First I should admit, I’m a little obsessed with peaches and blackberries. They make up two thirds of my trinity of favorite fruits (the final being Meyer lemons), and they happen to come ripe at the same time. Along with a dollop of yogurt, they are my favorite summer breakfast.
My second confession is this: I’ve also been obsessed with galettes, those rustic fruit tarts where the crust is folded over. They look so beautiful, and fit my casual, homey food esthetic (yes, read lazy if you wish). Last summer, on my list of things I wanted to do, was bake a fruit galette.
And I did—peach/blackberry, of course. I couldn’t find the perfect recipe, so I cobbled together a few different sources. In addition to peaches and blackberries, I also love almond flavor. I made sure to crumble some amaretti cookies in the bottom, as some recipes recommend, to help soak up the fruit juices.
The tart was gorgeous, I admit it. I packed it up and took it to a dinner concert in a garden with friends and we sat on a picnic blanket and ate on real plates with cloth napkins (because my friend Knox is super stylish that way), but I must say, the tart was disappointing. You couldn’t taste the amaretti at all, and I might have cut back on the sugar—because ripe peaches are sweet—so it ended up tasting a bit bland. The whole thing was fine, but not great. It looked better than it tasted.
This summer I ended up making another peach/blackberry tart. This time it wasn’t planned. My cookbook club met yesterday, everyone cooking selections from Chez Panisse Fruit and Chez Panisse Vegetables, and I was trying to find a recipe I could make that wouldn’t require me to go to the grocery store (see again: lazy). I had a case of peaches and a backyard full of blackberries hanging warm and sweet in the September sun. Voila: Fresh Peach and Blackberry Crostata.
This is not a free-form galette. It’s a double crust tart made with thin layers of flour and cornmeal crust. The bottom is pre-baked, then the fruit is layered in and topped with a second crust to bake.
With all the fruit added, it really does look gorgeous. Or maybe I’m just a sucker for peaches and blackberries.
When you put the top crust on, however, things begin to get a little bumpy. It’s hard to fix any cracks or flaws in the crust when it’s draped over lumpy fruit. The recipe also says you should seal the edges, which is challenging. I did the best I could, and made sure to put it on a baking sheet to catch any juicy overspill.
I had been hoping the blackberries would break down in the oven, with the heat, and it wouldn’t be so lumpy. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. In the end it looked a little Quasimodo huchback, a little reminiscent of the mini marshmallows that get baked on the top of mashed sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. If you ask me, this is not a good look.
But the taste was spot on, with the heat bringing out the syrupy, jammy juiciness of the fruit, and the cornmeal dough giving it some texture. I made sure to add all the sugar the recipe called for, and I baked it longer than the recipe says, until the juices started bubbling up around the edges.
The verdict: in this case, the ugly tart wins, hands down. The next time I make it—and there will be a next time—I’ll mash the berries before adding them, so the top is less bumpy-looking.
I still want to come up with the perfect recipe for an open fruit galette (Melissa Clark recently published a recipe in the New York Times that looks good), but until then, I’m making Alice Waters’ Peach Blackberry Crostata.
You can find the recipe online here, or in Chez Panisse Fruit.
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That tart was so amazing. I don’t want to play favorites BUT it was definitely my favorite thing yesterday
I loved the peach blackberry crostata and found the appearance of the bubbly top rustic and charming.
I agree. The bubbly top is very cute and gives the tart a charming quality.
Charming…exactly the word that came to my mind. I’m also of the opinion that lightly sweetened whipped cream can cover a multitude of uglies.
I think your tart looks delicious (even if it does sort of have the pox). For crostatas, I tend to go with 1/4 c ground almonds + 2 Tbsp sugar as the base, then the usual (fruit with sugar and a bit of tapioca starch and butter, wrapped in a great crust sanded with coarse sugar).
Mmm! We tried making blackberry and peach milkshakes last weekend and I was really suprised at how good that combo was.
Today must be peach tart day. Elise just posted a peach galette on simply recipes. http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/peach_galette/
You ladies are making me hungry! Thanks!
My heart just did palpitations looking at this. Wow – how gorgeous are these.
Please don’t call yourself lazy. In my family, if we hear one of us putting him (her) self down, someone says “Stop; take it back; say something nice about yourself!” You are clever, frugal of your time and resources and innovative, not lazy! And I just caught myself thinking how godawful stuffy I sound!
I think this tart looks absolutely fabulous! If it was served at any table (or picnic blanket) I shared, I would dive in with great joy.
Also, sorry to be a bit behind the times but I downloaded and read your Tales from High Mountain. Well, ‘read’ may be a bit of an understatement, more like ‘devoured’. Such beautiful writing, so very moving and evocative, all for a wonderful cause and I am thrilled to see that it is titled Part 1, which suggests more to come … thank you!
I love fruit (and savoury) galettes, though I’ve never made a crostata. Sounds delicious. I’ve made galettes from Deborah Madison recipes, and Alice Waters, actually, that were delicious.
I think you can keep the bumps if you can come up with a clever name for the tart that accounts for the bumps and makes them seem intentional.
I love the looks of that lumpy tart! It reminds me of that poem Pied Beauty:
“All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)”
Maybe you could call it the Fickle Tart.
I love those lumps, they have character and personality! I baked my first crostada this summer too… but alas, I had too much juice and made a big mess, but it was happily eaten by all anyways. That’s the best part about dessert (besides of course, that it IS dessert) it that people hardly ever say “it’s too ugly to eat”.
must be the time of year, just blogged about a fruit tart, which a friend informed me is actually a clafoutis. anyway, I make galettes alot, my standby because I don’t do good pie crusts. sometimes they turn out great and sometimes so-so. Idid a nectarine-blueberry galette for my book club last month and everyone LOVED it. actually I think my best galettes are the apple ones I’ve done. my oven is persnickity, too. regardless, I agree taste wins over pretty!
i actually love the bumpy look… i think it is so quirky and find it absolutely adorable! it makes me wonder what’s inside! and i imagine few things would make me happier than digging into a tart, looking for the source of it’s sweet shape, and finding a blanket of blackberries disguising peach slices! two of my favorite fruits!
I’m wondering if the fruit filling from the bumpy tart (love it!) would work in a galette. Hmmm – sounds like I should experiment myself as I have a box of peaches on the counter and blackberries all over the place waiting to be picked. Thanks for the idea. I’ve always paired blackberries with apples in pie as that is what my grammie did – I need to branch out. Maybe I’ll try little ones – some with crushed toasted hazelnuts on the bottom, some without. (I really should be filling out forms for soccer and picking up uniforms, etc instead of daydreaming about galette possibilities….)
Oh, but daydreaming about galette fillings is way more fun! Would love a report back, if you’re pleased with the results.
And hey, you’re going to have some hungry soccer players on your hands!
Mmmm… your Quasimodo tart looks good to me!
I love those bumps! They’re so cute – think of them as polka dots.
There must be something in the air, because I made a peach galette yesterday.
i just adore desserts with seasonal fresh fruit! Both the galette and tart are appealing to me. Must be how you combined the peaches and berries! Here along the coast local berries are still being harvested. Making one last dessert with summer fruit will be in my plans for next week.
Hi there, I have been reading your blog for a couple of years now, and I always enjoy hearing what ingredients and recipes you are experimenting with, although I have never felt the need to comment before now…I just want to reassure you that you don’t need to worry about the lumpy tart, because in my humble opinion it looks really cool.
Thanks so much! For reading all these years, and for the lumpy tart assurance. Much appreciated!
Another fan of the bumpy top here. I agree it gives it a rustic feel. Never thought of peaches and blackberries together. I may have to visit that.