!

I’ve always followed that same rule. A small gift or token is not only polite, it’s an age-old custom! The gesture may seem a bit antiquated in the much more casual world that we live in today, but let’s be honest – who doesn’t like getting a little gift!?

Hostess gifts don’t have to be complicated; to make my life easier, I try to stay prepared – I have jars of homemade jam ready to be tied up with a bow, and some bottles of wine at the ready, if it suits the occasion. Even a small bouquet from our garden, can be the perfect thing to present at a friend’s door!

However, if there’s time, I do love to bring something baked. I’ll whip up some blueberry muffins for a playdate, or a quick coffee cake if it’s just me & the girls.

Lucky for me (and everyone reading this!) I’ve recently developed my best “impromptu baking” dessert ever – It’s gorgeous, delicious, and low maintenance, and the messier it is, the better it looks! Any guesses?

If you guessed galette, let’s be friends! Galettes can be sweet or savory, but they are one of the most simple pastry-based desserts around! You need one round of pie dough and the fruit filling of your choice.

No fussy crimping or trimming here, just fold the edges inward, and you have an amazing quick pie that looks like you were working for ages in the kitchen!

This is a sweet apricot galette with a sourdough butter crust, topped with pillowy elderflower whipped cream. If you don’t have any sourdough scrap around, no stress! Just use a traditional Butter Crust Recipe.

For the filling, I’ve mixed fresh apricots with dried apricots, sugar, and St~Germain Liquor to create an amazingly bright, flavorful, and floral-scented apricot galette. A combination of almond flour, sugar, and a bit of AP flour is placed into the rolled out pie dough to absorb all of those sweet juices under the cooked fruits, while keeping the crust itself nice and flaky. The sourdough pastry is tender and the elderflower whipped cream topping reinforces the floral apricots. The end result is a galette that feels like it belongs in a French patisserie!

Pretty as a Summer garden, and baked in an hour, any host or hostess would be thrilled to be presented with this beautiful Apricot Galette!

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Apricot Galette with Elderflower Whipped Cream

serves 8

for the crust

2 2/3 cup AP flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 pinch of salt

1 cup of cold butter, sliced into chunks

1/4 cup sourdough starter scrap

2 tablespoons cold water

*If you don’t have sourdough starter handy, use a butter crust found HERE

for the apricot filling

6 fresh apricots, washed & pitted

1 cup dried apricots, sliced into strips

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup St~Germain

1/2 cup + 4 tablespoons sugar, separated

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons AP flour

2 tablespoons almond flour

pinch of salt

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

raw sugar for dusting, optional

for the elderflower whipped cream:

1/2 cup heavy cream, cold

1 1/2 tablespoons St~Germain

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

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to make the crust:

In the bowl of a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse several times to mix.

Next, begin adding the chunks of butter to the flour mix, pulsing between additions. You want to incorporate each chunk separately, until you get a sandy texture.

Now pour in your 1/4 cup of sourdough starter, and drizzle in the cold water, as you give the mix several long pulses. You want to blend the dough just until it comes together.

Dump the dough out onto a floured board and work into a rough ball. Split into to portions and shape each into a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for 1 hour. You can freeze the extra dough or make two galettes!

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for the apricot filling:

In a small saucepan, bring 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1/4 cup St~Germain, and 1/4 cup of water to a boil, while whisking occasionally. Let boil for 2 minutes and place off the heat. This is your sugar syrup.

While the syrup is heating, cut the dried apricots into strips, and place into a heatproof bowl. Once the syrup is finished, carefully pour over the dried apricots to rehydrate them slightly. Let cool.

Pit your fresh apricots and slice. Add to a medium sized bowl.

Grab a fine-mesh sieve and place over a small bowl. Pour the rehydrated apricots through the sieve, catching the extra syrup in the bowl. Reserve the syrup for brushing the top of the finished galette.

Add the rehydrated apricots to the fresh apricots, then mix in 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, and 1/2 cup of sugar.

In another small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons of almond flour, & a pinch of salt. Reserve.

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to assemble:

Preheat your oven to 400F and reserve a large cookie sheet.

Place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface, and flour lightly, along with your rolling pin.

Roll out your pie dough into a rough circle, about 1/8 of an inch thick.

Next, spread your flour/almond meal mix into the center of the dough and pat to spread out slightly.

Add the apricot filling on top and spread, leaving about two inches of the pie dough as a border (this will be folded over).

Begin to fold sections of the pie dough edges towards the center, slightly overlapping as you go. Be careful not to tear the dough near the bottom, as you’ll spring a leak, and all of your delicious juices will escape! (so if you do tear the dough, patch it up!) Gently press and pinch as you fold the edges.

Next, an egg wash: Whisk 1 egg and a small amount of milk in a bowl. Brush onto the pie dough with a pastry brush, to help seal any small leaks and create a lovely glossy finish once baked. Sprinkle the pie dough with some raw sugar to finish.

Transfer the galette, on the parchment paper, onto your cookie sheet.

Bake for 1 hour, until the center is bubbling.

Let cool to room temperature before serving.

*Optional Glaze; Reduce the leftover sugar syrup on medium high heat.

Boil until large bubbles form and pull from the heat. Gently brush the syrup over the baked and cooled galette, fruit filling only.

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for the whipped cream:

Place the heavy cream into a large bowl and begin to whisk vigorously.

Once the cream begins to show soft peaks, add the sugar and St~Germain.

Continue to whisk until you get fluffy high peaks.

Serve on top of the galette.