Ever since I was little, I've been obsessed with strawberries. Come June, my mom would buy a case of strawberries at a time because I would eat them so quickly. As an adult, nothing has changed. I started buying strawberries in February because I just couldn't wait (you may have noticed my strawberry dark chocolate muffin recipe pretty early in the year). Now that we're weeks away from June, I thought it was now appropriate to share this ultimate strawberry galette with pretzel crust and cream cheese filling. Guys, if you never had a strawberry dessert before, I urge you to make this one. It's so good.
Strawberry Galette with Pretzel Crust
Ingredients
Pretzel crust
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour (104 grams)
- ¾ cup pretzel crumbs, about 1 ½ cups whole pretzels (80 grams)
- 10 tablespoon butter, cut into small chunks (141 grams)
- 4-5 tablespoon cold water
Cream cheese filling
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened (170 grams)
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Strawberries
- 4 cups strawberries, sliced (500 grams)
- ¼ cup honey (84 grams)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Remaining ingredients
- egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon heavy cream)
- 2 tablespoon coarse sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Make the pretzel crust. In a food processor, process about 1 ½ - 2 cups of pretzels until they become fine crumbs. Add the whole wheat flour and butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Add 4 tablespoon water, pulsing the mixture just until combined. If the mixture is too dry, add an additional tablespoon of water. Gently knead the dough into a disc and wrap it with plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the cream cheese filling. Beat together the softened cream cheese with egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.
- Toss the strawberries with honey, cornstarch, and orange zest.
- Lightly dust a clean work counter with flour. Remove the pretzel dough from the fridge and roll it until it's about ⅛ inch thick. Spread the cream cheese filling over the dough in an even layer, leaving a 1-inch border. Top the cream cheese with the strawberries and fold the edges of the dough over the filling. Brush the crust with the egg wash and sprinkle coarse sugar over the dough.
- Bake the galette in the oven for 45 minutes - 1 hour or until the crust is golden and the fruit is caramelized. Let cool slightly and serve warm or at room temperature.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
The thing I love about galettes is that they're rustic. Unlike a pie, it doesn't have to have perfect crimping or beautiful latticework. In fact, the more unperfect it is, the better. The same applies to this strawberry galette with a pretzel crust.
To make the galette, we first have to make the pretzel crust. You can absolutely use a regular pie dough recipe, but the hearty, slightly salty pretzel flavor works beautifully with the sweet berries.
Pulse the pretzels into fine crumbs using a food processor or blender. You can try crushing them by hand but get ready to use those arm muscles. Then, combine the pretzel crumbs with the flour and butter until the butter is broken into small pieces. Add the water, mixing just until the dough comes together, then shape it into a disc and chill for 30 minutes.
If you don't have a food processor, feel free to mix the mixture by hand. In fact, it's better to mix by hand to avoid overmixing the dough (overmixing can result in a tough pie crust).
While the dough is chilling, make the cream cheese filling and season the berries. Since the strawberries are already sweet, all you need is a bit of honey and orange zest for a little extra flavor.
Once the dough is firm, roll it out until it's about ⅛ inch thick. You can roll it into a circle or rectangle, whatever is easiest. Next, spread the cream cheese filling, leaving a 1-inch border for the crust. Top the cream cheese with the berries in an even layer, drizzling some of that extra juice on top. My berries were extra juicy, but I didn't want to pour all of the juice on the dough since it can get soggy.
Then, fold the dough over the filing to create a lovely crust. Brush the egg wash on the crust and sprinkle coarse sugar on top.
Bake the galette until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is softened and caramelized. Let it cool slightly before serving warm.
If I didn't mention this before, I'll say it again. This strawberry galette with pretzel crust is the most delicious dessert. It's simple but effective, as Paul Hollywood would say. In fact, I think I'll go have another slice right now.
For more strawberry inspiration check out this strawberry rhubarb cheese danish!
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