More summer fruit? Yep. Using my new favourite surface to take photos? Yep. Wait, what about meringue? Yep yep yep. All of those things just happened and it’s almost magical.

A few weeks ago I got to pick some sour cherries from my friend’s lovely tree and I knew I had to do something epic with them – other than jam. Galette? Yes, that sounds like a good pick, but maybe we can up the game a bit with meringue, because, summer and meringues are definitely besties. The result is super tasty and looks so cool and rustic! Just the way we like it.

If you can’t find sour cherries, you can use regular cherries too! Instead of being bright red it’ll turn out a beautiful deep burgundy. Either way you gotta throw some ice cream in there! Just forget about the word ‘calories; for a while, mmkay.

Full recipe after the jump!

Sour Cherry Strawberry Meringue Galette

Ingredients:

For the galette:
– 2 cups all-purpose flour
– 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
– 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
– 10 tablespoons very cold butter, cut into cubes
– 1/2 cup ice water
– Egg wash (1 egg + a splash of water)

For the filling:
– 2 cups pitted sour cherries
– 1 cup super ripe strawberries (emphasis in super ripe!)
– 1/2 vanilla bean, split in half
– 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
– Juice of 1 lemon + zest

For the meringue:
– 4 egg whites at room temp (leave your eggs in the counter for 30 min)
– Pinch of cream of tartar
– 1/2 cup granulated sugar
– 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions
1. Make the galette pastry: in a bowl place the flour, sugar, and salt and combine. Add the cold butter and quickly work into the flour using a fork of pastry mixer. Once you break down the butter into pea-sized bits (looks like crumbles), start adding the ice water, a couple tablespoons at a time. You’ll need about 6-8. Use enough water to bring the dough together – keep in mind it should be slightly crumbly and dry, not wet and goopy. Form a disc, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour (or make it overnight).

2. Now the filling: place all the filling ingredients in a large bowl and toss (make sure to scrape vanilla bean seeds and add them in), let everything sit at room temp for about 30 min. Set aside.

3. Make the galette: Preheat oven at 350F. Take the dough out of the fridge, and roll on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a circular shape of sorts (no need to be perfect, the more rustic the better!). Grab the filling and place it in the middle of the galette, leaving at least 2 inches of space from the edge (so you can fold it). Once you arrange the filling, fold the edges, overlapping each fold on each other – slightly pat them down so they don’t unfold. Brush with egg wash, sprinkle additional sugar for an extra crispy edge (if you have coarse sugar, use it!). Bake galette for about 30 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

NOTE: if you see the fruit still needs a bit extra baking but the edges are almost ready, then simply loosely cover the galette in the oven with a piece of aluminum foil and bake for few extra minutes.

Take galette out of the oven and set aside.

4. While the galette cools a bit, make the meringue: place the egg whites in a CLEAN (wash it real good!) bowl. Beat the whites on high speed until they get fluffy (soft peaks) at this point add the pinch of tartar, and start to add the sugar, one spoon at the time (sprinkle while beating). Continue to beat until meringue starts to get glossy and thick, now add the vanilla pure and beat for a couple extra minutes. To test if your meringue is done simply dip a whisk or spoon in it and the “peak” that forms should stay completely firm (if it goes down easy, keep beating).

With the meringue done, scoop it over the warm galette and either torch it OR place it under your broiler, just be careful not to burn it.

Cut a slice, serve with some ice cream, and prepare to receive compliments galore!!

Hope you enjoy this treat!