Vegan Grape Galette with Almond-Cashew Custard

This faceless grape pie is a big hit in our house. Everyone has seemingly waited for me to start making pies, and now, with my discovery the galette-- so easy and so satisfying-- we have been eating pies like I imagine normal pie-making people always have. Not every day, of course, but not depriving ourselves of the experience when the desire for pie hits. 

We had a lot of grapes this year. And the birds didn't seem particularly interested. So, there was a harvest.

I spent several days detaching grapes from their vines and freezing them in bags. We are set for smoothies and other frozen grape recipes. So, today I made the galette. Here is the recipe:

THE PASTRY Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups organic all purpose flour
• 3 -5 tablespoons sugar
• 6-7  tablespoons solid coconut oil or vegan butter (salt-free)
• 1/4 cup ice water

THE FILLING Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sugar (plus 2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 cup cashew pieces or raw almonds (I used cashews as I had them on hand)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract or vanilla (I used almond extract)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed well in 3 tablespoons water (do this last)
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (don't grate the white part-- it is bitter
• 1 pound of seedless grapes, washed and dried

INSTRUCTIONS:

THE PASTRY:

This can certainly be made in the traditional way by cutting the fat into the flour with a fork and knife or a pastry cutter, however, I use a Cuisanart 4-cup food processor * and it works like a dream to very quickly and successfully turn out the pastry.

1. Put the flour, sugar and salt in the processor and pulse to combine. Add in half the coconut oil and pulse again until the flour looks mealy. Add the rest of the coconut oil and pulse until the flour looks like tiny peas. Add in the ice water and pulse until dough starts to come together. 
2. Take all dough out and wrap in plastic or put in a plastic baggy and zip. Shape into a disc. Put into the fridge for an hour (or more) to rest and cool.
3. I have included a recipe for a gluten-free oat-millet galette crust in this article that might be of interest to people lowering or eliminating wheat in their diets.

THE FILLING:

Clean out the blender cup and put in all the ingredients EXCEPT FOR the extra 2 tablespoons of sugar and the grapes-- do not put the grapes in the food processor! Pulse until an almond-scented paste results. Pulse until it is smooth. Put in a small dish and cover. You can put it in the fridge if you are waiting for the pastry for longer than an hour.

THE PASTRY:

Preheat oven to 400 F. 

Roll the pastry into about a 12" circle and spread the almond cream from the center outward, stopping to leave about a 2 1/2 inch border. Place in the grapes. Fold up the dough around the circle, pleating as needed. Sprinkle on the 2 tablespoons of sugar. The non-vegan recipe for the pastry includes an egg wash. You might want to do a light wash with non-dairy milk.  

I had a small portion of dough left over and laid it on the top of the galette so it looks more like a standard pie in the photos. Galettes are generally called "rustic" which in my mind means simple without a lot of fuss, but go ahead and cut out fancy dough shapes like grape leaves (?) etc., if you like. The grapes in this galette were enrobed by the cream as it baked so you cannot really tell that it is a grape pie. But that made no difference to the scrumptiousness of the pie itself.

Bake for 45 minutes. I found that my back oven bakes faster so from now on I will rotate my dishes about midway through the baking cycle to prevent scorching on one side.

Cool, and slice. And eat!

This recipe-- especially the almond cream filling-- was a big rave with my family. 

I would love to hear your comments, any adjustments you made to the recipe, and if you have questions you would like to ask! Thanks! Happy pie-making!

*I am an Amazon affiliate.