Use spelt pastry for this free-form pie, as its nuttiness complements the frangipane. The combination of squishy baked cherries and juicy fresh ones is lovely

• Preparation and cooking time
  • Prep:30 mins
  • Cook:45 mins
  • plus chilling and cooling
• Easy
• Serves 4-6

• Freezable (Freezable (pastry dough only))
• Vegetarian

Ingredients

• 400g cherries, pitted and halved
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp morello cherry conserve
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• clotted cream, to serve (optional)

For the pastry

• 200g white spelt flour
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 120g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

For the frangipane

• 100g whole, skin-on almonds, toasted
• 15g unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp spelt flour, plus extra for dusting
• ½ tsp vanilla essence
• 50g golden caster sugar
• 1 egg

Method

• STEP 1

  First, make the pastry. Sift the flour into a bowl and stir in the sugar and a pinch of salt. Add the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until you have a coarse crumb consistency. Stir in 2-3 tbsp of ice-cold water and bring the mixture together with your hands. Knead it against the side of the bowl, and if it comes together smoothly, squash it into a ball. If it’s still crumbling, add a little more iced water and work it until you have a pliable pastry dough. Wrap it in baking parchment and chill for 30 mins. Meanwhile, macerate the cherries in the sugar and lemon juice in a bowl.

• STEP 2

  To make the frangipane, blitz the almonds in a food processor until finely chopped, then add the butter, flour, vanilla extract and sugar, and blitz until combined. Add the egg, and blitz again to make a paste.

• STEP 3

  Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into a large circle about 30cm wide, and the thickness of a pound coin. It doesn’t matter if the edges are split. Slide onto a baking sheet lined with baking parchment, and spread over the conserve, leaving about a 4cm border all the way around the edge. Cover this with the frangipane, then press half the cherries into it. Fold over the pastry edges to encase the edges of the cherries, pressing down the creases so it holds together. Brush with the beaten egg and scatter some granulated sugar over the cherries and pastry. Put in the freezer for 10 mins.

• STEP 4

  Bake the galette for 45 mins, then remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 mins. Pour over the remaining fresh cherries and spoon over any juices. Serve with clotted cream, if you like.