Mango and Lime Frangipane Galette

What I made last week: a mango and lime frangipane galette, a tropical re-imagining of my favorite fall-is-almost-here pastry. The calendar says September but it’s still as sultry as summer, with even a thunderstorm or two. All this humidity is making me feel like I’m still in Panama City (recap coming soon, by the way).

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A preview of my trip to Panama City and the historic quarter of Casco Viejo. Gorgeous – but humidity hovered around 90% every day and the occasional rain shower was nearly a given 

One of my favorite finds in Casco Viejo…stops for ice cream a necessity for a California native who favors dry heat over the tropics!

When it’s that hot and sticky outside, my appetite pretty much disappears, except for all things sweet and cold. When I’m in equally muggy Hong Kong, I stop by the Chinese dessert shops almost every day for something icy and made from mangoes. Although I think this galette is best served when it’s still warm and the crust is flaky-crisp, a scoop of coconut ice cream on top will give it the perfect chill.

If you’re short on time or you just want to go simple, you don’t need the frangipane – as I’ve noted, there’s no wrong way to enjoy a galette. But if you’re so inclined, the frangipane adds a layer of complexity to the galette that takes it from spur-of-the-moment to composed dessert. The tartness of the lime balances out the lush sweetness of the mangoes and enhances the buttery richness of the pastry.

When I first came up with this galette, I was thinking of the hot and humid nights in Panama City, never guessing that it would become a perfectly appropriate dessert for these last few muggy weeks in San Francisco. It’s been quite novel to have actual *weather* here for once. Ironically, the very next day after my husband declared quite confidently to Isabelle that thunderstorms hardly ever happen here, we watched from our balcony as the darkening evening sky filled with lightning strike after lightning strike. A most memorable farewell to summer to be sure.

Mango and Lime Frangipane Galette

 

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Author: Anita Chu

Recipe type: tart

Ingredients

Blitz Puff

• 5 ounces all purpose flour
• 5 ounces unsalted butter, very cold, cut into 1-in pieces
• ½ tsp salt
• 45 ml (45 g) water, ice cold

frangipane

• ½ cup (50 g) ground almonds
• ¼ cup (50g) sugar
• 2 tbsp (30 g) butter
• 1 large egg
• ¼ tsp almond extract
• juice and zest from one lime

Filling

• 2 medium mangos
• few teaspoons milk for brushing crust
• turbinado sugar for sprinkling
• ¼ cup apricot preserves

Instructions

1. For the blitz puff:
2. Combine the flour and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix the ingredients together on low speed until the mixture is shaggy and resembles cornmeal, with visible pieces of butter still. Do not let the flour and butter turn into a solid ball of dough – if the components are completely mixed you will not have the layering of flour and fat needed to form the flaky layers!
3. Add the salt to the mixture. Pour in the water and mix on low speed just until the dough starts to come together; again, don’t let the dough turn into one solid lump. There should still be little pieces of butter and the dough should be sticky.
4. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and form into a square. If the kitchen is warm and the dough is very soft and sticky, place it on a sheet pan and chill in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes until it firms up enough to work with.
5. Using flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking, roll out the dough about ½ inch thick and in the shape of a rectangle. The dimensions are not important – a roughly rectangle shape is fine, but try to keep the edges straight and square with each other so when you fold the dough over the edges will line up evenly.
6. To do a single turn on the dough, imagine the long side of the rectangle divided into thirds. Fold one end third over onto the middle third, then fold the other end third over on top, making a trifold. Make sure the edges are lined up as evenly as possible.
7. Roll the trifold out again to about ½" thickness and in the shape of a rectangle, switching the directions of the long and short sides – in other words, the folded sides of the trifold should become the long side and the open sides should become the short side.
8. Do another turn (trifold) with this rectangle.
9. Repeat this process one more time so you have done a total of three turns. If at any point the dough starts becoming very soft or rubbery, let it rest in the refrigerator for a little bit before working on it some more.
10. Roll the dough out into a rectangle. This time, do a double turn – imagine the long side of the rectangle divided into fourths. Fold both end fourths over onto the center fourths, then fold the two sides together again so all four layers are stacked on top of each other. Wrap the dough up completely in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
11. For the frangipane:
12. Combine almonds and sugar in bowl of food processor. Process until combined.
13. Add butter and process until combined and mixture is smooth.
14. Add egg and almond extract and process until mixture is fully combined and smooth.
15. Add the lime juice and process until combined.
16. You can store the frangipane in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it, or use it right away.
17. To assemble the tart:
18. Roll the dough out on a piece of parchment paper to a 13" diameter round. Transfer parchment to a baking sheet and place back in the refrigerator to chill while you cut up the mangos.
19. Wash, and slice the mangos into ¼" thick slices. Place the slices in a bowl of water mixed with a few drops of lemon juice.
20. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
21. Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Spread a thin layer of frangipane over the puff pastry, leaving about an 1½" border all around. You will have leftover frangipane - you can use it in another tart.
22. Arrange the mango slices in overlapping rows over the frangipane.
23. Brush the edges with a little milk and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
24. Bake galette for 40-45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and crisp. (You want to bake the galette a little longer than you think so the bottom is fully cooked as well and doesn't get soggy.)
25. Let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from parchment. Warm the apricot preserves in the microwave or over the stove and brush over the mango slices. Scatter lime zest over the top. Serve immediately.

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