An easy and impressive summer dessert recipe, this basil and blackberry galette with tickle your tastebuds! Flaky, all butter pie dough, rich vanilla bean pastry cream, and basil infused blackberries make this one perfect summer berry galette recipe for your summer cookouts.

A whole blackberry galette sitting on a sheet pan waiting to be cut and served

What are Galettes?

Many people ask if a galette is a pie or a tart? The answer is neither! Pies and tarts are both made in a mold or tin while galettes are free form and a little more rustic looking. I like to think of this recipe as a blackberry rustic tart or a blackberry crostata. Galettes in general are made with pie dough, topped with fruit, and baked. This specific blackberry galette recipe is pie dough topped with pastry cream, and then fruit. The pastry cream helps to prevent the bottom from getting soggy and prevents the galette from drying out.

The Origin of Galettes

A galette is purely a French dessert originating from Norman times (medieval times) and comes from the Norman word gale meaning “flat cake.” Over time the term became a catchall for many different sweet and savory dishes that were flat and round with the most well known being a fruit or vegetable galette. Other variations include galette bretonne and galette de rios. All are delicious in my book. Check out more here on where galettes come from.

An overhead shot of a whole blackberry galette on a piece of parchment with blackberries around

Blackberry Galette Ingredients

Blackberries: I always prefer fresh, but you can use frozen blackberries to make galette. I would just let them thaw in a strainer at room temperature for about an hour.
Basil: This herby dessert definitely needs fresh basil and definitely do not use dried as it has a different flavor and gives a weird mouthfeel.
Egg yolks: This recipe uses only egg yolks which you, unfortunately, cannot buy separate. If you need to use up those egg whites, check out my egg white heavy desserts.
Puff pastry (optional) or store bought pie dough: You can make this a blackberry galette with puff pastry by buying puff pastry instead of making pie dough. You can also buy pie crust instead of making it. With either option, you will want to roll out to be about 10″ in diameter then treat the same.

Major Allergens Present: Gluten, dairy, eggs

Equipment Needed

This is a great recipe for those who do not have the luxury of owning a stand or hand mixer!

Food processor: Used to break up the butter and mix with the flour. Alternatively, you can rub the cubed butter in your hands with the flour.
Rolling pin: Used to roll out the pie dough. Alternatively, you can use any long cylindrical object.
Pastry brush: Used to brush the edges of the pie dough with heavy cream. Can be bristles or silicon. This is not necessary but provides a nice brown sheen.

A close up shot of a slice of blackberry galette being pulled out of the whole galette

How to Make a Blackberry Galette:

What is a Blackberry Galette Made Out Of?

As an amazing summer berry galette recipe, this fruity bake uses unsweetened, all butter pie dough, vanilla pastry cream, and basil macerated, fresh blackberries. You can also call this a blackberry crostata as it is the same thing under a different name from a different country. The galette dough, however, is not the same as puff pastry, although, puff pastry doesn’t sound too bad. Good news is that the galette crust is the same as a pie crust which you can buy from the store if preferred to making your own.

Macerate the blackberries

First step we want to take is macerating the blackberries. Macerating is a way to slowly soften the blackberries, strengthen its own flavor, and soak up other flavors. Here, we use sugar to draw out liquid from the blackberries to not only strengthen the blackberry flavor but to soak up the that basil. The lemon juice and zest helps add a little acidity, strengthens the flavors, and soften the fruit.

Make the Pastry Cream

Pastry cream is a fundamental product, and I use it in several recipes. Boil the milk, temper the egg mixture, bring to a boil, whisk in the butter, cool. Tempering in baking is bringing two liquids you plan to combine to a similar temperature before mixing all together. The cornstarch, primary, and the yolks, secondary, are the thickening agents here. When boiling it all together, make sure it comes to a full boil while whisking constantly otherwise the bottom will burn, and let it boil for 1-2 minutes to remove the cornstarch taste and texture.

Now this will need to chill in the fridge until cold because if you spread warm pastry cream on cold pie dough, you will have a very soft sticky mess of dough. Place some plastic wrap directly on top of the pastry cream to prevent any skins from forming before placing in the fridge. Also, you can make this a day or two beforehand.

Make the Pie Dough

A food processor makes this pie dough recipe a little easier to make. Normally, you would rub the butter into the flour creating long flakes that would then melt in the oven creating flakiness. With a food processor, you can almost mimic that yielding very similar results. First, make sure that your butter is VERY cold and you are using ice water. For the butter, I will cube it up and let it chill back up in the fridge while I weigh out the rest of the ingredients. Same with the water.

Pulse half the dry ingredients with the cold, cubed butter until pea sized butter chunks, and dump out on the table with the rest of the flour. If you still have some large chunks of butter, you can rub together with your hands to create flakes. Make a well in the center, and pour in the water. Mix with a fork gradually taking on more flour until it is no longer runny then start kneading. Depending on your environment, you may need more or less water. Start the smallest amount and gradually in more based on how dry your dough feels. If it’s not coming together, that is a sign you need more water so pay close attention.

We don’t want to overwork this dough as it will become tough and not as flaky, so knead just until combined; it’s okay to have crumbles and to not form a cohesive dough. Allow to rest in the fridge for thirty minutes before rolling out.

Roll Out the Tart Dough

If you’ve never rolled out dough before it can be tricky the first time to get a feel for it. Start with a floured surface. With a rolling pin or similar object, start from the center and then push out on all sides to form a rough circle. Frequently move or turn the dough to prevent sticking, and if it does start to stick, sprinkle a little more flour. Roll to a quarter inch thick and even all around. Run your hand over the dough and try to feel if any sections are thicker or thinner than the rest. Again, we don’t want to overwork the dough so roll quickly!

Compose the Blackberry Galette and Bake

Once you have that pie dough rolled out, spoon out all of the pastry cream, and spread around using a small offset spatula. Leave about a 1-inch rim all around so that we are able to fold those nice edges. After the pastry cream, top with the blackberries also keeping that one-inch rim around. I will usually spoon out the blackberries leaving the juices behind. Finally, carefully fold that 1-inch gap on top of the blackberries; it’s okay if it looks a little rustic!

Transfer to a parchment or silicon mat lined sheet pan and place in the freezer for thirty minutes. This will firm up the dough and, especially, the butter in the dough. In the meantime, preheat that oven! I like to brush the crust with heavy cream and top with coarse sugar prior to baking because it gives the crust a nice sheen and a little extra sweetness to the unsweetened dough. Bake until the crust is a light golden brown making sure to rotate half way-ish through baking. Garnish with extra basil leaves and serve either warm or at room temperature!

A whole blackberry galette on a piece of parchment

Helping Make the Blackberry Galette

Tips on How to Make Pie Dough

Use cold butter and do not work it too much in the food processor, otherwise it will get too warm and your dough will not be as flaky.
Use ice water. I will add a few ice cubes to a glass of water and weigh that out minus the ice cubes.
Once you add the water, work the dough as little as possible to prevent the butter from warming up. Use decisive, intentional kneads, and you don’t need the dough to be fully incorporated. Having a few crumbles is okay, so there’s no need to be perfect.
Allow the dough to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling out. This relaxes the bread dough, and it gives the butter a chance to cool down after being worked.
When rolling it out, use decisive, intentional strokes with the rolling pin. Again, we do not want to work the dough too much and warm the butter.
Once composed, allow to rest in the freezer for 30 minutes before baking to firm up that butter.

Enhancing This Blackberry Galette:

Steep basil in with your pastry cream for extra basil flavor!
Use lemon zest in your pastry cream and add a splash of lemon juice at the end for a brighter flavor profile.
Toss in some almonds with the blackberries before topping the pastry cream.
Make it mixed berry with fresh or frozen blueberries, raspberries, and or strawberries!

How to Store and Freeze the Blackberry Galette:

Wrapped tightly, store the pie dough in the freezer for up to 3 months defrosting overnight before use or in the fridge for up to 6 weeks.
Store the baked galette at room temperature in a sealed container or wrapped in plastic wrap.
In an airtight container, store the pastry cream separately in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Store the unbaked galette in the freezer, wrapped, for up to 1 month.

An overhead shot of a couple slices of blackberry galette on plates

Troubleshooting the Blackberry Galette:

My pie dough is really crumbly! It’s just a little dried out! Sprinkle some cold water, and work until your dough is less crumbly.
My pastry cream is really loose! You did not cook it long enough after you added the eggs. Once you have added the eggs, cook, while stirring constantly, until it boils then cook for another 2-3 minutes while it is boiling. For now, you can throw it back on the stove and keep cooking!

Something else going wrong? Reach out and we will troubleshoot together!