HOWARD MIDDLETON

Cherry and almond galette

Part clafoutis, part deep pizza I was tempted to follow the trend for hybrid baking names and call this a clafizza... or a pizzoutis.  Or not.  It's another gluten free and dairy free recipe and it goes down nicely with a scoop of ice cream (non-dairy or dairy if you can).  I baked it in a 30cm spring form cake tin, so be warned... it's big! 

Ingredients

For the dough base

450g white gluten free bread flour (blend of rice, potato and tapioca flours with added xanthan gum) 

a pinch of salt

2 tsps quick yeast 

2 tbsps caster sugar

300 ml non-dairy milk (I used hemp but you could use soya)   

1 whole vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

2 eggs

6 tbsps mild and light olive oil, plus a little extra for greasing

For the frangipane filling

120g ground almonds

2 eggs

4 tbsps mild and light olive oil

90g caster sugar

a few drops of almond extract (optional) 

For the topping

about 300g fresh cherries, stones removed

a handful of flaked almonds

a little icing sugar to finish

Method

1. Line the baking tin with lightly oiled baking parchment.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, yeast, and sugar.
3. Warm the hemp or soya milk (in a pan or microwave) along with the vanilla pod seeds or vanilla bean paste and then beat in the eggs.
4. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix well, then add 6 tbsps of oil and continue mixing.  
5. Spoon the dough into the prepared baking tin and level it out.  Press down on the dough, from the centre to the edges until the dough starts to spread up the sides of the tin and curls over to form a shallow rim, looking like the edge of a stuffed crust pizza.  Work methodically and carefully until you have a shallow rim all the way round the edge, effectively creating a flan case.
6. Prick the base with a fork, then cover and leave it to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan). 
8. While the dough is rising, mix the frangipane filling.  Beat the eggs, sugar and oil (with the almond extract if using) then beat in the ground almonds. 
9. When the dough has risen, spoon the filling into the case and level it out. 
10. Gently press the stoned cherries into the filling, then scatter with flaked almonds and bake for about 40 minutes.
11. Leave it to cool in the tin slightly, then transfer to a wire rack.  Dust with icing sugar before serving.

BBC Good Food Show version

I made a version of this at the BBC Good Food Show Winter.  Replace the fresh cherries with a 390g jar of black cherries in kirsch.  Drain the cherries before using them but save the kirsch.  When the galette is cool, mix a little of the kirsch with icing sugar to make a boozy pink icing and drizzle generously over the crust.