Vanilla-spiked plum galette

Plums are one of my favorite fruits and I usually eat them all in a very short period of time, before I can actually bake something with them. But this time the plums I’d bought were too tart – even for my citrusy taste – and they became this fabulous galette; the super flaky pastry is delicious and holds all the juices without getting soggy, and the plums, soft and perfectly sweet, get a boost from the vanilla seeds – a perfect combo. I’m usually very controlled around my baked goods but this time I had two huge slices of galette at once. :S

If I’m controlled about food – at least, sometimes – I cannot say the same about my favorite movies: I watched "Shutter Island" for the third time last night. :D

Vanilla-spiked plum galette
from the delicious and beautiful Rustic Fruit Desserts

Dough:
1 ¾ cups (245g) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (168g) unsalted butter, cold and diced
3 tablespoons ice water, more if necessary
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Filling:
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped with the back of the knife
1 tablespoon corn starch
pinch of salt
6 plums, pitted and each cut into eighths – 675g/1½ pounds prepped
sour cream*, crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream, to serve

Make the dough: put the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes or until very, very cold.
Place the bowl onto the food processor and blitz to combine the ingredients. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Stir in the water and lemon juice together and add to the dough while pulsing – pulse until the pastry is shaggy but holds together when squeezed in the palm of your hand; add more water if necessary. Dump the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a disk, without handing the dough too much. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (well wrapped, the dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months).
Line a large baking sheet with foil.
Make the filling: in a large bowl, rub together the sugar and vanilla bean seeds. Rub in the cornstarch and salt. Set aside 2 tablespoons of this mixture then add the plums to the bowl, tossing to cover the fruit completely with the mixture.
Roll out the dough into a 32-35cm (13-14in) circle then transfer to the prepared sheet. Sprinkle the reserved sugar mixture over the center of the dough, leaving a 5cm (2in) border around the edge.
The plums will release some juice while in the sugar mixture, therefore lift each slice of plum from the bowl and arrange the slices on the dough in a spiral over the sugar mixture sprinkled on the dough. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the juices – more than that will make your dough soggy. Fold the outer edge of the dough over the fruit, pleating the dough as necessary.
Place the galette in the refrigerator for 20 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
Bake the galette for 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180°C/350°F and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden and the fruit is bubbling – if the crust begins to get too dark towards the end of the cooking time cover the galette loosely with foil. Cool the galette for 30 minutes before serving.
Covered with a tea towel the galette will keep at room temperature for up to 2 days.

* homemade sour cream: to make 1 cup of sour cream, mix 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream with 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until it starts to thicken. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until thicker (I usually leave mine on the counter overnight – except on very warm nights – and it turns out thick and silky in the following morning; refrigerate for a creamier texture)

Serves 8-10