Crostata is the Italian word of tart, one of the most classic grandmother’s desserts
It is made of shortcrust pastry and apricot jam filling. A genuine, simple, fast dessert that everyone loves deeply, perfect for a summery breakfast or morning tea.
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The most ancient Italian dessert
The recipe of crostata dates back to the year 1000 when sugar first arrived in Venice from the Middle East. The first time when the word crostata appeared in the Italian dictionaries was in the 1612: the invention of the Italian crostata is probably to a nun from the convent of San Gregorio Armeno. Then it became super popular in whole Italy.
Varieties: a real pleasure
Varieties of crostata depend on the region of Italy. In the south of Italy people usually replace jam with ricotta, while northern Italy prefer the fruity crostata. There are other varieties of crostata as well: you can replace the apricot jam with others flavors, for example with cherries, strawberries and berries or with lemon. For an even tastier version, you can use a chocolate cream and finish with fresh raspberries: Otherwise, you can prepare a fruit crostata making custard and adding fresh fruit.
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The classic recipe:
INGREDIENTS FOR A 21 CM MOLD
- 250g flour 00
- 150g putter
- 100g powdered sugar
- 80g egg yolks
- 20g acacia honey 1 tbsp ()
- 1 lemon peel
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1g fine salt
INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING
- 250g apricot jam
- 1 lemon peel
Let’s start preparing first the shortcrust pastry. In a bowl of a food processor, pour the butter, the powder sugar, the seeds of the vanilla bean and the grated lemon rind. Then, start the machine at low speed and add the honey.
Now take another bowl and pour the yolks and salt, stirring to dissolve it. Add this mixture in the bowl of the food processor. When you have finally obtained a mixture, turn off the machine and add the flour, stirring consistently at low speed. The dough should be soft, but not sticky.
Next, lightly flour the work top and transfer the shortcrust pastry, add a little more flour and form it a brick-like shape. Wrap it in a cling film and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour, possibly overnight
Let’s continue making the tart. Pour the jam into a bowl, add the lemon zest and stir it.
Take the shortcrust pastry from the fridge, add a little more flour on the top and roll it out with a rolling pin uniformly. Now cut the dough using a ring (around 21 cm)
Place the ring with the dough inside on a round pan lined with baking paper and pierce the base of the tart with a fork and spread the jam on the pastry disk. Cut strips from the leftover dough and place them on the tart first in one direction and then in the other. Using the remaining shortcrust pastry to finish the outer edge of the tart.
Now bake the tart in a static oven at 165°C for 45 minutes. Take it out of the oven when the pie is a golden colour and let it cool before removing the ring. Once completely cooled, you finally can serve your apricot jam crostata.
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