Crostatas have to be my new favorite dessert. Seriously. They are so easy to make and are very forgiving, which is perfect for me especially since I use a gluten free flour blend that doesn’t always want to cooperate when I’m baking . Lol. There’s just something about creating a light flakey, dough. Rolling it out, spreading on your favorite jam or preserve, (In this instance we are using a Mildly sweet, slightly spiced pear preserve that I bought at my local farmer’s market. ) folding the edges over, leaving the center exposed so as it bakes the color of the preserve deepens to a luxurious rich hue and top with a few toasted sliced almond and you have a delicious, light, sweet dessert perfect for entertaining or enjoying on your own. Making this dessert takes all the stress out of baking because it doesn’t have to look perfect. So if you make this dessert and when it’s time to fold over the dough to make a boarder and it splits or one side covered more than the other, that is ok. That’s what adds character and the old world , rustic charm.
You can do this !
Our journey begins ..with some flour. Here i am using a gluten free flour blend , however you may use all purpose flour. Since I bake gluten free most all of my recipes are origionally made with regular all purpose flour and I just substitute the gluten free flour. Next up is cold butter from the fridge. I cube it up to make less work for the food processor. I’m so thoughtful..lol . Cubing the butter up will require less heat and energy to break up the butter which will give you a nice flakey crust. If the butter is being worked too long the heat wil start to melt it and will result in a non flakey crust.Salt and sugar. Sugar to add a little sweetness to the dough, ever so slightly and salt to balance out the flavors.Ice water. Ice water will get get poured into the food processor once the above ingredients have been pulsed together. Bringing the dough together so you can form it and reinforce the coldness of the butter . Flakey crust.Place the flour, salt and sugar into the food processor and give a quick pulse to incorporate everything.Then add the cubed butter and pulse using quick short pulses to not overwork the butter. Look closely, see how the butter gets distributed and makes it look like beads of sand? see that? That’s what you want. now you are ready to stream in the ice water and pulse …Pulse until you get the dough to come together like this. If you need to add a splash more water to achieve this result, then do it!. I like to make life easy, so when my dough comes together in the processor bowl,I turn it out onto clear cling wrap. Then by hand just push it together to form a circle like…..This.! I pat it down just like this. wrap it up and put in the fridge for about 40 minutes .While the dough is chillin out….You can toast up the almonds. but first……I wanted to show you the spiced pear preserves I bought. The Monroe Farmer’s Market in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania …has a variety of local farmers, and artisans alike and bring such beautifully homegrown produce and handcrafted items to sell. It is a fantastic place to experience and I for one am there every saturday morning. If you cannot find spiced pear preserves , you can alway order it online from this local farm. Buy the Farm. or feel free to substitute your favorite jam or preserve. Just embrace the experience of making a crostata and enjoy the textures and flavors. You owe it to yourself. Toasting the sliced Almonds is quite simple, and takes only a few minutes of you time under close watch. It really adds depth of flavor and an inviting crunch!Toasty……..Roll out the dough on floured surface about 11 inches round . Place your preserves in the middle and spread out, you can go as thin as you like with the preserve but i prefer that yummy substantial amount of fruit filling. Fold the edges up ,repairing any holes or cracks you might get. This is what your aiming for.Out of the oven it comes……scatter the almonds on top ,and a dusting of powdered sugar..and viola! magnifique!
Recipe
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour or gluten free flour blend.
2 Tablespoons of sugar
1/4 Teaspoon salt
10 Tablespoons of butter chilled, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup of ice water
flour for dusting as needed
3/4 – 1 cup of spiced pear preserves or your preserve/ jam of choice
1 Tablespoon of sliced Almonds
powdered sugar for dusting
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and position rack in the center of the oven.
To make the dough:
Add flour, sugar and salt to a food processor and pulse once or twice to mix ingredients together.Add the chilled butter and pulse until it looks like coarse sand. Add the ice water and pulse until the dough comes together and when you squish it between your fingers it sticks together well. That is a grest test! cut a large sheet of plastic wrap , lay it on the counter and turn the dough out onto it. press the dough together to make a flattened disk, wrap in the plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about 40 minutes.
While the dough is chilling, toast the almonds, Set a small shallow pan over low heat and place the almonds in the pan. Keep a close eye on the almonds , you dont want them to burn. Stir them around every so often, so they get even color and toast up slightly til golden. Remove from heat. set aside. on a floured surface roll out the dough to about 11 inches round .Transfer the dough to a parchment lined baking sheet. Place the preserves in the middle and spread out leaving about an inch and a half or so boarder . Fold the edges of the dough over so you have a nice boarder. Bake for about 30-35 minutes until dough is gloden. Remove from the oven and scatter the toasted almonds on top and once completely cooled dust with powdered sugar.
