WHEN ASHLEY COX started Springs Salt, a cottage bakery run out of her home in Springs, East Hampton one year ago, she could never have imagined that her love for authentic salt harvesting and the pure enjoyment of food would have led to such high demand for her seasonally stunning baked goods. From addictive granola to rye chocolate chip cookies to a basically iconic blueberry lemon loaf, Springs Salt has quickly taken the cozy, beautiful hamlet on Long Island by storm, and is now making its way through New York State (findable in the Hudson Valley, soon-to-be NYC!).

Now that spring has almost sprung, we thought it was the perfect time to fill our hearts and our stomachs with bright flavor and homemade baked goods that you would only find on the set of one of Nancy Myers’ films.

Springs Salt’s Plum + Citrus Galette is an easy, rustic recipe loaded with ripe, juicy plums and lots of fresh lemon that creates an incredible canvas for seasonal baking all year long. Behold the dessert you need to make this instant (or this weekend) right from your own kitchen.

A Note From Ashley

Galettes are one of my favorite things to make year-round, and if there has ever been a “trick” to them it’s this: a really good pie crust (and yes, really good fruit). A really good pie crust to you could mean that it comes from the store, requiring minimal effort (we love that!) while someone else may actually enjoy fussing over a fickle pie dough that really makes you work for it. I lie somewhere in the middle–I don’t like fussing over things, but will definitely still make it myself and agonize over the size of the strips of butter (which I urge you not to do, they’re fine!). This pie dough recipe yields one disc of pie dough for one galette and is pretty hard to screw up, but if you don’t have it in you to hand-cut butter into flour today, just use the store-bought stuff (ProTip: frozen puff pastry makes a great substitute) and trust that all will be fine!

In that vein, I encourage you, whatever your baking skill or comfortability, to use this recipe as a guide and to free yourself from any and all expectation of perfection. Use plums or don’t! Use tart cherries if you have them, apples if you don’t (the old me wants to let you know that any baked good with apples absolutely requires cinnamon), and if all else fails, blueberries will always make an excellent substitute for any and all fruit. Onward!

Springs Salt Plum + Citrus Galette

Makes 1 galette

For the pie dough:
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour (sub 1:1 GF flour if gluten-free)
1.5 tsp cane sugar (sub coconut sugar)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
10 tbsps cold butter or plant-based butter (sliced into ¼ inch pieces)
1/4-1/3 cup ice water (optional: add a squeeze of lemon juice for a more tender pie crust)

For the plum citrus filling:
3 ripe, large black or red plums
1 tbsp all purpose flour (sub 1:1 GF flour if gluten-free)
1.5 tbsps cane sugar (sub coconut sugar)
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Optional:
1 egg for egg wash or 1 tbsp melted butter, ghee, or plant-based butter
1 tbsp coarse sugar or coconut sugar

Bringing Your Galette To Life

Directions:
1. Begin by making the pie dough and combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium sized bowl.

2. Next, slice the cold butter into thin strips, moving quickly to ensure the butter remains very cold (you can also place the sliced butter in the freezer for a few minutes before adding to the dry ingredients if it becomes too soft).

3. Add the sliced butter to the dry ingredients, using your hands to toss with the flour mixture to ensure all of the butter is coated in flour. Using your fingers, pinch the slices of butter into long, paper-thin strips. Continue until no thick slices of butter remain, and the texture of the butter and flour mixture is shaggy. Set aside.

4. Fill a cup with ice water and add a squeeze of lemon. Start by adding ¼ cup of the ice water to the butter and flour mixture, and mix together with a spatula until the dough just comes together. If the dough is too dry, add more ice water, one tablespoon at a time.

5. Dump the pie dough out onto a floured surface and shape it into a disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 3 days (or freeze for up to 2 months).

6. When you’re ready to make the galette, preheat your oven to 375F and allow your refrigerated dough to sit on the counter while the oven preheats.

8. Next cut each of the plums into quarters and carefully remove the pit. Then slice each quarter into ¼ inch slices, keeping the skin on.

9. Add the plum slices to a medium bowl along with the lemon zest, lemon juice, flour, and sugar, and mix well to combine.

10. Roll the pie dough out into a rough circle (perfection is not the aim here!) that is about 12 inches in diameter and carefully transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pour the plum filling mixture into the center of the dough (making sure to get all of the juices), leaving a 2-inch border. Carefully fold the border up over the fruit, gently pressing down so that it stays put.

11. Brush the dough with egg wash or melted butter or ghee and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Hot Tip: place the galette into the freezer for 5 minutes before baking to ensure the dough stays very cold, leading to an extra flaky crust!

12. Bake at 375F for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden and the plums are bubbling. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with vanilla ice cream topped with fresh lemon zest.

Follow @thespringssalt for more dessert inspo, and keep your eyes on where Ashley’s epic granola will show up next…