Apricot and Lavender Galette Recipe

In the Languedoc where my family is from, apricots are the first true flavor of summer. They ripen under sunny skies and wait to be picked when they’re ripe on the tree. We make them into jams, compotes, preserves and all sorts of desserts. After my uncle came with a case full of home-grown apricots, I made this apricot galette and sprinkled it with lavender picked in my father’s garden. This apricot variety is called Rouge du Roussillon and it’s a delicious and firm summer fruit. If you can find good apricots at your farmers’ market, you won’t be disappointed by this galette and the kids will certainly ask for more.

Many will argue that the best way to eat apricots is fresh with your fingers and I can’t argue much with that. However, it’s also nice to use the many flavors of apricots when you roast the fruit into the oven with the apricot kernels you’ve cracked open yourself. In small quantities, these kernels taste like bitter almonds and no wonder that they should. They contain traces of cyanide and you should know this if you’re going to use them. To reduce the cyanide to safe levels, we skin and roast the kernels but you should do your own research before you decide to use them or not. A safer option is to use regular blanched almonds as a substitute.

As for lavender, you won’t need a lot. In fact, I picked this one stem and only used a dozen or so of the dried “seeds” on the galette. To me, they add a wonderful summer flavor that evoke the arid rocky landscapes of the Languedoc with lone pine trees and wild herbs as ground cover.

Now, on to the actual recipe.

Apricot and Lavender Galette Recipe

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

50 mins

Enjoy the full flavors of summer with this simple apricot galette sprinkled with lavender. Using a simple butter dough, the galette is simply garnished with ripe apricots and slowly baked in the oven.

Author: Frog Mom

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the dough
1.5 cups of flour
80g of butter, chilled and cubed
3 to 4 spoonfuls of sparkling water
For the galette
20 ripe apricots, cut in two, kernels removed
10 apricot kernels, blanched and skinned or 20 sweet almonds, blanched and skinned
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
½ teaspoon of dried lavender

Instructions

Preheat the oven at 160C/350F.
To make the dough, use a food processor and pulse the flour with the butter until it resembles crumbs.
Adding the sparking water slowly, pulse until the crumbs stick together.
Stop and gather the dough with your hands.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface with a rolling pin and garnish a wide round tart mould (or a baking sheet).
Starting at the center, garnish the dough with the apricot halves until an inch from the edges.
Sprinkle with the brown sugar.
Fold the remaining dough over the apricots. It should look a bit rough, this is a country dessert.
Add the almonds/apricot kernels and the dried lavender.
Bake in the oven until the edges are golden, roughly 40 minutes.