Summer desserts should look and taste exactly like the season: bursting with color and full of fresh, sunny flavor. The best ones are also super easy to make, with ingredients that are easy to find in either the supermarket or farmers market, and not wickedly expensive.
My go-to when it’s warm outside is always a galette, a rustic, free-form pie that’s basically just pastry dough folded over a filling of fresh fruit mixed with sugar and a little cornstarch to thicken it. Not only is it a beautiful dessert, with the colorful filling peaking through the golden, buttery crust, but it’s super-forgiving for folks who wouldn’t normally attempt a double-crust pie, yet want something more elegant than a crumble.
I used last-of-the-season strawberries and new-to-the-season peaches for this first galette of summer, along with fresh blueberries. But you can pretty much use any fruit that strikes your fancy — stone fruits like plums, cherries, nectarines, and apricots work really well too. In a pinch, refrigerated pie crust dough can stand in for homemade.
It’s important to keep the dough chilled before adding the filling and popping it into the oven, Otherwise, the butter in it softens, which leads to a chewy, tougher crust. Brushing the interior with egg white before adding the filling will also prevent a soggy bottom.