Plum Ricotta Galette

crostata di ricotta e susine

Light, fresh, and summery, a plum ricotta galette belongs at every brunch or dessert table. It’s not overly sweet, so it can also be eaten for breakfast or snacked on with an afternoon cup of tea.

A galette is essentially a fancy French way of saying a rustic, free-form tart. You might find it called a plum ricotta crostata here in Italy. It’s one of my favorite types of desserts to make because it doesn’t require a tart shell or pie pan. All you need is a baking sheet. So it’s perfect if you have limited tools or equipment at your disposal, you can still make an impressive dessert. And don’t forget, a galette can also be savory!

This recipe for a plum ricotta galette came together with ingredients I found in my fridge and decided I could put them all together to make a tasty and fresh dessert. I had half of a container of ricotta, a few plums, a lemon, and I always have the basics on hand to make a quick pate brisee pie crust.

Ingredients

Pastry Dough

• Flour- type 00
• Sugar
• Salt
• Butter
• Water

Galette Filling

• Ricotta cheese
• Powdered sugar
• Plums
• Granulated sugar
• Lemon zest
• Egg, for egg wash
• Turbinado or coarse sugar

A galette is a great way to show off your pastry-making skills and the bounty of in-season fruit from the supermarket. And here’s a secret – anyone can have pastry-making skills!

A simple pie crust can be done by-hand, without any special equipment. All you need is flour, butter, a little bit of sugar and salt, and water! Of course, there are numerous variations from this basic recipe. But sometimes you just want the original!

Step by Step

Pastry Dough

Pate brisee can be made by-hand or in a food processor. The key to making it by-hand is to work quickly to not let your hands and fingers warm up the dough.

Start by putting the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl – type 00 flour, granulated sugar, and always a pinch of salt in baked goods.

Then add in the cubed, cold unsalted butter and using just your fingertips, work the butter into the flour mixture, squeezing and crumbling and tossing everything together so it all becomes broken up. Work quickly to get the butter incorporated. The mixture should look sandy, and the butter should be pea or pebble sized.

Then add cold ice water, a tablespoon at a time and gently incorporate all the ingredients with your fingers until large clumps form. Even before it’s all combined, dumb the contents of the bowl onto a work surface. It’s OK if there’s still loose flour and small crumbs.

Gather the dough into a ball, getting all those small bits incorporated and doing just a light, gentle knead if necessary to smooth it out. Pat the ball down into a disk; this will help it chill faster and will be easier to roll out later.

Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 12 hours (the dough can be made the day before).

Filling & Assembly

Start by preheating the oven to 180°C. Take the chilled dough out of the fridge, giving it 10-15 minutes to get to room temperature.

In a bowl, mix the plum wedges with granulated sugar and lemon zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the ricotta cheese and powdered sugar. Let these sit while you prepare the crust.

Unwrap the dough disc and place on a piece of parchment paper lightly dusted with flour. Leave the piece of plastic wrap on the top of the disc to prevent the rolling pin from sticking. Alternatively, you can dust the dough and rolling pin with flour.

Roll the pastry dough into a large circle. It doesn’t need to be perfect; the edges can be messy.

Slide the parchment paper with the dough onto a baking tray.

Spread the ricotta mixture into the middle of the dough circle, leaving a 5cm border around the edge.

Arrange the plum wedges over the filling. This can be done uniformly so they are all going in the same direction. Or just pile them on and spread them out, just making sure they evenly cover the entire space. Either approach is beautiful!

Gently fold the dough edges up over the plums, working in sections and pinching the seams slightly. Brush the crust with a beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake in a preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and plums are soft.

Serve plum ricotta galette warm or room temperature.

Tips and FAQs

Variations

Try this plum ricotta galette with other fruit – or mix 2 or 3 of your favorites!

• Stone fruit: peaches, nectarines or apricots
• Berries: blueberries, strawberries, blackberries

Substitutions

• All-purpose flour can be substituted in an equal amount for the type 00 flour

• If you don’t have turbinado sugar, sprinkle some granulated sugar over the entire plum galette before baking, including the crust!

Storage

Make-Ahead Pastry Dough: tightly wrapped pastry dough can last for 2-3 days in the fridge or for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Wrap leftovers of galette in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for 2-3 days

More Italian Ricotta Recipes

Spinach and Ricotta Meatballs

Asparagus Ricotta Tart

One Bowl Lemon Ricotta Cake

Ricotta Crostata with Chocolate

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Plum Ricotta Crostata Recipe