A pun by any other name would….well probably be better than this one, so there’s that. This week, I’m going to bring you what I’m going to call the “real estate agent” version of dessert bait and switch (except in a good way I promise! 🙂 ). Because I know what you’re thinking…”Amber, do you care about presentation at all? That tart looks like an epic fail on so many levels. Possibly a delicious epic fail, but any baking show worth its salt would’ve voted you off on episode one if this is the kind of presentation you deem acceptable.” But that’s where you’re wrong dear reader. It’s not a tart, it’s a galette. What’s the difference you ask? A galette looks more visually terrible! Oh wait, sorry, a galette is more “rustic” 😉 .
These (almost) literally took me five seconds to make. It would be even faster if you cut out a few steps and/ or used store-bought pie dough. Most of this you could probably make with what you currently have in your cupboard, so unexpected guests no longer need to be a source of panic. Although really, if you’re an unexpected guest, you’re lucky if I give you stale and/or expired crackers. Who doesn’t have a cell phone in this day and age? You couldn’t give me at least a five minute heads up? (also because then, if I don’t like you, it gives me a chance to tell you I’m not at home, and then quickly jump into my getaway car to bring some truth to that lie 😉 ).
If you happen to have 5 more seconds available to you, you also have the delicious option of adding some chocolate peanut butter coconut whip to these (and possibly a dash of cinnamon for zazz….you know, so that you can pretend that you’re good at/ care about presentation 😉 . )
I happen to own a whipped cream canister (and not the murderous exploding kind. I mean, I’m willing to suffer for my art (well…desserts…which is actually better than art because sweet tasty treats can possibly save you during the apocalypse. On the other hand what has real art ever done for me???!!! Except perhaps beautify spaces, and shine a spotlight on social injustice, and expand your mind by making you look at the world in a different way. But pish-tosh I say!! Those things won’t keep me warm at night! (in fact they’re likely to keep me up at night). Although I suppose desserts don’t necessarily keep you warm at night either…and could also possibly keep you up at night if they were a) poisoned (well…that might put you to sleep actually…but forever) or b) you had WAY too much and are thus suffering from heartburn (thus making them “heartwarming”? and thereby …keeping you warm at night! Dessert for the win! 😉 )).
Now what was I saying? (talk about your tangents Amber…when even YOU are forgetting what you were talking about, you’ve clearly gone too far. Tangents/Ranters anonymous is calling your name (better known by its (linguistics nerd alert!!!) portmanteau “TanRan”). “Amber!!! You’re doing it again!!!” Sorry *sheepish face* 🙂 ). Right, if you happen to also own a whipped cream canister, you can totally make this whip in that for the super simple version. Alternatively, just add some icing sugar to thicken it up a bit more and beat it by hand with an electric mixer and that should work just fine as well.
Rustic, crumble topped, fruity, creamy – what’s not to love here? Minimal effort and totally versatile and customizable…I think my new favourite love is art…err…tart 😉 .
Yield: 12-16 tarts (depending how thin you roll your pastry)
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons pastry flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut oil (in solid form – chill in the fridge a little if you need to)
- 3 tablespoons cold vegan butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 6-8 tablespoons ice water (or freezer chilled vodka – I pretty much always do this, it makes for a flakier crust says science).
Filling/ Topping:
- 1/2-1 cup jam of choice (I used a mix of cherry, strawberry and a champagne marmalade because that’s what I had in my fridge, so feel free to experiment!)
- 1/4 cup blueberries (optional)
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons toasted coconut
- 1/4 cup toasted pecan pieces
- 1/4 cup chilled/ frozen vegan butter
Optional Peanut Butter Chocolate Coconut Whip:
- 1 can coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- icing sugar (only if not using a whipped cream cannister)
Directions
- Sift the flour and baking powder together in a medium bowl. Stir in sugar and salt. Add the solidified coconut and vegan butter in pieces to the dry ingredients coatings the pieces with flour. Work the pieces into the flour with your fingers, breaking up the pieces more if need be (you don’t want any larger than a pea).
- Add the vinegar to the ice water (or vodka). Add the water/vinegar mixture to the dry ingredients a small amount at a time, mixing between additions. You don’t want to add any more water than necessary, so once the dough starts to slightly hold together when pinched, then you can stop adding water.
- Gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate while preparing the filling and crumble topping.
- To make your crumble topping, combine in a food processor the flour, sugar, nutmeg, lemon zest and salt and pulse briefly until combined. Add in the pecans and coconut and pulse again. Finally, add in the chilled vegan butter (broken up into chunks, not all in one large piece ideally) and pulse until just combined.
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with silpat. Remove pastry dough from the fridge and roll it out.
- Using a 4-inch cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough and place on a silpat lined baking sheet. Leaving a 1 inch edge, dollop a teaspoon or two of jam into the center of each circle and top with a few blueberries (if using).
- Crimp the edges of your pastry crust (however you want – galette’s are rustic, so feel free to be messy! 🙂 ), and sprinkle with crumble topping.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until pastry crust starts to brown and crumble starts to toast.
- Optional peanut butter-coconut whip: In a medium sized bowl, combine can of coconut milk, coconut oil, cocoa powder and peanut butter and beat with an electric mixer until fully combined. If you have an whipped cream canister, pour mixture in and use as per directions. If not, add a bit of icing sugar to your mixture to thicken it slightly, then refrigerate for a few hours. Re-whip before serving.
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