Guys, in a little less than 2 weeks, the best food holiday of the year is upon us: The 4th of July!!
Well, maybe not the BEST. Thanksgiving and Christmas and the Super Bowl are pretty great, too. But it’s definitely the best of the summer food holidays, and we need to make sure we’re prepared.
This week, I have the perfect easy, summer-y dessert for you to whip up for your 4th of July bash: this almond streusel-topped blueberry galette. I absolutely love baking with berries during the summer, and I think this is honestly one of the best things I’ve ever baked. It’s summer dessert perfection – fresh and light from the berries, buttery and decadent from the pie crust, and crunchy and nutty from the almond streusel. And let’s be real – if you want to be SUPER DUPER 4th of July cute, you could definitely make this with half strawberries and half blueberries for a red-white-and-blue galette. People probably wouldn’t be able to handle how awesome you are. But I’m a blueberry devotee for life so I stuck with all blueberries, and I guarantee you won’t regret it if you go that route, too. The sweet, plump, explode-in-your-mouth blueberries combined with the buttery cornmeal crust is just too good.
Also, this is the perfect time to learn a little baking secret: a galette is basically the lazy man’s pie. It tastes just as delicious as a pie, but instead of crimping and lattice-topping and making a bit deal out of things, we just roll out the dough, dump the filling in the middle, and then fold the edges over the filling and marvel at our beautiful rustic dessert-making abilities. It’s the perfect dessert when you don’t want to spend any more time than necessary in the kitchen, and want to focus on getting your beer-by-the-pool on. Because that’s what summer’s all about, right?
And that blueberry juice ooze. Summer is definitely all about that, too.
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- ¼ cup coarse cornmeal
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ cup refrigerator-cold butter, cut into small chunks (see Note)
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. cornstarch
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp. almond paste
- 2 tbsp. refrigerator-cold butter, cut into chunks
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp. turbinado sugar
- First, make the dough. Combine the flour, sugar, cornmeal, and salt in a food processor and pulse just a few times. Then add the butter and pulse about 5 more times, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. Add the buttermilk a little bit at a time, processing as you go, and then continue processing until the dough forms a ball. Remove the dough, form it into a cohesive ball, and wrap it in plastic wrap and stick in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes.
- When your dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 350°F. Combine the blueberries, 1 tbsp. of sugar, and the cornstarch in a small bowl.
- Then, make the streusel topping. In another small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, almond paste, butter, and almonds. Combine with your fingers until the mixture is well-combined and streusel-y.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Roll and/or press the dough into a 12-14 inch circle. Transfer the parchment paper with the dough circle to a baking sheet. Pour the blueberry mixture into the center of the circle and spread out to about a 2-inch border. Sprinkle the streusel over the blueberries, then fold the edges of the dough over the filling, pressing gently to make sure there is a cohesive border. Finally, brush the dough with the beaten egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Bake the galette on a rack in the center of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until the crust is nicely golden. Allow the galette to cool to room temperature, then serve. This galette is delicious by itself, but it would also be incredible with a big scoop of French vanilla ice cream!
- When making a dough that requires the butter to be cold, I usually cut it into small chunks, then return the plate to the refrigerator to chill again. Otherwise, the heat from your hands makes the butter too warm to create a flaky crust!
Looking for more festive summer desserts?
Salted Caramel Bacon Ice Cream Pie
it looks delicious!
Thank you so much Dina!! You should try it – it’s sooo good! 😀