Orange Marmalade Galette

Orange marmalade -- do you love it or leave it? I'm obviously in the "love it" camp, but I dare say that even if you're not -- the flavor combination in this galette just may convert you. A cookie dough crust, a layer of "cream cheese", and a layer of marmalade is all there is to it, but holy cow is this fruit pizza ever good. Fruity, sweet bordering bittersweet, comforting, delicious. And I feel like I've been neglecting oranges a bit on the blog this year, so time to make up for that.

I've certainly not always been an orange marmalade lover. In fact, I recall being completely horror struck upon my first taste as a child. No, I'm not exaggerating :) It was at one of those breakfast fares at a brunch where you could pick your own tiny jars of jam and such. I picked the clear, bright orange jar thinking it looked interesting. I was expecting a typical sweet jam and instead, got something bitter and mouth-puckering -- what a confusing experience! I've since (of course) learned to appreciate it for the beautiful spread that it is. If nothing, it certainly makes a powerful flavor statement.

One of my favorite combos used to be orange marmalade with cream cheese on toast. Now it's been a few years since I've had cream cheese, but I recently got an itch for some. In fact, the itch was so strong that I even picked up a jar of tofutti (which I've also not had in years, and which is typically a total no-no for me). And boy did that tofutti make me feel gross afterwards ? ... but that wasn't even the disappointing part. The disappointing part was that it tasted AWFUL with the marmalade. I don't know what the prominent flavor is in that white pasty stuff, but it certainly didn't pair well with the spread I had on hand. I felt the flavor needed to be a lot more tangy to pull things off... And so occupied with all kinds of thoughts about marmalades, cream cheeses, childhood musings, maturing palates, and the perfect marmalade toast, I found myself making this galette in the kitchen... until this creation settled all those thoughts into a perfectly satisfying dessert.

Two quick notes on the recipe at hand:

1. The "cream cheese" part doesn't actually taste or feel like cream cheese on its own. Just wanted to make that clear in case you're thinking of using it as such -- very tangy on its own. But once baked and combined with the marmalade it's just right.

2. I used store-bought marmalade. St. Dalfour makes an awesome fruit-sweetened version so I went with that. Hey, we're already making a crust and a "cream cheese" sauce from scratch, so something's gotta give ;) ...  The good news is the one I used is usually quite readily available and is delicious. But in the event you can't find any, feel free to substitute with your own favorite jam instead. I tried this recipe out with cherry jam and fell in love, so I'm pretty sure you've got a lot of wiggle room to pick a spread to your liking. And if you're really into homemade stuff, feel free to use one of the jams from this blog (like this one or this one, etc.). But I say it's all about the marmalade after all ?

Orange Marmalade Galette

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

A cookie dough crust, a layer of “cream cheese”, and a layer of marmalade create the most delicious fruit pizza ever. Gluten-free, vegan and made without refined sugar.

• Author: Audrey @ Unconventional Baker
• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 8 slices
• Category: tart
• Method: baked
• Cuisine: dessert

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Sauce:

• ⅓ cup raw cashews, presoaked and strained
• 4 tbsp coconut cream (the solid white part from a can of full-fat coconut milk chilled overnight)
• 1½ tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (I used a de-fragranced kind so you couldn't taste any coconut)
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• ¼ tsp guar gum

Crust:

• ¾ cup white rice flour (I used a finely ground kind)
• 8 tbsp cashew butter
• 5 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ⅛ tsp salt

Orange Marmalade:

• ½ cup your favorite orange marmalade (I used St. Dalfour's fruit-sweetened marmalade. See notes above for alternatives)

Optional Toppings:

• a handful of sliced almonds
• a handful of black sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Blend all cream cheese sauce layer ingredients into a smooth sauce. Transfer into a jar and chill in the freezer for 15-20 mins while working on the next step.
2. Preheat oven to 350F. Process all crust ingredients in a food processor until the mixture begins to form a ball (note if the mixture is too runny, add a bit more flour, if too dry, add a bit more maple syrup). Form the mixture into a ball with your hands and knead briefly, then flatten into a disk. Roll the disk out with a rolling pin in between two sheets of parchment into a rough circle that's about ¼" thick.
3. Discard the top piece of parchment. Spread the "cream cheese" mixture evenly over the crust, leaving a 1" border unfrosted all around the edges. Then spoon the orange marmalade over the cream cheese layer by spoon-fulls and then smooth it out with a spoon to create an even and somewhat marbeled effect. Carefully fold up the unfrosted crust rim over the galette all around the edges to create a rim. If using: gently press some sliced almonds into the crust and sprinkle the center with black sesame seeds.
4. Transfer the galette carefully along with the parchment paper it's on onto a baking sheet. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 45 mins. Chill completely on a cooling rack and enjoy! (I recommend eating it the day of as the crust will become moist after a day or so).