This is one of my favorite desserts of all time!  I have been making this for many years.  You can use any kind of fruit – whatever you have in season.  It works well with bananas and fresh pineapple, too.  My favorite choices are pears, apples, raspberries, peaches or blackberries.

Ingredients
6 cups ripe fruit, peeled and sliced

For the topping:
1 stick (4 oz.) butter, softened
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup oats
11/4 cups brown sugar, packed
3/4 cups chopped pecans
Large pinch salt

For the crème fraiche:
1/2 cup crème fraiche
1/8 cup brown sugar

You will also need:
Large casserole or large pie dish
Utility knife
2 bowls

Instructions
Preheat oven to 40oF.

Place the fruit (peeled and sliced, if appropriate) directly into the casserole or pie dish.

With hands, mix together the remaining (topping) ingredients until moist. Sprinkle topping over fruit. Bake for about 35 minutes, until golden brown (start checking at 30 minutes – will depend on oven).

Serves 8.

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
½ cup water
½ cup Scotch whiskey
1 T unsalted butter
3 T heavy whipping cream
1/8 t. sea salt

You will also need:
Heavy saucepan
Big spoon

Instructions
Place the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan and cook over med.-high heat until the sugar dissolves and begins to turn golden brown. Swirl the saucepan to stir.

When the liquid is golden brown, add the Scotch. The sugar will become firm but will re-melt and become smooth as the mixture is swirled and evenly heated.

Stir in the butter, cream and salt. Cool and serve.

Ingredients
For the crust (makes 3):

2 ½ cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 teaspoon fine-grained sea salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 sticks (1/2 pound) butter, cut into eight pieces
About 1/3 cup cold water

For the filling (makes 1):

1 ¼ cup ripe fruit – just about any kind will work!
1/3 cup sugar (more may be needed if the fruit is tart)
1 Tablespoon flour

You will also need:
Food processor with pulse option
Plastic wrap
Rolling pin
Smooth surface
Extra flour to dust surface of rolling area
Bowl
Parchment paper
Cookie sheet

Instructions
Put flour, salt and sugar in the food processor bowl. Pulse in the butter one piece at a time. (Give each piece about 5 pulses.) When all butter has been pulsed in (mixture will resemble crumbly corn meal), slowly pour in the water, while pulsing, until the mixture starts to come together.

Gather up the dough and form into a ball. Split into 3 pieces and press each piece into a round disc about an inch thick.  Wrap each one in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (up to a week is fine).

When ready to make a galette, preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit/ 218 degrees Celsius. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix together all three ingredients for the filling and set aside.

Toss a little flour on your work surface. Take a disk of dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it and roll it out (away from you) until it is very thin, turning ¼ turn with each roll. Place the rolled-out dough on the parchment-lined baking sheet.

Place your filling in the center of the rolled-out dough. Turn the edges up over the filling, leaving open space in the middle so that you can see the fruit.

Bake for about 24 minutes . Allow to cool for at least five minutes before serving.

The galette is best served the day it is cooked. The crust tends to soften up as it sits.

Ingredients

For the crust:
1 ½ cup roasted, unsalted almonds
3 T. melted butter
3 T. brown sugar
¼ t. cinnamon

For the cheesecake filling:
3 8oz. packages cream cheese, softened
2 cups fresh pumpkin, cooked and mashed
1 ¼ cups sugar
4 eggs
1 t. grated lemon peel
½ c. crème fraiche
2 T. plain flour
1 t. vanilla extract
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. ginger
¼ t. freshly ground nutmeg
¼ t. cloves
Pinch of salt

For the topping:
1/2 cup crème fraiche
1/8 cup brown sugar
1/8 t. cinnamon

You will also need:
9-inch springform pan
Electric mixer
Roasting pan
Aluminum foil

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350oF. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.

For the crust:
In the food processor, combine all four crust ingredients and process until the mixture is moist and sticks together. Press the mixture into the bottom of the springform pan. Bake until golden, approximately 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

When cool, wrap the outside of the pan with at least 3 layers of aluminum foil – you are trying to create a water-proof barrier so that water will not get into the pan during cooking.

For the filling:
Beat cream cheese, sugar and lemon peel in mixing bowl until smooth. Add eggs one at a time. Add pumpkin, crème fraiche, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Mix well and pour into the springform pan on top of the crust.

To cook:
Set the springform pan into a roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come half-way up the sides of the cheesecake. Place in the oven and bake until the outer edges puff and the center is set. (approx. 1 hour, 15 minutes).

Cool in the water bath for about half an hour. Remove from the water and cut around the sides of the cake to loosen. Refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight.

For the topping:
Mix together crème fraiche, brown sugar and cinnamon. Refrigerate until serving. Spoon over the top of the cheesecake.

Serves 12.