Italian ‘Crostata’ with Jam

Difficulty:  Time:

INGREDIENTS (x 8 persons):

For the dough (‘Pasta Frolla’)

• - 200 g plain white flour
• - 100 g unsalted butter
• - 100 g caster sugar
• - 1 egg
• - 1 teaspoon of raising powder (yeast)
• - a pinch of salt

To decorate: 150 g strawberry, apricot or peach jam (at your choice).

WHAT TO DO:

• 1. Before starting, take the right amount of butter out of the fridge and let it stay at room temperature for about half an hour to have it soft. If you are in a rush, use the microwave, but be careful not to melt the butter too much.
• 2. On a large, clean surface, make a pile (a kind of volcano shape) from the flour and add a pinch of salt (when required in the ingredients). In the central ‘crater’ of the flour mass, add the sugar and, right into the middle of it, the eggs and butter, and any other ingredient according to the recipe you selected.
• 3. Now place one hand into the well and the other one on the side of the volcano. This way you make sure some of the ingredients won’t fall apart. Then make circular movements and include the mix little by little into the final dough.
• 4. Thoroughly roll the dough, and use both of your hands to meld the dough until it is one texture. If the dough sticks to your hands, just rub it with a little extra flour and put it back into the mix.
• 5. Let it stay still into the fridge wrapped with foil for about 1 hour.
• 6. In the meanwhile take a round baking tray (about 26 cm diameter) and spread some butter, then sprinkle some plain flour on top of it.
• 7. Take out the dough from the fridge and with your hands mould it to the baking tray to have the base where to spread the jam. Remember to keep aside a part of the dough for decoration.
• 8. Spread the jam at your choice, decorate the surface in a net shape or with little dots.
• 9. Bake it in a warm oven (180°C) until you get a kind of golden biscuit. It will take about 20-30 minutes. Now time to enjoy it!

TIPS & TRICKS:

• - This is the iconic pastry base of ‘crostata’ we generally use for different Italian recipes. They can be made with any kind of jam or topping such as ‘crema pasticcera’ (see correspondent recipe).
• - You can make the dough base by hands or in a food processor or blender. I personally prefer using my hands as it allows you to ‘feel’ the consistency of the dough and adjust it to the desired result (do not worry, you will get to it by experiencing yourself!)
• - A better result of the cake base is obtained by letting the dough stay still in the fridge, wrapped into a foil for about half an hour. After this time, knead it again for few minutes and use it for your baking tray.