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A sweet and tart blood orange galette served with cinnamon whipped cream – a perfectly rustic and free-form dessert for the colder months.

When we think of galettes, we think of summer, of berries and peaches. Maybe we think of autumn and apples. And there’s a small possibility we think of mushrooms.

But we rarely consider galette and winter in the same thought.

And that’s where we’re wrong.

Because just as mid-winter hits and you feel like everything will be dreary forever more, citrus fruit arrive in all their brightly coloured glory to lead you into spring.

Why you’ll love this Blood Orange Galette Recipe

It celebrates the sweet, tart and bitterness of blood oranges in all their hues.
The galette has a thin, flaky crust that’s easy to make.
Paired with warming spices from the cinnamon whipped cream, it’s the perfect dessert for the colder months.

Cook along with me:

What is a Galette?

Galette is the traditional French term for anything that is flat and round, and can be made from pastry or bread. This means that a galette can equally be a galette de Rois (king cake), a pithivier (essentially enclosed flat pies), a buckwheat galette (savoury folded crepe from Breton), or a brioche galette.

Today, the most common interpretation of galette is a free-form, rustic tart with fruit spilling out from the partly folded crust. Though the ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ type of cooking has made savoury galettes quite popular as well.

Being easier to make that pies or tarts is another reason galettes have become so popular. You don’t need any fancy pie dishes or tart pans to make a galette; just roll it out, pile on the filling, fold and tuck up the edges, place it onto a baking tray and bake!

No Soggy Bottoms Here!

Fruit are juicy, that’s why we love them! But nothing ruins a galette faster than too much juice making the pastry soggy. Here are some tricks to safeguard your pastry bottom:

Chilled pastry. If your kitchen, or your hands, are getting too hot and the butter in the pastry is melting, best to chill the pastry for a bit. That’s why we roll pastry out on baking paper, it let’s us slide it onto a try or a plate and pop it in the fridge for a few moments to firm back up.

Even pastry. Galette pastry should be even all around for even cooking, and should be rolled out quite thinly, around 3mm. Too thick and the pastry will be gummy instead of flaky, and if it’s too thin, it will start to burn before the filling has cooked.

Too much liquid. Galette fillings should not be too wet as galette dough isn’t par-baked. For this blood orange galette, I don’t recommend tossing the fruit pieces in corn starch (like in a peach galette). Instead, pat each slice of blood orange free of excess juices as you cut them.

An extra layer. Because galettes aren’t par-baked, recipes usually call for an extra layer or barrier between the pastry and the filling. For this combo, I’ve used both a cream cheese layer to complement the tartness and bitterness of the blood oranges and amaretti biscuit crumbs. There. Will. Be. No. Soggy. Bottoms. Here!

How to make the Blood Orange Galette

I won’t lie; there are a few components to make. But everything is quite simple and each element requires only a few steps. And what better way to spend a cold and dreary day than baking!

Make the pastry. This galette pastry comes together in a food processor easily and quickly. Turn it out, bring it just together, and then fold it in thirds to get extra flaky pastry. Wrap it in cling film and let it chill out in the fridge for 45 minutes to an hour.

Slice the blood oranges. To peel blood oranges with a knife, slice off the ends so they stand flat and sturdy. Using a small, sharp knife, cut away the peel AND the white pith beneath it by following the curve and shape of the fruit. You can then turn the orange over and slice away any bits you might have missed. Don’t cut straight down or you’ll end up wasting a lot of fruit. Then turn the blood orange on its side and cut ¼ in thick rounds crosswise to make slices. Any thinner and rounds may fall apart, as I discovered!

Prepare the protective layers. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, egg yolk and sugar and beat until smooth with electric beaters. (Give the beaters a quick wash but don’t put them away, you’ll need them again for the cinnamon whipped cream.) Then, gently smash up the amaretti biscuits until they are large crumbs. Set both aside.

Rolling the pastry. Roll out the pastry between a sheet of parchment paper and the cling film it was wrapped in. Turn the pastry after every other roll so you get as even a circle shape as possible. Don’t worry about the edges cracking or looking rough; for a galette, that’s a good thing! Roll the pastry out until it 3mm thick.

Assemble and bake the galette. Once the pastry is rolled out thin and even, spread the cream cheese filling over the centre of the pastry, spreading it outwards, but keeping a 5cm border around the edges of the pastry. Then scatter over the amaretti biscuit crumbs. Next, layer the blood orange slices on top of the cream cheese mixture, slightly overlapping them (they’ll shrink a bit in the over as the moisture gets drawn out). Finally, fold the sides of pastry up and over the blood oranges, keeping the centre open. Egg wash the pastry edges and throw the whole thing in the oven!

Whip up the cinnamon cream. When the galette has finished baking, allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes. Whilst you wait, whip up the cream and cinnamon to firm peaks and gently spoon into a small serving bowl.

Serve and enjoy!

Got a sweet tooth? Try these recipes too:

If you make this Blood Orange Galette with Cinnamon Whipped Cream, please be sure to leave a comment and let me know. Or tag me over on Instagram, I love seeing what you guys are making from the blog!

Blood Orange Galette

A sweet and tart blood orange galette served with cinnamon whipped cream – a perfectly rustic and free-form dessert for the colder months.

Print Pin Rate

Course: Baking, Dessert

Cuisine: French, Western

Diet: blood orange, cinnamon, cream cheese

Prep Time: 40

Cook Time: 35

Resting Time: 45

Total Time: 2

Servings: serves

Author: Eff | Food Daydreaming

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Pastry

180 g all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
130 g butter, chilled and chopped into cubes
2-3 tablespoons iced water

For the Galette

4-6 blood oranges + 1 extra blood orange, juiced
100 g cream cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg yolk + 1 extra egg
4 amaretti biscuits
1 teaspoon water

For the Whipped Cream

150 ml heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Start by making the galette pastry. Add the flour, sugar, salt and butter to a food processor and pulse until you have a breadcrumb-like consistency. Add 2 tablespoons of water and pulse again until soft, pea-sized dough balls form. If it’s looking too dry, add the third tablespoon of water as the food processor is running.
180 g all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, 130 g butter, 2-3 tablespoons iced water
Tip the dough out onto a clean surface, and gently but quickly bring the dough together into a rough rectangular shape. Fold it in thirds over itself to make an extra flaky pastry and then shape it into a disc. Wrap it in cling film and chill in the fridge for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
While the pastry chills, wash, peel and slice the blood oranges by cutting off the ends so they stand flat and sturdy. Using a small, sharp knife, cut away the peel AND the white pith beneath it by following the curve and shape of the fruit. You can then turn the orange over and slice away any bits you might have missed. Don’t cut straight down or you’ll end up wasting a lot of fruit. Then turn the blood orange on its side and cut ¼ in thick rounds crosswise to make slices. Lay the blood orange slices out flat and gently blot with a paper towel to get rid of excess moisture. Set aside.
4-6 blood oranges + 1 extra blood orange
Make the cream cheese filling by combining the cream cheese, egg yolk and sugar in a bowl. Beat until smooth with electric beaters. Set aside.
100 g cream cheese, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 egg yolk + 1 extra egg
Using a rolling pin, pestle, or your fist, lightly crush the amaretti biscuits until you have large crumbs, NOT a fine powder. Set this aside as well.
4 amaretti biscuits
Remove the pastry from the fridge and let it warm up a little to make it easier to roll out; about 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Roll out the pastry between a sheet of parchment paper and the cling film it was wrapped in. The galette will get baked on the parchment paper so don’t skip this set or it’ll be very difficult to lift the galette once formed. Roll the pastry out, turning it every other roll, into a large circle until the pastry is 3mm thick and even.
Spread the cream cheese filling over the centre of the pastry, spreading it outwards, but keeping a 5cm border around the edges of the pastry. Then scatter the amaretti biscuit crumbs over the cream cheese mixture. Next, layer the blood orange slices on top of the cream cheese mixture, slightly overlapping them (they’ll shrink a bit in the over as the moisture gets drawn out).
Fold and tuck the sides of the pastry up and over the blood oranges, keeping the centre open. Whisk the remaining whole egg with the water and using a pastry brush, brush the pastry edges with the egg wash then put the galette into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and crisp at the edges.
1 teaspoon water
When ready, take the galette out of the oven and let it stand for about 10 minutes. Juice the remaining blood orange and using a pastry brush, brush a little of the juice over the blood orange slices to glaze. Let the galette cool for another 20 minutes before slicing into it.
While the galette is cooling, make the cinnamon whipped cream by combining the heavy cream, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Use electric beaters to whip the cream to firm peaks and spoon it into a bowl to serve.
150 ml heavy cream, 1 tablespoon sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Slice the blood orange galette, serve with the cinnamon whipped cream and enjoy!

Cook along with me

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Nutrition

Blood Orange Galette with Cinnamon Whipped Cream