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Cherry galette is a rustic dessert that blends the tartness of sour cherries with flaky, cream cheese-based crust. This charming dessert is not only visually appealing but easier to make than a cherry pie!
Galettes are free form tarts, so that the pastry just sort of hugs the fruit, requiring only a simple folding up of the pastry edges around a mound of sugared sour cherries. Use sour cherries (also called “tart cherries”) for classic cherry pie flavor. A drop or two of rose water sings our cherry song so gloriously here.
The Perfect Galette Crust
The crust is an incredibly crisp, delicious thing that I shocked myself with, given how devoted I am to my motherโs oil crust. Even she was wowed (This might be the best pie youโve ever made, she said.). Itโs a forgiving dough that includes cream cheese for suppleness. Finish the galette as my mother does all pies, with a dusting of sugar when the pastry leaves the oven piping hot. Sanding or turbinado sugars are nice; we love the look and ease of granulated.
Making a flaky pie crust is essential to a successful cherry galette! Start by combining flour, cream cheese, and a pinch of salt in a food processor. Gradually add cold water until the dough comes together in a ball. Once ready, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about an hour to let it chill thoroughly. Then the dough rolls like a dream, with a suppleness and flexibility that allows you to lift and move the crust with ease.
Prepping the Cherries
While the dough chills, get the cherries ready. Opt for tart, sour cherries instead of sweet cherries for real cherry pie flavor. If using fresh cherries, you have to pit them and a cherry pitter (here’s my favorite) will make pitting far more effortless.
Mix the pitted cherries with sugar and a thickening agent such as flour, corn starch or tapioca. The thickener is essential to keeping the juices in what becomes a syrupy cherry mixture from being too runny.
Alternatively, you can make my cherry pie filling and use this instead of the uncooked cherry filling here.
Assembling the Galette
The thing to remember about galettes is that they are rustic, not only in the way they are shaped, but also in the way the fruit filling cooks. Often it runs out of the galette, so don’t be discouraged if this happens. It’s natural and not an issue! But to make clean up easier, line the baking sheet with parchment.
Once the dough is ready, roll it out on a lightly floured surface until itโs about 16 inches in diameter. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Spoon the cherry mixture onto the center of the dough, leaving a border around the edge of a couple of inches. This is where the galetteโs rustic charm comes into play. Gently fold the edges of the crust over the cherry filling, pleating as needed to hold its shape. This loose, free-form style distinguishes the galette from shaping in a traditional pie dish with sides. You can make the edge fold as deep or narrow as you like. I tend to make my crust edge on the larger/deeper side.
To give your galette a beautiful golden hue, brush the crust with cream or milk (or an egg washโa simple mixture of beaten egg and water). This also adds a subtle sheen to the crust once baked.
Baking and Serving
Bake your cherry galette in the preheated oven for 35โ40 minutes. Watch for a golden brown crust and bubbling cherry filling. The aroma of warm cherries and flaky pastry will soon fill your kitchen, a summer food memory we want to make and keep!
Cool the galette for an hour so that the fruit will hold together. Just before serving, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of each slice.
Variations
One of the beautiful things about a galette is that you can make the crust and fill it with whatever fruit you love or have on hand. Consider peaches, apricots, nectarines, blueberries, raspberries, apples, peaches! One of my favorite books is Galette, which walks you through all kinds of galette options with flair.
Storage
Store leftovers at room temperature for a couple of days. For longer storage, wrap the tart in plastic and an airtight freezer container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Cherry Galette Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling the dough
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks) very cold, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 6 oz. cream cheese, very cold, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3-4 tablespoons ice water
- 2 tablespoons milk, or cream
For the filling: as follows or substitute one recipe of my cooked Cherry Pie Filling
- 4 cups sour cherries, fresh or frozen, pitted
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour, substitute cornstarch or quick-cooking tapioca
- 1 cup granulated sugar, plus more to dust the baked crust
- 1/2 teaspoon rose water
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
Make the dough:
- In a food processor pulse the flour, salt, and sugar.
- With the processor turned off, add all of the cold, cut up butter and cream cheese. Pulse until large crumbs (ยฝ -inch) and some smaller crumbs form. Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time, pulsing until the dough comes together in a ball, but many crumbs still remain. The less the dough is worked, the more tender it will be.
- Turn the dough and crumbs out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Use the wrap to shape and wrap the dough in a flat disc, or divide the dough in half and wrap each separately if making two smaller tarts, and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to one day.
- Line a heavy sheet pan (18โx13โ) with parchment paper. Place a rack in the
middle position of the oven, and heat the oven to 375หF. - In a medium bowl, combine the pitted cherries, flour, sugar, rose water, and almond extract.
- Lightly flour the work surface and rolling pin. If the dough is very cold and hard, let it rest for 15 minutes. Use plenty of pressure on the rolling pin to begin to soften and roll out the dough. Roll the dough in a 16-inch round (or a 12-inch round if making two smaller tarts) about 1/4 โinch thick, carefully lifting the dough off of the work surface every few rolls and adding more flour to both the rolling pin and the work surface. Gently transfer the dough to the parchment-lined sheet pan.
- Fill the center of the dough with the sugared cherries, spreading the cherries out and leaving a couple of inches of dough around the perimeter of the cherries. Fold the edges of the dough up around the cherries, moving in one direction around the tart as you fold. Brush the top of the dough with the cream or milk.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350หF and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes for a total bake time of 45-50 minutes, or until the cherries are bubbling and juicy. Remove the tart from the oven and dust the top with granulated sugar. Some juices escape as galettes bake; this is normal and simply rustic. You can spoon juices back onto the top of the cherries in the galette while still warm. Cool for at least an hour so the fruit will set up before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Cherries to love
Learn all about them in my post, Cherries!
Make them into a big Cherry Slab Pie to serve a crowd with ease.
Make fabulous Tart Cherry Sorbet Sundaes with Amarena Cherries.
Go savory with my beautiful, delicious Cherry Salad with Parsley, Walnuts, and Pomegranate Vinaigrette.
Did you know that mahleb spice is made from cherries?! Learn more in my mahleb post and purchase the finest, freshest mahleb available in my shop.
Maureen,
I am confused about these directions:
In a food processor pulse the flour, salt, and sugar. Turn the dough and crumbs out onto a large piece of plastic wrap.
With the processor turned off, add all of the cold, cut up butter and cream cheese. Pulse until large crumbs (ยฝ -inch) and some smaller crumbs form. Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time, pulsing until the dough comes together in a ball, but many crumbs still remain. The less the dough is worked, the more tender it will be.
Arenโt these supposed to be in the food processor together? Please advise!
Catherine thank you SO much–the instructions got jostled incorrectly! Should be correct now, all ingredients are pulsed, then turned out onto plastic. A wonderful dough . . . enjoy!
Hi Maureen,
Thanks for another great recipe and article. Cherries are also a nutritious anti-oxident that also promotes Men’s Health( according to Mark and Brian, along with plums, avocados, almonds, and grapes)
Sean
Maureen, I have some frozen sweet cherries from this season as I live in VA and do not have access to sour cherries. Any suggestions as to how to adjust the recipe? A shame that I went to law school in Lansing and never made it to the UP!
Hi Ang–sounds like a trip back to Michigan is in order! The sweet cherries will not make the same sort of pie at all. BUT, you can try it adding a healthy portion of lemon juice, and perhaps mixing in another tart fruit like nectarines for balance with the sweetness. Let me know how it goes!
Thanks for your prompt response. Nowadays I always head south for holidays so will only visit the UP if I come to Toronto as I have friends there. With regard to the Galette, great idea, will try a tart Granny Smith apple as I think I saw this in my Cooks Illustrated magazine. Will let you know how it worked.
Ang Lee
Maureen, I made your sour cherry galette this weekend using Traverse City cherries-it was fabulous! Thanks for sharing the recipe and lovely photos. I am enjoying the amazing produce this summer up here in beautiful northern Michigan.
Maria, how wonderful! I’m so glad to hear you made and enjoyed the tart. I made another one over the weekend too, a real treat!
Beautiful presentation Maureen.
I know for sure it would be nothing but silence and head shaking up and down (and probably some frequent mmmm’s) while I munched it down. Now one of my biggest compliments is not only the silence, head shaking and mmm’s, but also shaking the fork or spoon. This one would probably also get the fork/spoon shake.
Now I HAVE to try this scrumptious- looking pie recipe. I have never used cream cheese in my crust. Sounds wonderful!Thanks again, Maureen. This is worthy of using some of my remaining, cherished, frozen sour cherries!
Tom, I love your post!
Absolutely perfect culmination to this week celebrating the splendor of God’s great gift of cherries to humankind.