Or, how to knock up an entry for Sugar High Friday in an hour!
When I saw this post on Habeas Brulee last month for Sugar High Friday, I made a note that I’d prepare something elaborate, try my hand at spun sugar, toffee “glass windows” and all manner of other ideas that I had.
And then it completely slipped my mind! With the ensuing madness of Christmas shopping and baking, I had all manner of sweet goods on my mind, but spun sugar creations were certainly nowhere to be found on the list. So, when I looked in my diary this afternoon and saw a bolded entry to “UPLOAD SHF: SUGAR ART” blog post, to say that I freaked out would be a bit of an understatement. What to do, what to do??
Well, I did the only thing I could do – grabbed what supplies I had in the fridge and went for it!
I had seen a recipe for a free-form tart in Nigella Lawson’s “How To Be A Domestic Goddess” that was accompanied by a beautiful picture of a crisp, puffed pastry filled with blackberries oozing juice and generally looking beautiful, and I had marked the recipe as one that I had to try. By some stroke of luck or divine intervention (or possibly because of the fact that blackberries had been on sale at the grocery store last week), I had a punnet of fresh blackberries sitting in my fridge, so I decided to go ahead and give the recipe a whirl, though it encountered quite a few adaptations just from the lack of ingredients in my cupboards.
My adapted Blackberry Galette, which I donated to Mr. Bear for his afternoon tea
The galette turned out wonderfully, and as I’d made two smaller tarts, I donated one to Mr. Bear as he had informed me that he had invited Mr. Fuzzbutt over for afternoon tea. The tea party was a great success, and both sirs informed me that this recipe was a keeper 
Mr. Bear and Mr. Fuzzbutt preparing to enjoy their galette
I still have one of these pretty pastries left over, would anyone like to come over and share it with me?
Blackberry Galette (adapted from ‘How To Be A Domestic Goddess’)
Ingredients
Pastry
100g plain flour
1 tbsp caster sugar
A pinch of salt
75g cold butter
2 tbsp iced water
Milk, to brush
Filling
150g blackberries
3 tbsp caster sugar
3 tbsp creme fraiche (can substitute with sour cream)
1. In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and salt, then add the flour and pulse till the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
2. Add water and pulse till the mixture forms a ball, them remove, form into a disc, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 190 degrees C.
4. Roll out the pastry about 5-7mm thick into a rough circle and transfer to a lined baking tray. Scatter blueberries in centre, making sure to leave a 5cm border.
5. Sprinkle about 1-1.5 tbsp caster sugar over the top of the berries, then dollop creme fraiche/sour cream over the top. Sprinkle another tbsp of caster sugar over the top.
6. Dampen the edges with water, then roll up so they form a rough rim/lip that will keep the juices from leaking out, then give them a quick brush with milk.
7. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or till pastry has cooked through and is nicely golden. Enjoy hot or cold
The pastry is buttery, light, flaky and melts in your mouth, and the combination of the fresh sweetness from the berries and the creamy tang from the sour cream makes for a deliciously memorable experience!
Make sure you swing by Habeas Brulee to check out the round up for this month’s Sugar High Friday
[tags]sugar high friday, SHF, berries, pies, tarts, pastry, nigella lawson[/tags]
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