Recipe: Strawberry Galette with Basil Cream

Recipe Source: Martha Stewart Living, May 2008 p. 47: "Dessert of the Month." 

 

While I do subscribe to Martha Stewart Living, I don't tend to cook a lot of the recipes I find there.  I'm not sure why that should be.  While they always look wonderful on the page, or at least the ones that I flag look wonderful, I never think to go back to them when I'm making up my weekly shopping list.  The desserts and sweet recipes also seem very complicated and intimidating to me, who rarely measures and has difficulty with any baked goods more complicated than chocolate chip cookies.  This recipe was different.  For one thing, I've been trying to expand my horizons in terms of baking, and trying even complicated recipes is part of that process.  For another, it was for a galette.  Galettes are easier somehow than cakes.  I don't know why this should be, but it is.  It involved strawberries, which are a wonderful and tasty treat for me.  Finally, there was the basil (how exciting - basil with strawberries!  I know it sounds basic, but I'd never tried it before.) and the mascarpone in the cream.  Mascarpone makes everything better, or so I believed as an Italian-American child growing up in a heavily Italian-American neighborhood.  I decided, after reading this issue, that the strawberry galette was going to be my very next baking project. 

 

I did make a couple of changes, of course.  I probably used a little more basil than was strictly necessary: it was going bad quickly and so I didn't measure, I just used what was left of the useable leaves.  I also used my Fearless Sweet Shortcrust Pastry recipe: I've been working with it a lot, it's what I know and what I feel most comfortable with.  I used turbinado sugar because I really prefer the flavor.  Finally, I omitted the fried basil garnish.  If I told my husband that there was a fried garnish I think he'd probably be sick.  He certainly wouldn't eat the dish!  Ultimately, I was pretty happy with how this dish came out.  The berries were slightly overcooked - I need to address the cooking time, because while they were delicious they were also somewhat discolored.  The basil cream was delightful, so much so that I cheerfully ate the leftovers with a spoon later on. 

 

Strawberry Galette with Basil Cream (serves 8; approx. $1.86/serving)

3/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 bunch of basil (approx.; see notes above)

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

3/4 cup mascarpone cheese

1 recipe Fearless Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

1 lb strawberries, hulled

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Equipment:

• Baking sheet
• Rolling pin
• Saucepan or pot
• Pastry brush
• 2 mixing bowls
• Zip-top plastic bag
• Hand mixer or stand mixer

1. First, start the cream.  Combine the cream, the basil and the 2 tablespoons sugar in a pot.
2. Warm the cream gently and stir until the sugar dissolves, maybe four minutes. 
3. Pour the cream into an airtight container (or just cover with plastic wrap) and chill for 1 - 2 hours, until just before serving. 
4. Now make the galette.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
5. Slice the strawberries lengthwise into 1/4" slices.  Add them to the mixing bowl.
6. Add 1/4 cup sugar and the cornstarch and toss well.
7. Your Fearless Sweet Shortcrust Pastry should already be in the zip-top bag, but if it isn't, find one and put it inside at about the middle. 
8. Roll out the pastry in the bag until it pretty much fills the bag. 
9. Using clean scissors, cut the bag along the side seams.  Turn the dough out onto the baking sheet and remove the plastic.
10. Arrange the strawberry slices in concentric circles on the dough, starting about 1" from the edge. 
11. Fold the edge over the berries. 
12. Whisk together the yolk and water.  Brush the outer crust with this mixture and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
13. Dot the berries with the butter.
14. Bake 40 - 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden. 
15. Just before serving, empty the chilled cream into the second mixing bowl (maybe the bowl of your stand mixer, if using.)
16. Add the mascarpone and beat until medium peaks form. 
17. Slice the galette into slices and serve each slice with a generous dollop (or more - it's really good!) of the basil cream. 

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