Ingredients

For the crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, the stick cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
3 tablespoons ice water

For the Filling:

1 pound ripe but firm plums (about 4 standard black ones or 12 smaller Italian plums; I used a mix of both)
1 tablespoon (8 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (6 tablespoons) granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large egg yolk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon table salt

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a food processor, pulse the 1 cup of flour with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the baking powder and salt. Add the stick of cold butter and pulse several times, just until it is the size of peas. Sprinkle the dough with the ice water and pulse just until moistened crumbs form. Turn the crumbs out onto a work surface, knead once or twice and pat the pastry into a disk. Wrap the pastry in plastic and chill for 30 minutes. The trick to working with this dough is that it is COLD. Don’t ignore instructions to chill. Or do and see what happens…

3. On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry to an 11-inch round*, about 1/4 inch thick OR if you want to make individual “dumplings,” cut out 4 to 5-inch diameter rounds (I used the bottom of a bowl to cut them out – doesn’t have to be fancy). Once you’ve gotten your rounds cut out (I got six mini-rounds out of this recipe), put them back in the fridge to chill for another 15 minutes.

4. Slice smaller plums in quarters and larger plums in eighths and prepare the custard. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon flour and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk in egg, egg yolk, heavy cream, milk, and teaspoon salt.

5. Take the rounds out one at a time and arrange plums in the center of the round in a flower pattern. If you’re making one large galette, arrange the plum sections in concentric circles until they’re all used up, or until you get about three inches from the edge.

6. Fold up the edges of the round. Take one side and press it down into the dough on an angle. You shouldn’t be able to close the top – you want it to be left open. Because you’re going to be adding custard, you want to make sure that the seal is nice and tight. Continue pleating the dough all the way around until you end up with a piece that looks like an envelope fold. Make sure to press in both corners for a tight seal. Transfer to a baking sheet while you finish the rest.

7. Once you’ve folded up all the dumplings, take a moment to press down all the corners of your folds and check for any tears. Use your fingers to try to make the packages as tight as possible. Pour the custard into the center of each dumpling slowly, letting it drain into the bottom and corners. You’ll probably have some oozing and its fine – just try to wipe up as much as you can before you stick them in the oven.

8. Sprinkle the top of each dumpling with sugar (probably about 2 tablespoons for all six dumplings – it’s just a dusting) and put them in the oven for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes – depending on your oven. Bake until the edges of the dough are browned and the fruit is bubbling. Transfer from baking sheet to plate using a spatula. Do it while they’re still warm so they’re not fused to the baking sheet by all the juice that will have oozed out during baking.

***NOTE: I don’t own a rolling pin. But you know what I drink a lot of? Wine. You know what makes for a good rolling pin substitute? You guessed it! A wine bottle will work just fine. Just make sure to place a piece of plastic wrap between your dough and the wine bottle so it doesn’t stick.

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