- V
- GF
- NS
- DF
- View Recipe Key
Hazelnut and Strawberry Galette
Hazelnut and Strawberry Galette
This rustic strawberry galette combines buttery shortcrust pastry, a nutty hazelnut base, and juicy berries to create a spectacular summer dessert!
This post contains affiliate links. Full disclosure is at the bottom of the article.
Ever since I (finally) mastered making flaky, buttery shortcrust pastry from scratch a few years back, I’ve been on a quest to expand my savory and sweet pie repertoire. I’ve included several of my current favorite tart and galette recipes in my recent cookbook, French Appetizers, but then I realized that I hadn’t expanded that category on my blog. This was the best excuse to keep churning up batches of shortcrust pastry, ever!
I first made this Hazelnut and Strawberry Galette a couple of years ago to celebrate the arrival of local strawberries at my neighborhood market. I made it repeatedly over the summer, switching the choice of berry as the selection evolved at the market, but the hazelnut and strawberry combination remained a favorite. I’ve made it countless times by now and it was undoubtedly become one of my family’s favorite summer desserts!
The first iterations of this Hazelnut and Strawberry Galette used a hazelnut frangipane filling—a pastry cream of sorts, thickened by ground nuts—but after a while, I switched to making it with a hazelnut financier base after Montreal pastry chef Patrice Demers tipped me to the idea.
A financier is a tiny almond-flour-based French cake, and chef Demers not only makes and serves individual-sized financiers in his Montreal shop, but uses that same batter as the base of his tarts, too. The batter of financiers contains more flour than frangipane cream does, and so it creates a more substantial base to hold fruits and absorb their juices. Financiers are traditionally made with browned butter, which not only is dreamy delicious in itself, but delightfully underlines the flavor of hazelnuts in this galette, too!
To make this Hazelnut and Strawberry Galette, I encourage you to make shortcrust pastry from scratch using my super easy, foolproof recipe. Contrary to what you might think, homemade pastry can come together in a flash and the flavor is just so much better than any ready-made option.
Dozens of people have called my food processor shortcrust pastry recipe “life-changing” and this is what this precise formula was for me too. As summer rolls by, make this galette again with raspberries, wild blueberries, peaches, or a combination of summer fruits. I can’t think of a better way to end a warm, sunny day!
Foolproof Shortcrust Pastry Recipe Video
Watch my Shortcrust Pastry recipe video to discover how easily you could be making shortcrust pastry from scratch, too!
Helpful Tips for Making Strawberry Galette
Make the bulk of the work ahead of time
Two of the three components in this galette can be made days in advance: the shortcrust pastry and the financier batter. Keep shortcrust pastry wrapped in plastic and financier batter in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Bring the two back to room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes before assembling and baking the galette, which should ideally be served warm from the oven.
Thicken those strawberry juices (if need be)
Fresh, dense, flavor-packed summer fruits don’t need any thickening, but if you find the strawberries you’re using a bit watery (they’ll be larger with a white core), adding 1 tsp (5 ml) cornstarch to the fruits is a good idea. This will keep the juices in the galette—not all over the baking sheet.
Dress that galette up!
This galette is fine and gorgeous served on its own but garnishing it with lemon zest and fresh basil leaves adds flavor and cool pops of color. Serve each slice topped with vanilla gelato, ice cream, or whipped cream for an indulgent touch!
How to Assemble and Fold the Strawberry Galette
Left: Using a small silicon spatula or an offset spatula, spread the hazelnut financier batter over the rolled-out shortcrust pastry, leaving a 3-inch (7.5 cm) border all around.
Right: Cover with the strawberries (you can fan them out elegantly, or just dump them over the financier batter!)
Bring the edges of the dough up and over the filling, creasing it and gently pressing it down onto the filling as you go.
Left: Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the dough with milk.
Right: Sprinkle with coarse golden sugar, such as cane sugar or turbinado sugar.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the fruits are bubbly. Garnish as desired with toasted hazelnuts, grated lemon zest, and basil leaves. Serve warm with vanilla gelato, ice cream, or whipped cream!
How to Make Brown Butter Video
Brown butter is an essential ingredient in this strawberry galette. Browning butter is an effortless French technique that turns regular butter into an incredibly aromatic, sophisticated ingredient you can use in savory and sweet dishes. Learn how to make it by watching my short how-to video!
Hazelnut and Strawberry Galette
Ingredients
For the Crust
For the Hazelnut Financier Base
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 2 ½ oz ground hazelnuts, also called hazelnut meal, or hazelnut flour—about ½ cup—see note
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ tsp kosher salt, or fine sea salt (omit if using semi-salted or salted butter)
- 2 egg whites, or ¼ cup (60 ml) liquid egg whites
For the Strawberries
- 4 cups strawberries, hulled and halved, or quartered if you’re using larger berries (about 24 oz/680 g whole strawberries)
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- Finely grated zest from ½ lemon about 1/2 tsp/2 ml
- 1 tsp cornstarch
To Bake
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp coarse sugar, such as cane sugar or turbinado sugar
To Serve (optional)
- Crushed toasted hazelnuts
- Freshly grated lemon zest
- Fresh basil leaves
- Vanilla gelato ice cream, or whipped cream
Instructions
- For the crust: Prepare the Foolproof Shortcrust Pastry as indicated in the recipe, then roll out to a 15-inch (38 cm) circle and transfer to a round baking sheet covered with parchment paper (a rectangular baking sheet works too, but excess dough will overhang.) Refrigerate for 1 hour. If you made the shortcrust pastry in advance, take it back to room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes, then roll out to a 15-inch (38 cm) circle. Transfer to a round baking sheet covered with parchment paper and keep going with the recipe—no need to refrigerate again.)Alternatively, you can use store-bought shortcrust pastry and roll it out as indicated above. There's no need to refrigerate store-bought shortcrust pastry before assembling the strawberry galette.
- For the hazelnut financier base: To brown the butter, heat the butter in a small stainless steel pot over medium heat until completely melted and simmering. Keep on cooking over medium-low heat, swirling the pot from time to time. If the butter bubbles up preventing you from watching closely over the color changing (that’s the water evaporating), lift the pot off the heat for a few seconds until the bubbles recede, then put it back on the heat.The butter is ready when the milk solids at the bottom of the pot turn a light brown color and the concoction gives off a delicious nutty aroma. When it does, remove the butter from the heat, pour into a small bowl, and let it cool for 10 minutes. Watch my short video to see how easy it is to make brown butter.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the ground hazelnuts, flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and salt (if using). Add the egg whites and whisk until incorporated and the mixture is thick and sticky. Mix in the brown butter.At this point, the batter can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Bring back to room temperature 30-45 minutes before using.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- For the strawberries: In a large bowl, combine the strawberries, granulated sugar, and lemon zest. Set aside.
- To assemble: Using a small silicon spatula or an offset spatula, spread the hazelnut financier batter over the rolled-out shortcrust pastry, leaving a 3-inch (7.5 cm) border all around. Cover with the strawberries. Bring the edges of the dough up and over the filling, creasing it and gently pressing it down onto the filling as you go. Once the whole border is folded, gently press own on the center of the strawberry filling to push the fruit well into the fold.
- Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the dough with milk, then sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the fruits are bubbly. Transfer to a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
- Garnish with toasted hazelnuts, grated lemon zest, and basil leaves, if desired. Serve with vanilla gelato, ice cream, or whipped cream.
Notes
Did you make this?
Tell me how you liked it! Leave a comment or take a picture and tag it with @foodnouveau on Instagram.
This site is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for the site to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
If you click on an affiliate link, I may earn advertising or referral fees if you make a purchase through such links, at no extra cost to you. This helps me create new content for the blog–so thank you! Learn more about advertising on this site by reading my Disclosure Policy.
Author: Marie Asselin
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS RECIPE?
Rate + Review