Spiced Pear Galette With Salted Maple Glaze

A galette for every season and every fruit is necessary and pear season was not going to pass me but without making a few tasty things with them.

This recipe includes a really basic galette. Simple enough and great with any type of galette whether sweet or savoury. I use it for all my galettes and if I switch things up this is still the base recipe that I either add spice to or a different grain.

The spiced pears bake up perfectly. I tend to slice them nice and thin so that they are perfectly tender when baked. I have included a note below on how to spice them without tossing them to keep the the stacks together if you want to style them on the pasty like I have.

Pears get overlooked many time as apples are way more popular when it comes to pies and baked goods in the fall season, but I have a thing for pears and I think they bake up just as good and if not better than apples (dare I say) with all the fall spices.

There are so many wonderful flavours to bake with in the fall season. Lots of spices, all things pumpkin, caramel and apple but by far my favorite thing to add flavour to fall things is maple syrup! I love how it mixes well with so many other foods I love like nuts, all sorts of fruit and it’s also the perfect glaze to pour over these spiced pears. Caramel is also fabulous but I wanted something lighter and more syrupy for this galette. I wouldn’t change my mind about it - it was soo good I had a hard time keeping myself from drinking it!

If you are looking for a delicious and fairly simple dessert for family dinner or company this is a beautiful option! Our family loved it and it perfect served with some vanilla bean ice-cream and an extra drizzle of that maple glaze!

Ingredients

For the dough

• 1-¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup corn meal (use all all purpose flour alternatively)
• ½ tsp. granulated sugar
• ¼ tsp. kosher salt
• 4-½ oz. (9 Tbs.) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
• 4 to 5 Tbs. ice water

For the filling

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 firm ripe large Bosc pears (about 950 g total), peeled, cored and sliced lengthwise in ½-inch thick wedges
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 egg yolk

Salted Maple Glaze

• 2 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ⅓ cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of flaky sea salt
• ¼ cup of toasted chopped walnuts to garnish (optional)

Directions

To use a food processor

1. Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt to combine. Add the butter pieces, and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal with some pea-size pieces.
2. Sprinkle with 4 Tbs. of the water, and pulse until the dough comes together. If too dry, add the remaining water by the teaspoon, and pulse until the dough just comes together.

To work by hand

1. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and salt.
2. Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, work the butter into the mixture until most of it resembles coarse meal with some pea-size pieces.
3. Form a well in the center.
4. Sprinkle with 4 Tbs. of the ice water.
5. Mix with your fingertips until the dough holds together enough to form a ball. If too dry, add the remaining water by the teaspoon, and mix until the dough comes together.

For both methods

1. Form the dough into a  ball, put it between two sheets of plastic wrap, and then press it into an 8-inch round.
2. Wrap it tightly in more plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days before rolling out. (Or freeze it for up to 2 months; thaw in the refrigerator overnight before rolling it out.
3. On lightly floured work surface, roll out dough into 17-inch circle; transfer dough to parchment paper–lined large rimless baking sheet.

For the Filling

1. Spread butter over pastry, leaving approximately 2-inch border; sprinkle with 1 tbsp of the sugar and the cinnamon. 
2. Toss together pears, flour, ginger, nutmeg and remaining sugar. Arrange in even layer over buttered pastry.
3. Fold over pastry edge to make 13-inch round.
4. Whisk egg and brush over pastry.
5. Bake on bottom rack of 375°F oven until golden, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool completely on pan. 

For the glaze

1. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat.
2. Let the butter bubble and brown slightly, cooking for about 2-3 minutes and stirring often.
3. Remove from heat and whisk in the remaining ingredients.
4. Drizzle over cooked galette. Serve with vanilla ice cream and toppped with chopped walnuts (if using)

Recipe Notes

If you want to keep the slices of pear stacked together for decorative purposes, slice them and move them as a unit onto a large plate or platter and then dust them with the flour, ginger, nutmeg and remaining sugar instead of tossing them before arranging the sliced pears on the pastry. This way you keep the pear slices together.

Adapted from Canadian Living