Buttery, crumbly and filled with jam, crostata is one of the most quintessential Italian cakes. Read on to learn how to make this crostata di frutta from my boyfriend’s nonna Amalia.
What is crostata?
A crostata is the Italian word for a baked tart or fruit pie. It is made from shortcrust pastry and normally filled with marmellata (jam). It’s not clear on just how old this tart is, but it’s thought to date back to before Christ, making it one of the oldest cakes in Italy. Like the origins of many great pastries, the crostata as we know it, seems to have been created by a nun. If you’re interested in finding out more about the history of crostata, That’s Liguria has a fantastic post about it here.
Nonna Amalia’s Apricot Tart Recipe
My Italian boyfriend’s nonna was by all accounts, a phenomenal cook! She was born in Imperia, Liguria before moving to Torino, Piedmont where she spent most of her life after marrying a Piemontese man. Desserts weren’t actually her favourite dish to make, however, she loved any dessert that had a fruit base. Recently, we discovered a treasure trove of her old recipes including this one for crostata. I’ve made crostata many times before, but this recipe is truly delicious. The pastry is quite different to any I’ve used before and I love the idea of adding some liquor into the jam to make it more spreadable (and extra tasty!).
Crostata Ingredients:
- 100g cold butter, cubed
- 200g plain flour (tipo 0, or tipo 00)
- 100 g caster sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- Pinch of cinnamon and salt
- Zest of 1 lemon
Jam ingredients
- 300g fruit jam, I used apricot
- 30mls cognac
Method:
- Pre-heat a fan-forced oven to 150C and grease a round cake tart with butter and flour.
- Start by tipping your flour into a mixing bowl. Rub very cold butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Next, add your egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Bring the mixture together, kneading it into a smooth dough.
- Cover the dough and rest in the fridge for an hour. It will be much easier to mix out whilst cool.
- Prepare the jam mix by pouring the cognac over the jam in a bowl. Stir through.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and keep a quarter aside for the lattice. Roll your dough out into a large round shape to fit into the tin. Ensure you coat the dough well with flour on both sides to stop it sticking.
- Roll the dough up onto your rolling pin and transfer into the cake tart.
- Spread the jam mixture onto the dough, but make sure to keep a little aside for the lattice.
- Roll out the remaining dough into a rectangular shape. Using a pastry cutter, cut thin strips of dough to decorate the tart with. Assemble onto the cake in your desired pattern.
- Brush the lattice topping with the remaining jam. This will ensure it takes a beautiful shine.
- Bake your tart from 30 minutes or until golden and delicious.
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