I picked up a pineapple on a whim the other day. My intention had been to have it for dessert, just as is. Pineapples are so sweet and juicy on their own, they don't really need any gussying up to make them feel like a treat. But then I ran across this pineapple galette recipe. And while pineapples don't need any doctoring to make them tasty, this looked pleasingly simple and would allow me to check off another recipe int he dessert book so... why not?

This was pretty good and fairly simple to put together. That said, as long as the pineapple is properly ripe, I think I prefer a big bowl of freshly cut up pineapple chunks to the fruit in this galette form. Not that we didn't enjoy it, but the fresh fruit has a better effort:deliciousness ratio. Still... it was a fun experiment.

Pineapple Galette

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• ~300g shortcrust pastry¹
• 1 pineapple
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Directions

1. Mix up the pastry and chill as directed.
2. Meanwhile, dissassemble your pineapple: trim off both ends, pare off the skin, and cut out the eyes², then cut into 5mm thick slices and use a small round biscuit/cookie cutter to cut out the core from the centre of each slice.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
4. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Aim for a circle ~35cm (14") in diameter.
5. Transfer the pastry to the prepared baking sheet and arrange the pinapple rings on it, leaving a 5cm border.
6. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the pinapple and dot with butter.
7. Fold the pastry up and over the pinapple rings, leaving the centre open.
8. Cover and chill for 15-20 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
10. Uncover the galette and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 40-50 minutes.
11. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.
12. Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream.³

---

¹ I opted for a sourdough pastry, but any kind of shortcrust pastry (plain or sweet) would work. I think I only used ~250g of pastry for my galette, but I found a 30cm (12") circle to be a little too skimpy when trying to pleat it around the pineapple slices. Next time I'd just use the whole batch (which I think would've been ~325g). ^Back
2 The recipe suggested cutting spiral furrows following the path of the eyes around to remove them. TF found gouging out each eye individually to be more efficient. Do what works for you. ^Back
3 Coconut cream and/or ice cream could also be an interesting combination. Kind of a piña colada vibe. ^Back