Look at these beauties. One would think I spent hours in the kitchen kneading but truth is, they couldn’t be easier. They are so much simpler than tarts as they don’t require blind baking. Basically you make the dough entirely in the food processor (you only need to know how to use the “pulse” function), roll it into a rough circle, add your topping and bake. That’s it. Seriously.

I made galettes many times before. Savoury ones too, like a delicious Mushroom and Stilton galette. This however, has to be my absolute favourite. The reason is the addition of almonds and brown sugar. I added almonds in the crust but what really elevated these from delicious to divine, was the addition of a thin layer of almond paste. One bite and it’s like eating a crunchy, buttery cookie, spread with delicious marzipan and topped with juicy fruit compote.

You can use almost any fruit you fancy, like apples, plums or apricots. I had to honor the cherry season here in Cyprus, thus the Cherry Galette. I was also given a huge bag of organic peaches so I had to use some of that too.

So here they are. I would be a very grateful guest if my dinner host served me a galette for dessert. With a scoop of vanilla ice cream, I am really very close to heaven.

For the dough

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup raw almonds
• ¼ cup soft light brown sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 250 grams unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3 Tbs cream (you can substitute water)

For the almond paste

• ¾ cup raw almonds
• ¼ cup soft light brown sugar
• 2 Tbs granulated sugar
• 1 large egg

For the topping

• About 2 cups sweet cherries, pitted
• About 2 large peaches, peeled and sliced
• 1 Tbs butter melted
• ½ Tbs granulated sugar

Method

Make the dough: In a bowl of a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, add the flour, almonds, sugar and salt. Blend until almonds are finely ground. Add the chilled butter and pulse about 20 times, until mixture resembles small peas. Fluff mixture with a fork slightly to see the consistency.

In a small bowl, mix the egg yolks with the cream. Add that to the food processor and pulse about 20 times more. Until dough comes together. It will still be crumbly. Pinch it with your fingers. If it sticks together you are done. If it seems too dry, add a little bit more cream and pulse again.

Place a large piece of plastic wrap on your worktop. Tip the dough on the plastic wrap and knead it briefly with your hands until it comes together into a ball. Divide dough in half and create two disks. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. At this stage, you can leave the dough in the fridge for 2 days.

Make the almond paste: Put the almonds and sugars in a blender or food processor. Blend until finely ground. Add the egg and blend again. The mixture will be the consistency of peanut butter. Remove in a bowl, cover and refrigerate until needed.

Make the galettes: Take a piece of greaseproof paper and place one dough disk on top. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to a 25-27cm round. If the dough sticks on your rolling pin, sprinkle it with a little flour. If it’s too hard to roll since it’s been in the fridge, bang it a few times with your rolling pin to soften.

Spread half of the almond paste in the centre of the dough leaving a 5 cm border. Place the fruit on top of the almond paste in a circle. Fold the galette to enclose the filling. Put galette in the fridge while you prepare the other one.

Preheat oven to 200C. When ready to bake, brush galettes (dough and fruit) with the melted butter and sprinkle with the sugar. Transfer galettes with the greaseproof paper on oven trays. Bake for 30-35 minutes until galettes are golden and fruit looks blistered in places. If you feel galettes are browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil.

Cool galettes to room temperature. Serve with scoops of vanilla ice cream. They are divine!