Fruit & Frangipane Galettes with Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream

Happy Fourth!  I'm sitting on my couch, listening to all the illegal fireworks popping down on my street, feeling full and happy.  

My mom and my good friend Annetta came over today.  Ben grilled hamburgers, Annetta brought pasta salad, my mom brought brie, and I made red, white, and bleu macaroni and cheese.  The best part was that Annetta came early and helped me make these galettes.  We had so much fun!  Galettes are like pies but easier since you don't have to fit the dough into a pan or trim it or anything.  I actually think they're prettier, too!  These galettes have a layer of delicious frangipane inside, and you can make them with pretty much any kind of fruit.

I made the galette dough and the frangipane last night, so it was easy to roll out the dough and assemble the galettes this afternoon.  It's great to be able to prep the components in advance and then throw it all together right before dinner.

Galettes need ice cream on top, at least in the summer.  I was going to just make vanilla bean ice cream, but then I saw the extra raspberry coulis that I made to go with my panna cotta sitting in the fridge.  That stuff was begging to be swirled into the ice cream!  In the end, I think it was the best ice cream I've ever made.  You have to try it!  There wasn't even quite enough raspberry coulis left for my tastes--next time I'm going to put in more.

The galette recipe is adapted from Alexandra Cooks and the ice cream is adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop via Annie's Eats.

Ingredients for the galettes (serves about 8):

Dough (recipe below)
Frangipane (recipe below)
4 small or 2 large stone fruits or 2 cups of berries, or a combination
2 tablespoons melted butter
4 teaspoons sugar

For the galette dough (makes two 9-inch galettes):

2 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) butter, cold
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons ice water, plus extra if necessary

To make the dough, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until well mixed.  Cut the butter into chunks and add them to the bowl of the food processor.  Process using short pulses until the butter is the size of peas.  Add the ice water and stir with a fork until the dough comes together into a mass, adding more ice water a little at a time if necessary.  Divide the dough into two even balls, flatten slightly, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use (dough can be made up to a week ahead).

For the frangipane (makes about a cup; you'll have extra):

1 cup ground almonds (almond flour) and/or pecans (I used a mix of almond flour and pecans I ground in the food processor)
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon rum, brandy, or bourbon (optional)

Pulse all ingredients in the food processor (bonus: you don't have to wash it out if you just made the dough in it) until smooth.  Store in the refrigerator for up to one week until ready to use.

To assemble the galettes, preheat the oven to 400.   Roll out one piece of dough on a lightly floured surface until it forms an 11-inch circle, adding flour as needed so it doesn't stick.  Transfer the dough to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate while you roll out the other piece in the same way.

Switch the cookie sheets so you're working with the chilled circle of dough and the one you just rolled out is in the fridge.  Spread about 1/4 cup of frangipane on the dough, leaving a two inch border around the edge.  If using stone fruits, pit them and slice them 1/2 inch thick.  Layer the fruit on top of the frangipane.  We used 2 plums for one galette and a heaping cup of blueberries for the other.  Moving around the edge of the dough, fold in overlapping segments of dough to encase the filling (it's easy to do because these galettes are supposed to look rustic!).  Refrigerate that galette while you prep the other.

Brush the dough of both galettes with melted butter, and sprinkle about two teaspoons of sugar over the fruit and dough of each galette.  Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown on top but not burned on the bottom.  Cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Cut into wedges and serve with ice cream on top.

Ingredients for the ice cream (serves 6):

2 cups heavy cream, divided
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean
1 cup milk (I use 2%)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup raspberry coulis

In a medium saucepan, stir together half the cream with the sugar and salt.  Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, scrape the seeds into the mix, and throw the pod in, too.  Heat over medium heat, stirring often, until the sugar is all dissolved.

Stir in the rest of the cream, the milk, and the vanilla.  Refrigerate the mixture until it's totally chilled (I'm impatient, so I usually stick mine in the freezer for about an hour).  Remove the vanilla bean and freeze in your ice cream maker.

In the bottom of an airtight container (freezing this container beforehand is a nice touch on a hot day), spoon a layer of raspberry coulis.  Top with a layer of ice cream, and continue to layer the coulis and ice cream until they're all packed up.  This will create beautiful raspberry swirls when you scoop your ice cream.  Freeze for at least two hours before serving.