Thomasina Miers' recipe for cherry frangipane galette

There has been a bumper harvest of cherries this year, and I can’t get enough of them. This quick galette, which uses readymade all-butter puff pastry, requires very little work, but looks sensational when it emerges from the oven: golden, crisp and juicy, with those deep scarlet stains from the cherry juices. A brilliant midweek pudding fix that does a delectable fruit justice.

Cherry frangipane galette

Caramelised nuts, sweet fruit, crisp pastry and a drop of booze: this is everything I want in a pudding.

Prep 20 min
Cook 50 min
Serves 8

1 x 320g shop-bought, all-butter rolled puff pastry sheet
160g butter
120g golden caster sugar
3 medium eggs
140g ground almonds
50g plain flour
Zest of 1 orange
300g fresh or frozen cherries, stoned
30g demerara sugar
50g hazelnuts or whole almonds, roughly chopped
Kirsch, grappa or Cointreau (optional)

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Lay the pastry sheet out on a board and trim so that the edges are straight, then transfer to a lined baking tray.

Using an electric whisk, beat the butter and sugar until creamy, light and fluffy. Gradually add two of the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then use a large spoon gently to fold in the almonds, flour and orange zest.

Spread out the frangipane in the centre of the pastry sheet, leaving a 4cm border, then pile the cherries on top. Fold the sides of the pastry over the cherries, crimping them a little, to create a dam that will prevent the juices escaping.

Whisk the remaining egg with a splash of water, then brush it all over the pastry. Sprinkle the demerara sugar and nuts all over the pastry and fruit, then bake for 50 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the fruit is soft. Remove from the oven and, if you like, sprinkle the tart with a few teaspoons of kirsch or other booze, to lift the cherry flavour delicately.

Serve warm or at room temperature with ice-cream or Greek yoghurt.

And for the rest of the week …

If you have any cherries left over, I love them for breakfast with Greek yoghurt, toasted almonds and honey. Or preserve them in liqueur to add glamour to autumn cocktails.