Home Diet Food Crisp-baked Blackberry Galette – Desiree Nielsen

Diet Food

Crisp-baked Blackberry Galette – Desiree Nielsen

September 9, 2023

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Looking for a delicious blackberry dessert cute enough for guests and easy enough for even a novice baker? You need this gorgeous, crisp-baked blackberry galette in your life! The rustic whole grain dough comes together easily in about 5 minutes in the food processor and you can use either fresh or frozen blackberries so it’s a great, accidentally vegan, back pocket recipe for whenever you need a treat.

blackberry galette on parchment — This gorgeous dessert is WAY simpler than it looks. Even a novice baker can do it, I promise!

I am always saying that I’m not a “baker” … which is not to say I don’t bake! I LOVE simple bakes, whether it’s a cozy rhubarb crisp, buttery vegan snowball cookies or my (almost) famous breakfast cookies.

So, with all the muffins, cookies and even cakes in my life (you’ve got to the try blackberry pie bars in Good For Your Gut!) it’s just that I don’t do Baking, emphasis on the capital B. Like I’ve never made a croissant or pie from scratch in my life. But I do make galettes…LOTS of galettes.

It’s the perfect vehicle for whatever fruit is in season – yes, I love fruit for dessert…and not just because I’m a dietitian! – but that you can also whip up in the dead of winter with frozen fruit and inject a little sunshine into your day.

A while back, I discovered a simple food processor tart dough recipe from Ina Garten and it launched an obsession that started with my gorgeous pear tart and who knows where it will end? If in a few years time, you see me putting mac and cheese in a galette, you have my full permission to tell me to cool it!

I just get really excited about plant-based recipes that show people how simple – and delicious – eating this way can be. That whole grains can be craveable. And that a little sugar goes a long way.

Another bonus: you can save yourself a LOT of money by learning a few simple baking recipes that you can customize with whatever fruit you have on hand…because have you seen the price of a nice pie these days???

And if you’ve gotten to this point and are asking yourself, what the heck is a galette? Here ya go:

A galette is a rustic, free form tart that’s essentially like pie for beginners…or people too busy to fuss with pie dough. In France, there are multiple types of desserts known as galettes but here in North America, a galette refers to a sweet or savoury tart filled with fruit or vegetables.

And this galette makes a wonderful, not-too-sweet, dessert that works just as well for brunch or breakfast. In fact, my favourite part of making this blackberry galette is waking up in the morning and enjoying it with a cup of coffee.

So grab some blackberries, and let the flour fly! I promise you, you cannot mess this up: it’s always crisp, with no soggy bottom and absolutely delicious.

Grab your ingredients for this incredible blackberry galette

You’re making two very simple components for this dessert: a simple vegan galette dough in the food processor and a filling that’s essentially blackberries with a couple of pantry items like cornstarch and sugar.

blackberries in bowl with flour and butter — That’s right: just 8 ingredients (and that’s including salt!) to make a beautiful galette

Just 5 ingredients for whole grain galette dough:

Whole wheat or spelt flour: I love adding whole grain flours to baking because they add a ton of colour, flavour and nutrition.
All purpose flour: a little standard flour makes this dough effortless to work with…but you could totally use all whole wheat flour if you prefer! Cake and pastry works too.
Vegan baking sticks: without a doubt, Earth Balance baking sticks perform best in this recipe. Not sponsored, just a fact! Others, like Melt sticks are just too melty for pastry. Miyoko’s butter would work well too if you want a more whole food option and don’t mind the price and apparently Becel Plant is good too but my local shop doesn’t have it.
Sugar and salt: just a tiny amount of sugar and salt for flavour balance and browning!

For the easy blackberry galette filling:

Blackberries: I love using all blackberries, but you could absolutely use a mixture of blackberries and blueberries, peaches or even apples. You can use fresh or frozen berries, and in the recipe card, I’ve got instructions on how to thaw berries.
Cornstarch: cornstarch will help to thicken the blackberry juices as the galette cooks so you don’t end up with a soggy galette.
Sugar: how much sugar you add is up to you. Taste your blackberries first, and if they’re super sweet, just add 1-2 tablespoons for flavour enhancement. If they’re tart, use a full ¼ – 1/3 cup of cane sugar or your favourite granulated sugar replacement.
Flavour boosters: I always use a pinch of salt and anything else you want is up to you! Lemon or orange zest is beautiful. A teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves would be great. Or a sprinkle of cinnamon works too. Make it your own!

How to make this rustic blackberry galette

Yes, you can make a beautiful blackberry galette with only 15 minutes of hands on time! Yes, you need some extra downtime for chilling and baking but that’s almost entirely hands off so you can do other things. Like laundry. Or Netflix. Just don’t forget to set a timer!

galette dough in food processor — Pulse the flours, salt, sugar and butter until sandy. Then drizzle in water, while pulsing until dough comes together like this.

hand sprinkling flour on dough — Pulse the flours, salt, sugar and butter until sandy. Then drizzle in water, while pulsing until dough comes together like this.

Step One: Mix the dough. Start by adding the flours, diced vegan butter, sugar and salt to the food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles sand. Then drizzle the water in while pulsing. It’s okay if your dough looks a little too wet, we can fix that later, but if it looks too dry? Drizzle in more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Step Two: Chill the dough. Turn the dough onto a floured surface. If dough looks wet, add a good sprinkle of flour to the top, then give it just a few kneads until it looks like a firm, cohesive, non-sticky dough that you can form into a disk. You can add more flour as needed, like I said, you won’t mess it up! Wrap that disk in food wrap and chill for an hour.

hands rolling dough — roll out dough on parchment paper into a roughly round or oblong shape, about 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick

galette dough on pan — roll out dough on parchment paper into a roughly round or oblong shape, about 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick

Step Three: Prep the filling. When the hour is almost up, preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Rinse and dry the blackberries and gently toss with sugar, cornstarch, and any desired flavour boosters in a bowl.

Step Four: Roll and fill the galette. Take the dough out of the fridge and place on a piece of parchment that’s big enough to cover your rimmed baking sheet. Then roll out into a roughly oblong or circle-like shape until your dough is about ¼ inch (½ cm) thick. It doesn’t have to be perfect! Transfer the parchment with the dough onto your baking sheet. Add the blackberry filling to the dough and spread evenly, leaving about 2 inches around the edges.

Step Five: Fold edges and bake! You’re going to fold the dough over the edges of the filling and then bake for 45-55 minutes until the crust is golden brown and crisp and the filling is bubbly and jammy. Some liquid may escape, that’s normal! Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving to help the blackberries set and avoid burning your tongue.

blackberries on dough — place blackberry mixture into centre of dough, leaving about 2 inches around edge

hand folding galette crust — place blackberry mixture into centre of dough, leaving about 2 inches around edge

Tips, Tricks and Substitutions

This galette will keep well on the counter, covered in food wrap, for up to a day or in the fridge, tightly wrapped for up to three days.
As is typical with a galette, some of the juices may escape and harden on the pan. For this reason, always cover your baking sheet with parchment for easy clean up! Want to avoid this? Rolling it slightly thicker, and leaving a bit extra dough to fold over helps.
Make it your own! You can totally substitute half the blackberries for peaches, nectarines, apricots, blueberries or apples if you’re into it…and no, I haven’t tested this one gluten free yet!

More simple vegan tarts and galettes