Grape Galette with Almonds, Lavender and Maple

As much as grapes are popular in many areas of the world, they are not often used in baking. It is understandable when it comes to large, thick skinned grapes with seeds, but less so with smaller, thin skinned and seedless ones. When I found such ones, I knew I wanted to incorporate them in some kind of cake.
To make things rustic and simple, I went with the option of Galette – a free style French tart. When I made the dough, I added some almond meal to it, which led to using almond butter as a filling. The grapes’ color brought lavender to mind, so I’ve decided to add some to the dough and filling as well. To make things even more aromatic, I added a small amount of maple syrup to the dough and filling, and also brushed the baked galette with it, when it came out of the oven. All these ingredients worked wonderfully together, and the Galette turned out very tasty. Try it and enjoy.

Notes:
* Baking is done in fairly low temperature, so that the grapes will keep their shape while baking and will not burst.
* I’ve used powdered sugar for the filling, as it contains a small amount of cornstarch, which absorbs some of the grapes juices. Don’t substitute it with regular sugar.
* Culinary grade lavender can be found at the spice section, or online.
* Make sure to use real maple syrup, not any artificial substitutes.

Makes: 8
Prep time: 15 minutes
Chilling time: 1 hour
Baking time: 40 minutes
For the dough:

Ingredients:
For the dough:
1¾ cups flour
¼ cup almond meal
1 Tbs sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp edible dried lavender buds, crumbled (see notes)
1 stick (115 grams) butter, cold, cut into pieces
1 Tbs maple syrup
2-3 Tbs cold water
For the filling:
¼ cup unsweetened almond butter
¼ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp edible dried lavender buds, crumbled (see notes)
2 Tbs maple syrup
For the grapes:
2 cup seedless red grapes, washed and dried
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs maple syrup
For brushing the dough
1 Tbs maple syrup

1. The dough: place the flour, almond meal, sugar, salt, lavender buds and butter in a food processor bowl, fitted with the metal blade. Process briefly to a crumbly mixture. Add the maple syrup and water and process to form dough (the less you process the dough, the flakier it will be). Shape it into a ball, wrap with wax paper and keep in the fridge for 1 hour.

2. In a small bowl, mix the almond butter with powdered sugar, lavender and maple syrup.

3. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Line a baking sheet pan with baking paper.
4. Roll the dough over wax paper, to form a large circle. Place a 9” (22cm) plate on top and mark a circle with a dull knife. Transfer the dough to the pan. Crumble the almond butter mixture over the marked circle. In a small bowl, mix the grapes with the powdered sugar and place them on top. Fold the dough from all sides towards the center, leaving the center uncovered. Drizzle the grapes with maple syrup and place in the preheated oven.

5. Bake for 40 minutes, until the dough is golden. Let cool a bit before brushing with maple syrup. Using a large, sharp knife, cut into 8 sections.