Quickies Cocktail Challenge Update : I am pleased to announce that we've now received  3  very interesting entries! Thank you very much and please, keep them coming. Send as many entries as you like, just remember to get them in by midnight of  September 27 2010 (ET)  - we're looking forward to shouting out the winner and showcasing a fantastic line up of entries on September 28 2010 (ET)  !! What's your motivation? A gorgeous cookbook! (take a detailed peek here) And now on to the day's post....

It might be a bit of a stretch to call this a galette, as the Brie, French though it undoubtedly is, sits on a base of very British scone dough. A buttery shortcrust is not much more trouble to knock together than scone dough but I find myself always fighting shy of the epic proportions of butter in shortcrust.

I'm not above rolling in the culinary mud and have been known to almost magically spirit away (if only) half of a cheesecake or tray of brownies. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely a butter girl, but I figure if I can still get loads of flavour in my pastry, with half the butter, then why not? Leaves me more calories to splurge on chocolate, you see.

This scone dough keeps popping up in my kitchen, donning one guise or another and doing a very good job of impersonating anything from a pie crust, to a sticky cinnamon bun, to a stollen, to a well...galette! I have not been caught out yet ;) In fact, it's so versatile, it's almost schizophrenic...

I've kept things very simple here, limiting the toppings to just my favourite cheese ever, Brie, baby cremini mushrooms, salt, pepper and a light olive oil. Nothing to upstage the beautiful, slightly earthy flavour of the cheese.

Accuse me of over tinkering, if you will, but I see it as doing my bit to bridge the culinary chasm between age old rivals, the French and the British. How can arguments and name calling persist, in the presence of such sublimely simple perfection?

Prep 15 mins      Cook 15  mins      Serves 2 - 4

150 g (1 1/2 cups) plain or all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine salt
40 g (1/4 cup) firm butter
90 ml (just under 1/2 cup) water
60 g (half a small wheel) French Brie (not too ripe), slice
60 g (about 6 small) cremini (brown) mushrooms, slice
2 Tbsp light olive oil
Flaky sea salt to taste
Freshly ground coarse black pepper to taste

Preheat oven at 210 C ( 410 F) and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly. Add the butter to the flour and rub or cut in until you have a coarse and crumbly mixture.

Make a well in the middle of flour mixture and pour in all the water at once. Draw the flour into the water using a spatula. When you have a shaggy, messy dough, use your hands to push dough together, trying your best NOT to knead.

Turn dough out onto the lined tray and pat dough into a rough circle about 1/2 cm (1/4 in) thick. Cover the dough with half the cheese slices and top with an even layer of all the mushrooms. Cover the mushrooms with the remaining cheese.

Drizzle the oil over the galette and season to taste with flaky salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and immediately cool on a rack. Wait 10 minutes before cutting.