This Hazelnut Fig Galette has a sweet pastry crust filled with homemade hazelnut paste, topped with figs drizzled with honey and vanilla bean paste! Absolutely fantastic served with a dollop of crème fraîche!
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour and butter. Mix on low speed until mixture resembles coarse sand.
Add powdered sugar and vanilla bean paste (see note) and mix to combine.
Add egg yolk and milk. Mix just until combined.
Turn the dough out onto your work surface and gently work into a ball. Form the dough into a disc, wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
After chilling, remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a sheet of parchment paper (see note). My pre-cut parchment is 12"x16", so I used those dimensions as a guide to help me roll the dough into a 10" circle on the parchment. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour as necessary to prevent sticking, being mindful to not introduce too much additional flour.
Using the parchment, transfer the dough to a baking sheet and refrigerate while you make the filling.
Toasting Hazelnuts:
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Place 1¼ cups of hazelnuts (1 cup for the filling and ¼ cup for topping) on a baking sheet. Toast hazelnuts 10-12 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until slightly golden and fragrant.
Fold the warm, toasted hazelnuts inside a kitchen towel and let sit for 5 minutes so the steam will help the skins come off. Rub the hazelnuts in the towel to remove as much of the skins as you can (they don't have to be perfect!). Hazelnuts can be toasted/skinned ahead of time and stored in an airtight container after cooling completely.
For Hazelnut Paste:
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the toasted/skinned hazelnuts (see note) until finely ground. Add butter and powdered sugar and process until the mixture is as smooth as possible.
Remove the crust from the refrigerator and, with the crust still on the parchment on the baking sheet, spread the hazelnut paste on top in an 8" circle in the center, leaving a ~2" border all around. (I set an 8" cake pan in the center of the dough and lightly pressed down to form an 8" circle on the dough. This serves as a nice guide as to where to spread the filling, and keeps the galette nice and round.)
For Filling:
Preheat the oven to 375° F. Place the quartered figs on top of the hazelnut paste, still leaving the outside 2" of the dough uncovered. Don't be shy about packing the figs in there a bit or having another layer on top, as the figs will shrink in size when baked.
Combine the honey and vanilla bean paste (see note) and drizzle over the figs.
Assembly/Topping:
Fold the outside edge of the dough over to finish the galette crust. The dough should still be cool, but if it's too cold it will break instead of folding! If your dough is breaking, leave it for a bit on the counter for the butter to warm and it should be more pliable.
Coarsely chop the toasted hazelnuts and sprinkle over the top of the galette.
Combine the egg and water to make an egg wash. Brush the egg wash on the crust and sprinkle the dough with raw sugar (if desired). There isn't much sweetness in this galette, so I really liked the added sweetness and crunch from the raw sugar.
Baking:
Bake 35-40 minutes. I tented my galette with foil after 30 minutes to keep it from overbrowning. This galette is delicious served warm or at room temperature. Serve with crème fraîche, if desired.Enjoy!
Notes
Note on vanilla bean paste: You know me, it's in everything! This ingredient is my go-to for an extra punch of flavor, and it pairs so beautifully with the honey and the figs! You can find it online here. If you prefer to substitute, you can use an equal measure of vanilla extract.Note on parchment: I roll the galette crust out on pre-cut nonstick parchment so that I introduce less flour into the dough and for easier transfer from the countertop to the baking pan. If you're interested in getting some of this parchment for yourself, you can find it here.Note on hazelnuts: I can rarely find hazelnuts at my local grocery store. If you can’t find them, they’re online here.