Between the everbearing varieties and hothouse growers—such as Orangeline Farms and Del Fresco, both in Leamington, Ontario—we can enjoy juicy, properly ripe, local strawberries whenever the craving hits. Adding rose syrup takes a turn to the exotic.
Ingredients
1 ¼ cup mascarpone
½ cup maple syrup
4 free-range eggs; divided,
1 beaten for egg wash
1 tsp vanilla essence
¼ tsp nutmeg1 batch of your favourite pie pastry or 3 frozen, 9-inch pie crusts; thawed
4 cups strawberries, greens trimmed, sliced in half lengthwise
Large crystal sugar (optional)
½ cup pure strawberry jelly (or jam if you can’t find jelly)
2 tsp rose syrup
Method
Preheat oven to 375°F.
To make filling, add mascarpone, maple syrup, 3 of the eggs, vanilla and nutmeg to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium-high until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
If using frozen pastry, allow to thaw in the refrigerator before using; form the 3 crusts into a ball, then roll out. To roll out, spread large sheet of parchment paper over the work surface, and lightly flour. Roll out dough in rough circle, about 1/4 inch thick, with jagged edges, which look nice. Transfer parchment and rolled dough to baking sheet.
Starting in the centre, spread mascarpone filling outward and evenly inside pastry, leaving a good 2 inches of bare dough all around for folding. Work quickly, as the soft filling tends to spread.
Press strawberries into filling in pattern or randomly, then flip pastry edges over to form galette. Brush dough edges with egg wash, and sprinkle wet edges with chunky sugar (if using).
Bake until golden, about 40 to 50 minutes.
Meanwhile, in small saucepan over low heat, add strawberry jelly and rose syrup and heat until melted, stirring often to prevent burning. This step can be done in a heatproof dish in the microwave, too.
When galette is done, set on counter to cool, but leave on parchment-lined baking sheet, and drizzle warm, runny jelly evenly over strawberries and filling, using pastry brush to delicately spread.
Let galette cool and set. Serve slightly warm or, better still, at room temperature. A dollop of whipped cream or scoop of vanilla or strawberry ice cream makes this extra-special. A few organic rose petals or drizzle of pink rose syrup will turn this into a showstopper!
TIP Not to be confused with rosewater, rose syrup can be found at Middle Eastern grocery stores or online specialty food purveyors. Rose syrup is more intense, sweet and often a pretty pink.
From Hudson, Quebec, now living in Port Hope, Ontario, Signe is a restaurant chef-turned-writer who tells award-winning stories and creates delicious recipes for LCBO’s Food & Drink, Manna Pro Hearty Homestead, The Harvest Commission, and Today’s Parent; she published her first book – Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs; Keeping Chickens in the Kitchen Garden with 100 Recipes – in 2015.
