Almond Galette with Red Fruits

An extraordinarily simple recipe by highly esteemed chef Gerard Vie, known for his artistic creations and down-to-earth yet aesthetic dishes, Almond Galette with Red Fruits takes only twenty minutes to do so you can make this on the fly when friends unexpectedly come over and fresh raspberries are in season. Serve this with a good bottle of Loupiac for a complete celebration. Otherwise, you can serve this with tea or coffee for savoring a lovely afternoon.

The raspberry-producing region of Versailles where Chef Vie’s Trianon Palace restaurant is located inspired the making of this recipe. Walking outside the restaurant when raspberries are in season, Chef Vie often observed the people simply picking the luscious red fruit around the area where it grew abundantly , and the remarkable and joyous scene moved him to make this delicious dessert.

In a nutshell, to complete this dish, you need to make a galette, which is a French type of round flat crusty cakes, out of almonds, sugar, eggs, and flour. You simply mix these ingredients together to make a greasy dough that is easy to work with. This dough is then spread and flattened on a round disc mold to make a thin freeform “pancake.” The almond pancake is baked in a very hot oven for only five minutes to create a crispy golden brown almond galette. This will serve as the base for this elegant dish.

To top the almond galette, a light sweet cream is made by mixing fresh cream and crème patisserie, a thick and creamy custard also known as pastry cream. Shaped into a small mound, the cream is lightly covered with fresh raspberries and seasoned with raspberry sauce made with raspberry juice thickened with fresh cream. Fresh red currants are also added to the dish for a spectacularly vibrant red creation.