Rustic Pear & Hazelnut Vegan Galette. Making desserts with seasonal fruit is something I love. Today I am using beautiful pears and pairing them with cinnamon, lemon, hazelnuts, on a crust that features olive oil and an unrefined flour. Fragrant, wholesome, delicious.
Song of the day: South of the Border - Ed Sheeran (feat. Camila Cabello & Cardi B)
This Rustic Pear & Hazelnut Vegan Galette is just that, a rustic, delectable dessert that highlights seasonal pears dressed with cinnamon, lemon zest, and lemon juice, laid on ground hazelnuts on top of a light and tender olive oil crust. The aroma is heavenly and the taste is just as impressive.
I have been using this recipe to make vegan galettes, a lot. I made apple, Concord grape, and plum galettes, according to the season. Today it's time to use some pears that we bought in huge quantities. Pears are so underrated in fruit-based desserts but they totally add an amazing flavor and texture.
Making the Vegan Crust
- This time I used a bowl but I've also used a food processor. I prepare all the ingredients: stone-ground flour type 2 which will add to the rustic look and wholesomeness, cane sugar, pinch of salt, evo oil, and cold water.
- Then, I stir the flour, sugar, salt, and add the olive oil mixing with a wooden spoon until the crumbs are pea-size.
NOTE: In Italy, our flours have numbers from 00 to 2 according to their refinements. “00” type flour is the most refined and comes from the innermost part of the grain of wheat; type “2” is the closest to unrefined wholemeal flour that contains all the parts of the ground grain.
- After that, I add the cold water, a little at a time, blending with the spoon until the dough just comes together (you might have some water leftover).
- Lastly, I shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic, and set it in the fridge to rest for half an hour.
Preparing the Pears
- While the dough is resting, I peel and slice the pears, then I add them to a bowl, sprinkle with cinnamon, dress with lemon juice, and zest. I toss them and set in the fridge while I roll out the dough. NOTE: If you want to keep the peel, that is totally up to you.
Rolling the dough
- I roll the dough onto a lightly floured piece of parchment paper so from there it can go straight to the baking sheet. Dust some flour on top so it doesn't stick to the rolling pin. NOTE: It is a very light dough, so be gentle. At this time, I also ground a handful of hazelnuts with 1 tablespoon of cane sugar.
- Once I have somewhat of a circle about ½ cm thick, I spread the hazelnut mixture on the crust, leaving a border empty.
- Afterward, I start arranging the pear slices over the mixture, going around and slightly overlapping.
- I place the slices all around, then add some in the center, creating somewhat of a design. Just be creative.
- Finally, I fold the edges in and finish by sprinkling cane sugar on top of the pears and on the border before placing the baking sheet on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. NOTE: It is a very delicate dough, patch out any tears in the folded edges. Pears are not a juicy fruit, plus the hazelnuts ground, most likely you won't have any leakage.
Rustic Beauty
The Rustic Pear & Hazelnut Vegan Galette is out of the oven. It smells wonderful and by the look of it, I know it is going to be light and crumbly, with soft spiced pears and some crunch from the hazelnuts. I am in love!
The Taste Test
We hardly wait for the galette to cool off, then we slice it and taste it. The fragrance of cinnamon reaches our nostrils as we bite in. It's like aromatherapy. The pears are soft, spiced, and not too sweet with a lemony flavor. The ground hazelnuts and cane sugar underneath the pears provide just enough sweetness, a lovely nuttiness, and a bit of crunch. Lastly, the pastry is light and delicate, with a wonderful olive oil taste. The unrefined flour gives that honey hue and a lovely wholesome flavor.
All in all, this Rustic Pear & Hazelnut Vegan Galette is a great dessert for those who follow a vegan diet, and also for those who want a lighter dessert that doesn't sacrifice taste and goodness.
Enjoy!
Rustic Pear & Hazelnut Vegan Galette
Rustic Pear & Hazelnut Vegan Galette. Making desserts with seasonal fruit is something I love. Today I am using beautiful pears and pairing them with cinnamon, lemon, hazelnuts, on a crust that features olive oil and an unrefined flour. Fragrant, wholesome, delicious.
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the Galette dough:
- 150 g (1 cup) type 2 flour (or any unrefined, stone-ground flour)
- 2 Tbsp raw cane sugar
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 60 ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil
- 50-60 ml (about ¼ ) cold water, you may have some leftover
For the Filling:
- 3 pears, peeled, quartered, then sliced
- ½ organic lemon, the juice and zest
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1-2 Tbsp ground hazelnuts
- 1 Tbsp cane sugar + more to sprinkle on top and border
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
- In a mixing bowl, or food processor, add flour, sugar, salt and extra virgin olive oil. Start mixing, then add the cold water a bit at a time. Work -or pulse- the dough fast until it forms a ball (you may have some water leftover). Wrap the ball in plastic and refrigerate for half an hour.
- While the dough is resting, wash, peel, quarter and slice the pears. Put them in a bowl, squeeze half a lemon and grate the zest. Add the cinnamon, stir, and set aside (in the fridge).
- Then, ground the hazelnuts with the cane sugar.
- After the 30-minute resting time, take the dough out of the fridge. Place it on a lightly floured parchment paper, dust some flour on top, then roll it out with a rolling pin to form a disk ½ cm thick.
- Spread the hazelnut/sugar mixture on the base of the galette, leaving a border empty.
- Arrange the sliced pears over the hazelnut mixture, going around and slightly overlapping, until you cover the base of the galette (be creative).
- Fold the border on the filling so as to cover it a little bit. Sprinkle the top and border with cane sugar.
- Transfer the parchment with the galette on a baking pan. Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until golden.
- Let cool slightly, then slice and enjoy.
Notes
The prep time includes the 30 minute resting time in the fridge.
You can serve it plain or with whipped cream/coconut cream, or ice/nice cream.
It keeps for a couple of days in an airtight container.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: pears, galette, rustic, dessert, Italian, evo oil, cinnamon, lemon zest, cane sugar, wholesome
I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.
Vanessa says
Yum! Imagining a slice of this with a big scoop of ice cream.
★★★★★
Ice cream is always a great compliment to pie or galette, although we had it simple and it was just as delicious. Thank you!
Katherine | Love In My Oven says
I think pears are such an underrated fruit. They're so delicious! I would love a big slice of this galette with a cup of tea!
★★★★★
I agree, they totally are. Yes, the galette pairs well with a cup of tea!
Matt - Total Feasts says
For something rustic, it looks perfect and delicious. Love the design of the pears and the great sounding crust.
★★★★★
Thank you Matt, so much! We really enjoyed this galette, the oive oil in the crust makes it so aromatic!
Yvonne Langen says
I love how unfussy this is, food as it should be: uncomplicated. The rustic look and warm fall flavours are perfect for warming the soul.
★★★★★
I love making desserts that are uncomplicated and pack a lot of flavor. This looks pretty, too, which is a bonus 🙂 . Thank you!