Mini Chocolate Cherry Galettes
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Enjoy these freeform Mini Chocolate Cherry Galettes filled with dark chocolate and juicy fresh cherries filling, warm from the oven with a dollop of whipped cream. These would be a perfect end of summer treat.
Fresh cherries are not something you can find so easily here in Indonesia. They are mostly sold at high-end supermarkets here with high price tags. In addition, they are not commonly eaten like any other berries. I was surprised to find a pack of them in my refrigerator and I could hardly pass up making something with them.
There were not that many cherries, so I thought of making something in mini-sized instead. My first impression is to make pie or tart to highlight the freshness of the cherries. Then, these mini galettes just came out as I was feeling lazy to make complicated things. They are as simple as pie dough wrapped around fresh fruit, but with quite a bit less effort.
Sometimes making a homemade pie from scratch can be a daunting task. Since I felt like to simplify and make things easier, I am sharing these no-fuss rustic cherry galettes. To make these taste more complicated and interesting, I added chopped bittersweet chocolate which was a great addition to these cherry galettes.
I fell in love with the first bite. The combination of bittersweet chocolate and sweet-sour juicy cherries really complement each other. You should try adding a dollop of fresh whipped cream or a scoop ice cream for extra deliciousness.
What Is Galette?
Galette is a French term that refers to a variety of flat, round cakes, usually made with flaky pastry dough. The term is actually very broad and can actually encompass a wide variety of different desserts. Despite that, the term galette typically refers to a free form tart that is made with a flaky pastry crust.
These tarts are not molded in tart pans. Instead, the filling is placed directly on top of a sheet of rolled pastry. Then, the edges of that pastry are folded up around the filling. Galettes can be sweet or savory, but it is more common for galettes to be filled with fruit, chocolate, or other sweet ingredients.
How to Make Mini Chocolate Cherry Galettes
Mini Chocolate Cherry Galettes are basically an open-faced chocolate cherry pie. There is no worrying about torn dough or about crimping the edges of the crust and making it pretty. This is basically a rustic look crust that is folded over a portion of chocolate and cherry filling. Moreover, these do not require a special pan and just a nice flat surface for baking.
1. Make the crust
Galette dough is very much like a pie dough. It starts with the combination of flour, a little sugar, salt, cold butter, and just enough cold water to bring things together. When it comes to pie dough, it is important to keep the butter and water as cold as possible to get that truly flaky, buttery crust. Once you have rolled out your pie dough, those distinct bits of butter will steam as the dough bakes, creating pockets of air that puff up into layers.
It also means that if you can avoid using your hands to avoid melting the butter. For a quick pie crust, you can pulse all of the ingredients into a food processor until dough forms. If you are making by hand, I recommend using a pastry cutter or also known as a pastry blender to make that flake achievable. I used a pastry cutter in place of my hand, to cut the butter into the flour until they turn into small evenly bits of butter. Then, add ice water little by little until dough forms.
We need to chill the dough again in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Chilling the dough before rolling it out allows the present gluten strands to settle down and relax. This makes the dough easier to roll out and cuts down the shrinking during the baking process. Chilling also redistributes its water content, increasing the moisture and the buttery mouthfeel.
2. Making the filling
The filling could not be easier to make. I use bitter-sweet chocolate bar or chips with a minimum 50% cocoa to get that bitter, sour, and yet fruity taste that compliments well with the sweet and sour fresh cherries. For the chocolate, simply chopped it finely and sprinkle on the flatten dough.
For the cherry, mix fresh pitted cherries with sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and a bit of cornstarch to thicken. Make the fruit filling at the last minute. Otherwise, the sugar will draw out the cherry juices, making assembly messier.
3. Assemble
This recipe makes 4 mini galettes. When you are ready to assembly, take out the dough from the refrigerator and divide the dough into 4 evenly. Make them into small balls or tubes in shape to make sure they turn into circles after being rolled. Take one out and keep the other three into the refrigerator to keep them cold.
Simply roll the dough thinly. Mine is more or less 7-inch/18cm in diameter. No need for neat edges because this what makes galettes have that rustic look. Sprinkle the chopped chocolate and cherry filling on the rolled dough, leaving the 1-inch/2.5cm edges uncovered. Make an egg wash with a lightly beaten egg. Brush the egg wash on the edges. Then, fold the edges up, overlapping them as you go.
Brush the crust on top with egg wash to make them nice golden brown after baking. Then, I sprinkled some coarse sugar on the crust for extra crunchiness. The galette should bake until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is bubbly and cooked. It took mine exactly 30 minutes.
These Mini Chocolate Cherry Galettes are anything but boring. Serve these warm topped with fresh whipped cream or ice cream or all by itself. It is a scrumptious dessert!
More Dessert Recipes
While you are here, check out also these delicious treats!
- Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake
- Matcha Tres Leches Cake
- Apple Pie Cookies
- Apple Cinnamon Puff Pastry
- Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies
- Tiramisu Layer Cake
Mini Chocolate Cherry Galettes
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Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups (250 gr) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (170 gr) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) ice water
Filling
- 1/2 cup (75 gr) bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
- 10.5 oz (300 gr) fresh cherries, pitted, halved
- 1/4 cup (50 gr) granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Egg Wash
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- Coarse sugar, optional
Instructions
Crust
- In a large bowl, mix the sifted flour, salt, and sugar together. Add the cold butter and using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal.
- Drizzle the cold water in little by little and mix with a fork. Stop adding water when the dough begins to form large clumps. You may need less or more ice water depending on your environment.
- Form the dough into a ball and put it in a plastic ziplock or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Filling
- In a medium bowl. stir together the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and vanilla until well incorporated.
Assemble
- Preheat oven to 375F/190°C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove the crust dough from the fridge. Unwrap from the plastic and cut the dough into four even segments. Roll segments of dough into balls or tubes shape. Return the 3 segments of dough you are not working with to the fridge so that they do not warm up.
- Cut 3 sides of the plastic ziplock as the working space for rolling the dough or you can use lightly floured parchment paper instead. Working one at a time, flatten each segment into a rough circle for about 8-inch/20cm in diameter with a rolling pin.
- Add a quarter of chopped chocolate and cherry filling (remove the excess liquid) on the crust, leaving an inch/2.5cm border clear around the edges.
- Brush beaten egg around the border. Carefully fold the crust edges up, overlapping them as you go. Try to ensure no cracks remain or the fruit will seep out during baking. Carefully move the galette to the prepared baking pan. Repeat with the remaining 3 segments of dough.
- Egg wash the top of the crust with the remaining beaten egg. Sprinkle with coarse sugar (optional).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
- Remove galettes to a cooling rack for a few minutes to allow the juices to settle before serving.
