Crostata pastry, a delectable Italian delight, offers a delightful symphony of flavors and textures. With its sweet, flaky crust enveloping a luscious filling, this versatile dish can be enjoyed for breakfast, dessert, or as a special treat. Whether you prefer classic fillings, such as jam or fresh fruit, or more elaborate creations, the crostata offers endless possibilities for culinary exploration. Embark on a journey to discover the perfect crostata pastry recipe, one that will tantalize your taste buds and leave you craving more.
Here are our top 6 tried and tested recipes!
SUMMER FRUIT CROSTATA
Steps:
- For the pastry:
- Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and toss quickly (and carefully!) with your fingers to coat each cube of butter with the flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board, roll it into a ball, cut in half, and form into 2 flat disks. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. If you only need 1 disk of dough The other disk of dough can be frozen.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to the baking sheet.
- For the pastry (makes 2 crostatas) .
- For the filling:
- Cut the peaches and plums in wedges and place them in a bowl with the blueberries. Toss them with 1 tablespoon of the flour, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the orange zest, and the orange juice. Place the mixed fruit on the dough circle, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.
- Combine the 1/4 cup flour, the 1/4 cup sugar, and the salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts to hold together. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Gently fold the border of the pastry over the fruit, pleating it to make an edge.
- Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the fruit is tender. Let the crostata cool for 5 minutes, then use 2 large spatulas to transfer it to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
APPLE CROSTATA
Steps:
- For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough becomes a solid mass. Turn the dough onto a well-floured board and form into a disk. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Flour a rolling pin and roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to a baking sheet.
- For the filling, peel, core, and cut the apples into 8ths. Cut each wedge into 3 chunks. Toss the chunks with the orange zest. Cover the tart dough with the apple chunks leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.
- Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly on the apples. Gently fold the border over the apples to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle.
- Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
CROSTATA DOUGH
The crostata dough is basically used for a rustic tart. It can be filled with almost any kind of fruit filling. It is particularly good with figs or berries or combination thereof.
Provided by PetsRus
Categories Dessert
Time 45m
Yield 2 tarts, 16 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Cut butter into 1/2 inch pieces and put in freezer.
- Put dry ingredients in cuisinart and pulse to mix.
- Add butter, pulse until you have pea sized bits of butter.
- With machine running add water and stop BEFORE you have a solid mass.
- It should be crumbly.
- Dump out, divide in half and form each half into flat disks.
- Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Roll dough into a rough circle and place on sheet pan with parchment.
- Sprinkle pastry with 1/2 the cinnamon sugar.
- Place fruit filling in center 2/3 of pastry, sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar.
- Fold sides 1/3 of the way in toward center all the way around, leaving a 2/3 of the fruit exposed.
- With your thumb press down on the outside edge of the pastry circle to seal.
- Baked at 400 until pastry is nicely browned.
- Cool.
AMAZING APPLE CROSTATA
There's an Italian restaurant famous for their family-style eating. You'd think something as simple as apple pie wouldn't be as decadent or exotic as this, but you would be very, very wrong. I'm not a dessert lover but I took one of these home and ate it even after it was all soggy from melted ice cream and savored every morsel. There are no words for how good this is. This crust is to die for!
Provided by ANGELSTAR
Categories Desserts Pies Tarts Fruit Tart Recipes
Time 1h35m
Yield 6
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Mix flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, and salt together with an electric mixer until combined. Mix in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water, 2 teaspoons at a time, while the mixer is running until dough just holds together. Test dough by pinching a small amount between your fingers; if it is crumbly, add a 1 teaspoon more ice water at a time.
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until slightly firm, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Squeeze 1/2 the lemon over the apple slices to keep from browning.
- Place a large piece of parchment paper on a flat work surface. Roll dough into a round 12 to 16 inches in diameter, 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick. Arrange apple slices in 2 layers on the dough, leaving a 1 1/2 to 2-inch border all around. Fold up the border, pleating the edge to make it fit; leave most of the apples uncovered.
- Combine 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle over apples. Squeeze remaining 1/2 lemon over apples. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons sugar over crust. Transfer parchment paper to a baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven until crust is golden brown, 50 to 60 minutes.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 479.6 calories, Carbohydrate 65.5 g, Cholesterol 61 mg, Fat 23.6 g, Fiber 3.7 g, Protein 4.3 g, SaturatedFat 14.7 g, Sodium 392.7 mg, Sugar 33.5 g
SOUR CHERRY CROSTATA
Categories Berry Dessert Bake Cherry Summer Gourmet Kidney Friendly Vegetarian Pescatarian Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free Kosher
Yield Makes 8 servings
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- Make pastry dough:
- Beat together butter and 1/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reserve 1 tablespoon beaten egg, chilled, for egg wash and beat remaining egg into butter mixture, then add vanilla, beating well. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour, salt, and zest until mixture just forms a dough.
- Halve dough and form each half into a 5- to 6-inch disk. Wrap disks in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.
- Make filling:
- Heat butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then add fresh or frozen cherries with any juices and sugar and simmer, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. (Cherries will exude juices.) Continue to simmer until cherries are tender but not falling apart, about 8 minutes. Stir together water and cornstarch to form a thick paste, then stir into simmering filling and boil, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. Cool filling quickly by spreading it in a shallow baking pan and chilling until lukewarm, about 15 minutes.
- Assemble and bake crostata:
- Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining piece chilled) between 2 sheets of wax paper into a 12-inch round. Remove top sheet of paper and invert dough into tart pan. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch and fold inward, then press against side of pan to reinforce edge. Chill tart shell. Roll out remaining dough in same manner and remove top sheet of paper, then cut dough into 10 (1-inch-wide) strips and slide dough, still on wax paper, onto a baking sheet. Chill strips until firm, about 5 minutes.
- Put a foil-lined large baking sheet in middle of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
- Spread filling in chilled tart shell and arrange 5 strips 1 inch apart across filling, pressing ends onto edge of tart shell. Arrange remaining 5 strips 1 inch apart diagonally across first strips to form a lattice with diamond-shaped spaces. Trim edges of all strips flush with edge of pan. Brush lattice top with reserved beaten egg and sprinkle crostata with remaining tablespoon sugar.
- Bake crostata in pan on baking sheet in oven until pastry is golden and filling is bubbling, about 1 hour. (If lattice and edges look too brown after 30 minutes, loosely cover with foil.) Cool crostata completely in pan on a rack, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, to allow juices to thicken.
CROSTATA PASTRY
Italian crostatas are rustic free-form tarts that can't be ruined by poor pastry makers. If you tear the dough as you roll it, there's nothing to worry about. Just press the torn parts together and keep rolling. As long as you can get something that resembles a round onto a baking sheet, you're on your way to a fine crostata. This open-faced tart, spread with peaches or prune plums, apples, or roasted vegetables with a little parmesan, begins with a food-processor pastry dough that couldn't be more forgiving. After the filling goes onto the rough round, fold up the edges to encase the fruit and send it to the oven brushed with milk and sprinkled with sugar. If the finished confection looks asymmetrical, that's part of the charm. This pastry recipe can be topped with roasted vegetables and a little parmesan, which I have done, absolutely delicious! Use your imagination. This recipe courtesy of the Boston Globe Magazine.
Provided by Penuchek
Categories Dessert
Time 1h30m
Yield 4-6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour, baking powder, and salt just to sift them.
- Scatter the butter over the flour mixture. Pulse the mixture just until it resembles crumbs. Add the sugar and pulse just to mix it in .
- In a bowl, beat the egg, vinegar, and ice water. Sprinkle the liquids over the flour mixture. Pulse the processor just until the dough forms clumps. It should not come together to form a ball.
- Turn the clumps out onto a lightly floured counter and knead them gently until smooth. Shape them into a disk, wrap in foil, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Use as directed.
- Halve the peaches and remove the pits. Cut each half into 6 pieces and transfer them to a large bowl.
- Sprinkle with flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and lemon juice. Toss gently.
- Set the oven at 400°F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured counter, roll the pastry dough into a 12 inch round. Lift it onto the rolling pin and transfer it to the baking sheet. Refrigerate the pastry for 5 minutes.
- Arrange the peach slices on the dough on their sides, in neat rows, making the rows as close together as possible. Leave a 1 1/2 inch border around the edge. Fold the border up over the fruit. It will pleat onto itself in places; that's OK.
- Brush the exposed dough with milk. Sprinkle the fruit and dough with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 375°F.
- Continue baking the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes or until the peaches are tender and the pastry is golden brown.
- Let the crostata settle for 5 minutes. Transfer it, still on the parchment paper, to a wire rack to cool.
- Preparation time includes 30 minutes refrigeration of dough.
Tips:
- Use high-quality ingredients: The quality of your ingredients will greatly affect the taste of your crostata. Use fresh, ripe fruit, high-quality flour, and good butter.
- Don't overwork the dough: Overworking the dough will make it tough. Mix the ingredients just until they come together, then stop.
- Chill the dough before baking: Chilling the dough will help it hold its shape better in the oven. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out.
- Use ripe, seasonal fruit: This will ensure that your crostata is bursting with flavor. If you're using frozen fruit, be sure to thaw it completely before using.
- Brush the crust with an egg wash before baking: This will help it brown beautifully in the oven.
- Don't overfill the crostata: The filling should be about 1 inch thick. If you overfill it, the crostata will be difficult to close and the filling will spill out.
- Bake the crostata until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling: This will usually take about 45-50 minutes.
Conclusion:
With its flaky crust, sweet filling, and rustic charm, crostata is a delicious and easy-to-make dessert that is perfect for any occasion. Whether you're serving it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, your friends and family are sure to love it. So next time you're looking for a special treat, give crostata a try.
Are you curently on diet or you just want to control your food's nutritions, ingredients? We will help you find recipes by cooking method, nutrition, ingredients...
Check it out »
You'll also love