The Best Sour Cherry Galette!
It’s serious cherry pie season!
And if you’re anything like me and can’t make a pie to save your soul (#truth), then a galette is necessary. A sour cherry galette, to be exact. The best one ever!
It’s a lofty claim, but someone has to make it.
To say that I am ob.sessed. with sour cherries would be a major understatement. Two words, that obsession is. It formed later in life, which is sad because Mother Lovett used to make cherry pies all the time, way back when I could care less about pie.
BUT. There is something about making pie (or something very pie-like) yourself that makes you like pie. You know? Like, all that hard work with the crust and the filling makes you more deserving. Makes you more hungry. Makes you craaave the pie.
I can never find sour cherries around me – it’s such a short window and the few places that stock them? I always inevitably miss the stocking which quickly sells out. I’ve make a sweet cherry pie before with bing cherries, which I still absolutely adore, but it’s NOT THE SAME.
Sour cherries are just… sour cherries. They cannot be substituted!
Err, well, they totally CAN, but they don’t taste anywhere near the same.
So I was super excited this year when I found a local farm near me had freshly frozen sour cherries. I bought FOUR pounds then went back and bought four more. It’s really not as many cherries as you think, I swear.
I mean, it’s not like I’m having a difficult time shoving normal things in my freezer or anything. At all.
Aside from wanting to take these babies and throw them in milkshakes and smoothies, I’ve made two galettes so far with my favorite crust. To me, the galettes are even better than pie. It’s kind of like you get MORE crust because you get the crust that folds over and the bottom crust. The tanginess of the cherries is perfection with the buttery, flakey crust.
Only one thing can make the situation better. It begins with an ice and ends with a cream.
Truly, this was like my taste buds’ dream come true. There is texture – flakey crust that has a crunch from the raw sugar. Tangy yet sweet cherries that pop in your mouth and are blanketed by a syrupy deliciousness.
What else do we even need?
And then the freaking vanilla ice cream, which melts and streams through the cherries. Ice cream rivers are where it’s at. It’s the ideal balance for the cherries. There is a reason vanilla ice cream was made. And it’s for THIS.
If I can do it, you totally can do it. No excuses!
Sour Cherry Galette
Sour Cherry Galette
Ingredients
crust -- this makes enough for 2 galettes, so stick one in the freezer!
- 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1/2 cup ice cold water
- 1 1/2 cups cold unsalted butter cut into pieces (3 sticks or 24 tablespoons)
- raw sugar for sprinkling
- for brushing: 1 egg + a few drops of water beaten together
filling
- 2 pounds sour cherries, pitted fresh or thawed
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons butter cut into pieces
- vanilla ice cream for serving
Instructions
crust
- Add the flour, sugar and salt to a food processor and pulse just until combined. In a small bowl, whisk mix together the egg, vinegar and water. Add the cold butter pieces into the food processor and pulse until small coarse crumbs remain. Sprinkle the water/egg mixture over the flour and pulse again until the dough comes together.
- Remove the dough with your hands and wrap it in plastic wrap. This dough makes enough for 2 galette crusts, so separate it into 2 sections now, – or separate it after it’s refrigerated. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. Freeze one of the other balls of dough!
- After 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
filling
- Place the cherries in a bowl. Toss with the sugar, cornstarch and salt, making sure to coat all the cherries. Drizzle in the vanilla extract and toss.
- Remove one of the crusts from the fridge. (The other is good for another week or so, or it can be frozen.) Roll one of the pie crusts into a… “rustic” shape – no shape necessary really – until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Place the dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Places the cherries in the center leaving a 2-inch+ border of crust. Top with the butter cubes.
- Once the cherries are placed, fold the crust over top of them. Brush the crust with the beaten egg wash. Sprinkle it with the raw sugar. Bake the galette until the crust is golden, about 40 to 45 minutes.
- Remove it and let cool slightly, then slice. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
Just looking at this baby thrills me.
51 Comments on “The Best Sour Cherry Galette!”
Wow, not only does this look absolutely beautiful, but it sounds delicious! Cherries are so flavorful this time of year and the other day, I actually ended up getting them for .99 a pound! I couldn’t believe it!
ahhh that is so amazing! i’m jealous!
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Such a gorgeous galette!!
thanks jenna!
What a stunning! Also how do we make vanilla ice cream rivers a real life thing?
for real! thanks rachael!
Excited to try this recipe….was gifted 4 pounds of frozen sour cherries. Directions are easy to follow and food processor makes easy work of the crust. Pay attention, don’t make the mistake I did….I put the cherries on the rolled out dough THEN needed to transfer all to the parchment covered baking sheet. Cherries are much juicier than apples and it was very difficult and messy trying to transfer it. :-(. I hope once it’s baked it won’t matter due to it’s rustic nature. Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you for boosting the flavor of the sour cherry.
It is a misunderstood fruit. I am waiting for my little tree to produce enough fruit so I can make jams and pies.
I think next year. BUT I just discovered a sour cherry tree around the corner and it’s full too!
I’m going to ask if I can pick them. I’ll let you know.
so totally true! that sounds dreamy.
These pies look amazing! I need them in my life!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
thank you paige!
I have a sour cherry tree but have never used any of the fruit because the cherries are soooo sour. I’m wondering if this is enough sugar for 2 lbs of sour cherries? Is it going to be really sour or is it sweet enough without ice cream? I’d surely love to finally use my sour cherries! They are beautiful but sour… thank you for any suggestions that might help.
cherry jam with a bit of grated orange. Very yummy.
the cherry jam does sound amazing!
i don’t think it would hurt to use more!! you could always toss them and eat one of the cherries and see if it works… hehe!
Oh my goodness! This looks amazing! I was planning on making a cherry pie next week but I think I’ll make it a galette instead!
I have the hardest time finding sour cherries too, but I have shamefully/desperately resorted to buying the sour cherry pie filling from Trader Joe’s. It’s not the same as fresh of course, but my sour cherry pie-loving father doesn’t seem to mind. :)
ummm.. totally going there tomorrow and might pick one up!
Oh my word – it’s absolutely stunning! Those cherries are beautiful!
thank you lucia!
GIRL! I’m so in love with this galette and these photos. Sour cherrie are the bomb and yes, their season is way too darn short. I totally would have gone back to the farmers market for seconds as well!
i could not agree more! thanks so much liz!
I live near Pittsburgh so I gotta know – what’s the local source for sour cherries?!
schramms farm! huge 4lb bags of frozen (when fresh) sour cherries.
This looks amazing, I’ve never made a pie for reasons you’ve listed but I think I’ll give this a go! I love cherries, just scored 4 pounds of dark sweets for $6 (that’s huge in Canada lol) 😋
holy crap, that’s huge here too!
Ooh my that looks lovely! Isn’t it the HARDEST to find the right, fresh ingredients sometimes? UGH! I even live in MICHIGAN where we’re supposed to have lots of cherries and yet for some reason… things aren’t that simple! By the way can you send me one of those galettes? Thanks. ;)
thank you so much emma!
I have the dough resting in the fridge right now! Question–what are the 2 tbsp of butter cut in to cubes used for? i see them listed in the filling recipe but cant find a use for them? Thank you!
ah! sorry about that – it goes in the cherry filling! i just fixed it, thanks. let me know how it is!
Crunchy sugary goodness on that beautiful flakey crust! I’ve never found sour cherries, but now I’ll have my eyes wide open! Delicious work Jessica!
Made tonight – it was every bit as gorgeous as the picture. The crust was delicious, the cherry filling perfectly cooked at 45 minutes. But the flavor was quite sour. Definitely needs ice cream with every bite. If I can get hold of sour cherries again I will use 1/2 – 2/3rds cup of sugar.
What oven temp?
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The crusts were too salty, otherwise great! Is it really 3 teaspoons? Why is mine so salty?
can you make this recipe using premade puff pastry as a crust base for the cherries? and have it come out the same way?
I have two bags of dried tart cherries, can i make this with those or do they absolutely need to be fresh?
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What happens if the dough rests much longer than 10-14 hours? I can cook my English Muffins for more like 19-20 hours. Will they still be ok?
Fabulous recipe. Recently discovered I have a sour cherry tree in my garden. This recipe was perfect and was just what I was craving for Christmas in Australia.
I used fresh, very juicy cherries too. I pitted them over a bowl to catch the juice and then tipped the juice over the top of the cherries just before baking. I thought the crust was perfect but I may have been more heavy-handed with the raw sugar.
Used this recipe to make individual galettes for my mom’s birthday this past weekend. The pastry was outstanding! A couple still remained few days later and since they weren’t cut the pastry was as delicious on the third day as it was the first.
Thank you for sharing your recipe and the mouth watering photos.
Mine leaked cherry juice all over the pan! What did I do wrong???
There are no holes in the crust so it must be leaking through the folds of the crust?
Crust was delicious and flaky. Will use it for all pies going forward. My cherries needed more sugar than the recipe indicated. Otherwise perfect!
Hi! I ended up making three smaller galettes and am wondering how they might freeze. Have you ever frozen a galette? Thanks for the recipe 🍒
You may want to mention something about pitting the cherries before use. And are the pitts included in the weight measurement?
Sorry for a stupid question. When you say “two pounds pitted,” do you mean I should use two pounds of cherries that have already been pitted, or two pounds before pitting? 🙂
My first picking of our sour montmortency cherries! We are so excited to enjoy
I’m sorry to say this failed. In fact, even though I followed the instructions, so much juice and filling oozed that it came all the way off the pan and parchment paper and oozed down into my oven, which means a lot of burned goo and hard work for me. I’ve seen multiple other comments of this happening. I bake quite a bit and have for decades. Can’t recommend this recipe.
I worked so hard to make your recipe, and I left a review. You deleted my review about how this recipe did not work, in a way that other comments also expressed. I was polite. You deleted my review? That seems so petty.
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This recipe leaked everywhere, though I followed the instructions and used egg wash carefully sealing the folds, along with lining my pan with parchment. I’ve made pies since I was little.
Tried this and it was INCREDIBLE! I halfed the pie dough recipe and it worked perfect. I did keep the full amount of sugar in the pie dough and would add a little more extra if you like a sweeter pie crust! Thank you for an excellent recipe!