The Washington apricot season runs from June to August. The month of August pretty much exclusively belongs to Washington. But the Michigan apricot season runs a little later, with some late varieties ripening in September. Nothing better than a pairing of almond paste and sweet late-harvest stone fruit with crunchy pastry. Except you will make this in under an hour!
You’ll Need
1/2 cup almonds, blanched
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 large egg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3-4 ounces almond paste
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch of kosher salt
1 tablespoon cake flour
Flour, for dusting your work surface
1 package of frozen or homemade pie dough
12-14 apricots halved, pitted, or other stone fruit, sliced 1 1/2-2 inches thick
Here’s How
Step 1: Preheat to 425’F degrees. In the bowl of your food processor, pulse almonds and sugar until almonds are finely ground. Add the egg and pulse to combine. Add butter, vanilla, almond extracts, salt, and flour; continue to pulse until the almond cream is smooth.
Step 2: Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface until a 14-inch ¼”–⅛” thick round. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread almond paste over the pastry, staying 1-2 inches from the dough’s edge.
Step 3: Place apricots and cut sides down on almond paste. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Fold over the edges of the pastry to make a 1-2 inch border around all sides.
Step 4: Bake Galette until pastry is golden brown, about 15–20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325’F and continue to bake until edges are deep golden brown and fruit is cooked through, softened, and bubbling with syrup for about 15 minutes.
Step 5: Remove and cool slightly; serve with ice cream& dust with powdered sugar and sliced toasted almonds!
Make-Ahead: Prepare the almond paste up to two days in advance. Keep airtight in the cooler until ready to use.
Variations: Use any stone fruit.
Chef Gigi Gaggero 