A sweet galette is one of my favorite desserts to make. Its free form folds of crust encasing a fruit filling looks simply beautiful and rustic the moment it comes out of the oven. The galette is a catch-all term referring to a base of pastry dough that is topped with a sweet or savory filling, and the edges are folded over to create rough pleats that create a golden crust when baked. No need for pie dishes or cake tins for this French dessert. Using your hands to form the crust makes each galette perfectly imperfect.

Several years ago I bought Baking with Julia, a cookbook written by Dorie Greenspan that was based on the television series starring Julia Child. The first recipe I ever made from that book was the berry galette, and I’ve been in love with this French pastry ever since.

One of the great things about a galette is that it’s so adaptable. With the dough as your consistent base, you can fill the galette with a number of seasonal fruits and vegetables to suit your taste. I adapted Dorie’s recipe to make this pear galette, and it’s been our dessert following Sunday suppers for a few weeks now. Apples are another fruit that would work well this time of year.

The last piece of praise I’ll say about this galette before we get to the recipe below is that it’s not overly sweet, and the portions are just right. If you’re like me, and you crave a bite of sweetness after a savory meal, a galette is a great option. This recipe feeds my family of five, so everyone gets a small slice of the pie. It’s not overly sweet either. The natural sugars from the fruit are the primary source of sweetness in this dessert.