A dessert that I make very often and is always present at every birthday party is the Crostata.
Of course, like everything I prepare, it is a homemade version, but it is sure to be a success and is truly appreciated.
Ingredients for the base:
200 g type 00 flour
80 g butter
80 g caster sugar
1 medium whole egg + 1 egg yolk
4 g baking powder
Procedure:
Combinethe flour, sugar, baking powder, and butter cut into small pieces in a bowl.
Work quickly with your fingertips. The technique is known as "foliare il denaro" (literally, "flipping through money"): basically, rub the butter with the flour and sugar between your thumb, index, and middle fingers until it forms lots of little flakes.
When all the butter has been mixed with the other ingredients, addthe whole egg and the egg yolk.
Mix first with a fork, then with your hands, until it forms a ball (add a little flour if the dough is too sticky).
Place in the refrigerator to rest for about half an hour or more.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C.
Remove about 1/3 of the dough, which will be used for decorations, and roll out the remaining dough on a sheet of parchment paper with a rolling pin.
Fill with jam or your desired filling, decorate with strips of dough or other shapes as desired.
Bake for about 20 minutes at 180°C in a static oven (check the baking with a toothpick and check the degree of browning of the dough).
Variation 1: orange marmalade
One of my all-time favorites, always very popular with those who eat it. I use about 3/4 of the jar.
Variation 2: sour cherry jam
Please note: this jam is generally more runny and tends to make the dough too moist.
Variation 3: ricotta cheese
It's my favorite.
For the filling, use the following quantities: 250 g ricotta cheese, 100 g sugar, 1 egg white beaten until stiff, raisins (to taste: I use about 50 g), candied orange peel (to taste: I use about 40 g), dark chocolate chips (about 20 g), 1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon. Mix the ricotta with the sugar, combine the other ingredients and, lastly, gently fold in the beaten egg white, taking care not to deflate it. Pour the filling onto the base and decorate with strips or shapes of pastry.
Variation 4: fresh fruit
First, cook all the dough, pricking the surface and placing a sheet of parchment paper with dried legumes on top (which you will then throw away). This prevents bubbles from forming and ensures that the base is flat. Meanwhile, prepare the lemon custard (with about 400 ml of milk, 50 g of flour, 4 egg yolks, 8 tablespoons of sugar, and lemon zest). Once the base and cream are cold, fill the base with a layer of custard, a layer of fresh fruit (of your choice: perfect, strawberries, raspberries, bananas, kiwi slices) and, finally, a layer of fruit jelly. I use quince jelly, which I make every year in December.
Notes:
– The quantities are for a medium-sized tart (24/26 cm diameter tart pan) or for about 5 small tarts.
– Compared to classic shortcrust pastry, adding an egg white and a little baking powder makes it slightly softer and crumblier.
– If you like, you can fill it with hazelnut cream. In this case, proceed as for the fresh fruit version (i.e., bake the base first). If you like, you can set aside a little dough, cut it into different shapes using cookie cutters, and bake it. This will make little biscuits that you can use as decoration (instead of the classic strips).
– Pasta is very sensitive to humidity and heat, so it is best to let it rest in the refrigerator for a while. Keep in mind that it will be a little difficult to roll out (because it remains hard), but by taking care and frequently flouring the rolling pin, it is a task that can be done in a few minutes.
– When rolling out the dough, it is best to make a circle larger than the cake pan so that you can then make fairly thick edges.
– You can also use the same dough to make delicious cookies, which you can sprinkle with powdered sugar once they have cooled. If you like vanilla, you can add the seeds from half a vanilla bean to the dough.
And, as always, try it to believe it 😉
