Although this is a recipe for Gluten Free Mirabelle Plum Galette you can easily swap the Mirabelle’s for standard plums. Never the prettiest of bakes but what it lacks in looks it makes up for in taste. If you’re sat there scratching your head asking yourself what exactly is a Mirabelle Plum anyway, I answer that in the next section – lucky you getting all the answers on tap like that!
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What are Mirabelle Plums?
So what are Mirabelle plums and can you eat them? Normally I wouldn’t link to Wikipedia as it’s not always accurate but this link is packed with interesting information about where the Mirabelle originates, where it can now be found in the EU and how it’s harvested.
The Mirabelle is a speciality of the French region of Lorraine, which has an ideal climate and soil composition for the cultivation of this fruit. This region produces 15,000 tons of Mirabelle plums annually, which constitutes 80% of global commercial production.
Wikipedia – mirabelle Plums
So to sum up, the Mirabelle is a fruit bearing tree that originated in France and bears the sweetest little golden and red berry-like plums that many mistake for ornamental plums.
Where do Mirabelle’s normally grow in the UK?
I am seriously so glad you asked because if you didn’t know prepare to have your mind blown. These dainty little plum trees pop up in many rural places. Where I live we have lots. The school nearby have several lining the school playground and we can access them on the outside of the property. We also have a few lining the streets in my ward.
Imagine that, plum trees just sitting there minding their own business.
Many people have no idea the fruits are edible and so every year lots of the fruits are left to fall and rot on pavements and hedgerows. Not me, as soon as I see the trees jewelled with perfect berry shaped fruits I’m there with my poo-bags (best thing for impromptu scrumping).
The bounty you see in the images below are from one dog walk and I could easily have filled 4 bags worth on that occasion.
What is a Galette?
The answer to this question is a bit more convoluted, however, as usual I’ll reel it in to make things simple. Galette comes from the Norman word Gale or ‘flat cake’ in a round-about way. So we now understand why this is a flat bake.
It gets a little more complicated when you see variations of galette, some sweet, some savoury, some frankly looking like a crepe or pancake.
The answer is in the region the recipe originates from in France. The galette I have recreated here is based on the free from pie-like dessert that seems to be generic across all regions but fillings tend to vary. This style of galette lends itself to having both sweet and savoury fillings.
Another type of galette comes from Bretton and is the pancake or crepe style I mentioned above. Specifically, this galette is made with buckwheat, a naturally gluten free flour rich in fibre (to be Coeliac safe it needs to be certified GF and made/packaged in a gluten free environment).
Finally there is a super posh celebratory galette called the Galette de Rois or King Cake. To me, this resembles a less complicated baklava.
The galette de rois is one of France’s most traditional festive bakes, and while many traditionalists swear by the original recipe, you’ll find more modern recipes include the likes of chocolate, fruit jams and chopped nuts. It’s quite a simple cake to create, but the flavour is incredibly rich and indulgent – perfect for rounding off the end of all that Christmas feasting.
Great British Chefs – The Galette
What other fruits can I use in a Galette?
What other fruits can you use to make this gluten free galette? The possibilities are endless. What’s your favourite fruit?
The rule of thumb is that the fruit needs to be soft or will become soft on baking. That’s it really. Here are some flavour combinations to get your teeth sunk into;
- apple and cinnamon
- blackberry and apple
- peach and apricot
- rhubarb and apple with ginger
- pear and chocolate
- banana and chocolate
And that’s just off the top of my head, seriously there are no limits. Tell you what, if you try one of the suggestions above or make up you own flavour combination then please do come back and let me know what you used, I’d love to hear about it.
Since developing this recipe I have made another Gluten Free Galette, this time one that nods in appreciation towards the traditional Galette des Rois, it’s just my little twist to make it free from and simpler.
How do you make a Galette?
Making this Mirabelle Plum Galette is super easy. Make up your galette dough, much like a shortcrust pastry. Then once chilled add the washed and stoned fruit, liberally sprinkle with the sugar and ground almond. Finally fold in the edges of the galette dough. No need to follow a design, just fold in the edges and overlap them – that’s it. Said it was simple.
For good measure I hold back a few of the Mirabelle fruits and mush them up a bit with a fork to create a raw jam that can be brushed over the galette to encourage a rich brown glaze.
Great toppings for this Mirabelle Plum Galette
Fancy something a bit special to accompany this Mirabelle Galette? Well then why not try making your very own clotted cream, this clotted cream is dairy free and vegan but you’d never know. For other serving suggestions keep scrolling to see my range of custards and ice creams.
Other Fruity Recipes you might like to try
Simple Gluten Free Spiced Peach Tarte Tatin
Deliciously Easy Gluten Free Peach Cobbler
Simple Dairy Free Gooseberry Fool Crumble
Gluten Free Rhubarb Fool Dessert
Gluten Free Gooseberry Crumble
No Bake Dairy Free Raspberry Cheesecake
Gluten Free Apple and Blackberry Crumble
Gluten Free Mirabelle Plum Galette Recipe
If you make it and like the recipe I would be eternally grateful if you popped back and commented leaving a star rating as this will tell search engines that this recipe is worth checking out and others will get to find it in searches.
Gluten Free Mirabelle Plum Galette
Equipment
Ingredients
For the galette dough
- 250 g gluten free plain flour
- 100 g butter or butter alternative (I use Flora plant butter)
- 50 g caster sugar
- 5 tbsp water iced water or as cold as you can make it
For the plum filling
- 250 g Mirabelle plums or normal plums [see notes for alternative suggestions]
- 2 tbsp ground almonds
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
Instructions
To make the galette dough
- In a large mixing bowl measure the flour, sugar and butter. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender (I use the latter as hands can be too hot), break the butter down into the flour and sugar to make breadcrumbs.
- Add the iced water one tablespoon at a time to the crumble mixture. After each addition use a rounded knife (like a butter knife) to cut through the crumble in a figure of eight. This motion brings the crumble together gradually as you keep adding the water.
- TOP TIP: you are not looking to blend this galette dough as you would pastry. Ideally you want it to be flecked with little lumps of butter.
- Once the dough has come together and is speckled with butter, gently roll into a ball and pop into the fridge to chill while you prepare your fruit.
To prepare the fruit filling
- Wash and pat the fruit dry with a tea towel.
- If using Mirabelle plums you can either cut them in half and pop the tiny cherry-like stones out or, like me, use a cherry stoner.
- In a little bowl or cup, measure out the caster sugar and ground almonds and give them a little mix to combine.
To make the galette
- Preheat the oven to 200°C | 180°C fan | 400°F | Gas 5
- Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and place on a dusted worksurface. Roll out into a dinner plate sized circle. No need to worry about the circle being perfect.
- TOP TIP: keep the rolling pin well floured. The little speckles of butter may stick to the pin otherwise.
- Once the dough is rolled out and placed on a prepared baking tray, add the prepared fruit to the centre of the dough with a decent margin, ideally you need to leave 1.5-2 inches of dough around the edges.NOTE: Keep a couple of plums back for the final step.
- Next sprinkle the almond and sugar mix over the fruit.
- Now you can fold the edge of the dough in towards the middle of the galette. the ends won't meet and you will be left with a hole in the top of the galette exposing the crumbly fruit centre.
- For a finishing touch I crush the couple of plums I held back with a fork and using a pastry brush I brush the tops of the galette to ensure it turns a beautiful golden colour when baking.
- Pop into the oven for 35mins until golden brown and the fruit juices have started to run.
- Once cooked remove from the oven and serve immediately with cream, custard or ice cream or cool and eat at room temperature with cream.
Notes
- apple and cinnamon
- blackberry and apple
- peach and apricot
- rhubarb and apple with ginger
- pear and chocolate
- banana and chocolate
Nutrition
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I’ve yet to get my hands on Mirabelles… But I do see them often. It seems they are always just out of reach. So I’ll either have to grow longer arms or keep searching.
Either way, your galette sounds delicious. I’m on my way!!
They’re natures little jewels, love them so much x
Galettes are my kind of low maintenance pie. I also love plums so will definitely give this a go.
I just love that fact they look different every time and there’s no pressure for perfection!
this plum galette is so wonderful with a little tart and sweet. It was too easy to put together all. thank you
Thank you Nancy, lovely to read your feedback x
I love anything made with plums. This looks like the perfect desert.
Even better when Mother Nature provides them for free haha x
It may not be pretty, but it looks scrumptious and makes my mouth water. That’s what counts. I only got a handful of plums this year from the neighbours. Lovely indeed, but not enough to make anything with. I await next year’s galette with eager anticipation.
I think this years harvest is a bit hit and miss, some things i though would fail in these extreme heat and drought did well, others were non-existent. Go figure haha.