Strawberry Chocolate Galette

How to Make Strawberry Chocolate Galette

What is a Galette?

A ‘Galette’ is a French term for what is essentially a free-form flat pie. A galette is much easier, quicker, and less temperamental than a traditional pie because there’s no pie pan, and no fluting, crimping or even top crust involved. It also cooks and cools faster than a pie, so you can enjoy it much quicker. Think of this galette as a rustic, simpler version of a strawberry pie – but with the addition of chocolate!

Is Galette Dough The Same As Pie Dough?

Yes! This Strawberry Chocolate Galette recipe calls for my Best Ever Pie Crust, which is my favorite all-butter pie crust, full of buttery flavor and perfectly flaky. I don’t recommend using a store-bought pie crust because the crust makes a big impact for any galette. I encourage you to give my recipe a try – and if you use your food processor, it will take no time at all. I have included some tips on rolling out pie crust below, but even more tips can be found in my full Pie Crust post here, to help you totally master pie dough.

Tips for Rolling Out Pie Dough for Strawberry Chocolate Galette

Here are my top 3 tips for rolling out pie dough. I have lots more tips in my Pie Crust post.

1. Keep everything as cold as possible. If your kitchen is warm, fill freezer bags with ice and a little water and set them on your work surface for 10 minutes, to chill it down before rolling out your pie dough.
2. Lightly flour everything – your work surface, the dough itself, and your rolling pin throughout the process. I recommend investing in a flour shaker (to easily add a sprinkle of all-purpose flour wherever needed) and a bench scraper (helps to keep the dough moving as you roll it out, which is essential to prevent sticking).
3. Chill when needed. If the butter begins to soften at any point, return the dough to the fridge or freezer immediately. Continue once the butter has firmed back up.

Do I Have to Use Fresh Strawberries?

Fresh strawberries are recommended for this Strawberry Chocolate Galette recipe. Frozen strawberries can be used, but they require a lot more time to thaw and dry, to avoid their excess liquid causing a soggy bottom of your finished galette. Fresh is much easier.

If You Only Have Frozen Strawberries, Here Are Some Tips:

• Whole berries: If using frozen berries, buy whole berries (not precut – those will turn to mush as they thaw) and be sure they don’t contain added sugar.
• Thaw more than the recipe states: You will need to thaw more strawberries (about 150 grams more) than the recipe needs, as the liquid that will drain out accounts for a significant amount of weight.
• How to thaw: Allow whole berries to thaw at room temperature. Once thawed, slice the berries and spread them in a single layer over multiple layers of paper towels. Thoroughly pat dry before mixing with the sugar, cornstarch, orange juice, and vanilla, and proceed with the recipe as written.
• More cornstarch: Use 3 tablespoons of cornstarch (28 grams) total, to help thicken the additional juices.
• Please note that the extra cornstarch will make the strawberry mixture appear slightly cloudy, but this will clarify as it bakes.

What Type of Chocolate Should I Use?

• I recommend using semisweet or dark chocolate to balance the sweetness of the strawberries.
• If you prefer milk chocolate, feel free to use that instead.
• I haven’t tried this myself, but if you’d prefer to skip the ganache and use Nutella instead, feel free to give that a try!
• If you’re using milk chocolate or Nutella, use a touch less sugar with the strawberries to counteract its sweetness.

How Do I Keep A Galette From Getting Soggy?

• Don’t skip the cornstarch in the Strawberry Chocolate Galette recipe.
• Drain the excess liquid from the strawberry mixture as you add them to the crust, discarding the excess drained liquid. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the tossed strawberries onto the pie crust, leaving the remaining liquid out of the galette.
• Bake on a parchment paper-lined quality baking sheet, like my favorite one here.
• Use a baking stone if you have one, and place it on the bottom rack in the oven as it preheats. Bake on a baking sheet placed on top of the baking stone.
• Most importantly, be sure to cook the galette completely. The galette is fully baked when the crust is deeply golden and the strawberries are bubbling. An underbaked galette will be soggy and the berries will be runny.

How to Serve Chocolate Strawberry Galette

Enjoy it as it is, or serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or some fresh whipped cream for added decadence. I also think it’s super pretty with a drizzle of chocolate ganache. Here’s how to add the ganache drizzle:

1. Reserve 1 tablespoon (17 grams) of ganache and drizzle over the baked and cooled galette.
2. Drizzle the ganache on individual slices, instead of the whole galette, as the ganache doesn’t adhere well to the glazed fruit. This makes for easier cutting and better presentation.

How to Store Strawberry Chocolate Galette?

This galette is best served the day it’s baked. If needed, store leftover Strawberry Chocolate Galette in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day.

How to Make This Galette in Advance

• The pie dough can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days, wrapped well in plastic.
• Pie dough can also be frozen for up to 2 months, wrapped well in plastic, and placed in a freezer bag or airtight container, then thawed overnight in the fridge before rolling out.
• The ganache can be made a few days in advance and stored in an airtight container.
• Because of the nature of fresh fruit, we recommend preparing the fruit, assembling and baking the galette on the day you plan to serve.

Can You Freeze Strawberry Chocolate Galette?

I don’t recommend freezing this Strawberry Chocolate Galette. Instead, follow the make-ahead instructions just above.