One of the greatest compliments that you can get as being a cook, is to have people outside your family tell you how much they like your recipes (especially when they were originally created for those on restricted diets). It goes to show that just because something is different, does not automatically make it weird or gross. This is one reason why I personally hate using the term “restricted” in context to what one can eat. Words like that always seems to have a negative connotation paired along side them, when in reality, one is usually eating a certain way to better their bodies in a good, positive way. Once you separate “different” from “bad,” it is much easier to be happy with what you are doing, where you are in life, or any situation that may occur at any given moment. That being said, after lasts week spiced pumpkin pie recipe was such an incredible hit, I knew I had to expand on the recipe. If you are not familiar with a “galette,” it is originally a French delicacy, always freeform, and typically in the shape of a round tart or pie. Though they can be made sweet with fruit or cream fillings, they can also be a savory dish with meat, cheese, or vegetables. Eventually, I am thinking of turning this recipe into a caramelized onion, ham, sage, and butternut squash galette. If you do not eat any form of sugar outside of fruit, simply omit the maple sugar in the filling, as I am sure the pears and dates alone will be sweet enough for your liking. However, if you are one simply trying to cut back on refined sugar and are looking for great alternatives, maple sugar can be just the thing. Personally, I am very sensitive to sweets, consequentially making any dessert I create usually on the less-sweet side. However, my mother thought the balance in this recipe was perfect. I understand that the spiral pear center can seem sort of confusing and hard, as I myself had never done one before this recipe. Though it appears as if it will never come together, as long as you keep evenly layering the slices of fruit around the entire crust, you are golden. If things just keep going wrong and you truly cannot get the hang of it, simply chop up the pears into like-sized cubes. As a note for those allergic to coconut, you can easily substitute it for any other fat on hand. Because of the fading light, I had a hard time capturing the galette as tasty as it really was. However, do not let my lack of photography skills fool you, this dessert is the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving meal. 
Rustic Pear Galette
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust
- 3-4 ripe pears (3 1/2 cups sliced) *I used Bartlett
- 2 tbsp sweet potato flour
- 2 tbsp maple sugar + more for dusting
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 lemon – juiced
- Pinch of salt
- 9 medjool dates – pitted, soaked, and pureed
- 2 tbsp coconut oil + more for brushing
Process
- Prepare pie crust ingredients as directed
- Roll out dough to 14 inches on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Place baking sheet in fridge to chill while making the filling.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Core, peel, and pears slice into 1/4 inch slices.
- Place in a large bowl and toss pears, cinnamon, sweet potato flour, maple sugar, ginger, lemon juice, and pinch of salt.
- Place dates in very hot water and soak for at least 5 minutes.
- Once softened, puree in the food processor until a smooth paste has formed.
- Spread the date mixture over the crust, leaving a 1-2 inch rim around the outside.
- Sprinkle date paste with 1/4 tsp ginger.
- Next, spiral pears around the crust in a circle, starting in the middle and rotating around until the crust is full. *Make sure to leave a 1-2 inch gap around the sides
- Using parchment paper, lift the edges of the crust over the pears, folding over and lightly pressing down without breaking the dough.
- Continue until the entire pie crust is folded over and a round pie has formed.
- If your crust is too full of pears, simply removed a few slices and continue to fold over the dough.
- Dollop the top of your galette with 2 tbsp coconut oil. *Or any other fat on hand.
- Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Cover with foil, and allow to cook for 20 more minutes.
- Take out of the oven and let galette cool.
- Transfer onto plate and dust with maple sugar and brush with melted coconut oil.
- Slice and serve.
Coconut Glaze (Optional): 2 tbsp full fat coconut milk + 1 tbsp coconut oil melted together and brushed over the finished galette.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Hi Gabriella! This looks yummy, and is almost a perfect fit for all the food allergies I have to accommodate…just found out I have to bring a dessert for Christmas dinner tomorrow! Yikes! I don’t know if you can help me out here but I have to ask…(I know, I hate to be “that commenter” but…) On such short notice, I am pretty positive I can’t get sweet potato flour (not sold in my town and I have been procrastinating ordering it to play around with!). While my aunt can’t do coconut, she (and my husband, the other food allergy sufferer) seem to handle almonds ok. Do you know if almond flour would be an ok substitute for the SP flour in this recipe? I understand if you don’t…not sure how much you can tolerate nuts (if at all) but just had to ask. I’m off on a mission here soon to try to hunt down SP flour but I don’t feel hopeful about it.
Ali, I am SO sorry I did not see your comment until now (after Christmas). Due to almond flour being pretty versatile, I believe it may work pretty well in the crust, though I cannot be 100% certain. Again, so sorry I did not get back to you, hopefully you had a good Christmas dinner!
No problem! Thanks for getting back to me at all! I was unsuccessful in my mission for SP flour so I went with a different option for Christmas dessert…but I am so looking forward to making this amazing-looking recipe soon!! Hope you had a great Christmas! 🙂