A galette will always be one of those pastry recipes that wows. No matter what ingredients you choose to fill that flakey pastry dough with, it always looks impressive and gorgeous in an unfinished way. But don’t let it’s beauty intimidate you. A galette also happens to be one of the easiest pastries to make! With summer winding down, I’m sharing this easy cherry galette recipe to help you finish off all of those fresh end of summer cherries!

A galette is basically a much simpler version of a pie. It’s made using only one crust on the bottom and the edges are folded up to prevent the juices of the filling from spilling out. The edges can be crimped, pressed, cut into fancy edges, or just simply folded up, like the one I made. It doesn’t have to look pretty. The filling does all of the work for you and makes this dessert shine, also giving people a sneak peek of what they’re about to dive into.

You can choose to serve it as a dessert, but since this pastry is filled with fruit, I like to justify that it’s totally breakfast appropriate. Call it what you want, but you can choose to fill a galette with a variety of different ingredients, sweet or savory. I’m sure you guys can guess that I tend to lean towards the sweeter side of things 😉

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own:

Crust –

• 1 1/3 Cups Flour
• 1/2 Tsp. Salt
• 3 1/2 Ounces Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces
• 4 Tbsp. Ice Cold Water
• 1 Large Egg
• Sugar for Dusting

(If you prefer, you can also choose to use a store bought pie crust, instead of making one from scratch).

Filling – 

• 3 Cups Cherries, stemmed, pitted, and cut in half
• 1/3 Cup Sugar
• 1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
• 1 1/2 Tsp. Lemon Juice
• 1 Tsp. Lemon Zest
• 1/8 Tsp. Salt

In a food processor, add the salt and flour, and pulse until combined.

Add the butter to the mixture and pulse until the mixture is crumbly.

With the food processor running, slowly add the water to the mixture until it has formed a ball.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and flatten into a disc shape. Allow the dough to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.

Preheat your over to 400 degrees.

Line a sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice lemon zest, and salt. Stir well and set aside while you roll out the dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it’s about 12 inches in diameter.

Transfer the rolled dough onto the parchment lined baking sheet.

Spread the cherry mixture onto the dough, leaving about 2 inches or so around the edges. Fold the excess dough up and over the cherry mixture until you have a tightly formed tart shape.

Pour any remaining cherry liquid over the cherry mixture.

Whisk the egg and lightly brush the egg wash over the top of the dough. Sprinkle with a light dusting of sugar.

Bake the galette for 10 minutes then lower the temperature to 375 and continue to bake for an additional 25 minutes. The dough should be firm, lightly browned, and the cherry mixture should be bubbling.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit before serving.

Top with ice cream and enjoy!

This easy cherry galette recipe is the perfect way to enjoy the last little bit of summer weather, and summer produce, before we dive head first into all things fall, but I do think a caramel apple galette sounds pretty heavenly for next month too. 😉 Once you start making these easy pastries, you won’t want to stop!