The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

The first time I ate crostata was in Italy years ago and ever since then I have been on the lookout for either a good recipe or a pasticceria here that sells the same version I had there. The Italian crostata was memorable! The crust was buttery, fragrant, short and delicate while the jam fillings were tart  and flavourful and completely complimentary to the crust without being too sweet. I just have never had better than that. I loved  eating it so much that my then Italian boyfriend's mum bought me a huge slab of crostata (I will forever love her for that) about the size of 2 extra large family pizzas to sustain my energy during a long flight back to San Francisco. She meant well, and I, in return, with gratitude and greed, ate the whole damn thing in a space of a few hours because it dawned on me that customs was never really going to let me get away with a half metre of crostata tucked under my arm.  It was an ordeal, a delicious one but I just couldn't bring myself to throw it in the food dumpsters on my way to customs.

How did this crostata fare, you may wonder? Well, my husband and I just polished off almost half of it despite the fact that we've just had lunch are about to go out to dinner. It was a complete, bloody success, so  very delicious. We should have waited for the crostata to set but you can tell from the photos that we did not. The not-too-eggy-nor-heavy custard tames the intensity of the jam, or rather, enhances its intensity. I'm not sure which way to put it, you get the gist. The crust is lovely as well but I prefer it shorter. Next time I will try this crostata with my usual shortcrust pastry. Really, it was perfect as it was, I am being rather picky. This crostata was so good that my rather relaxed husband took it upon himself to wrap the remainder carefully and refrigerate it. It took him a roll a heavy duty packing tape and metres of plastic wrap. I am only slightly exaggerating ... he was that careful. By the way, he is the greenie in the family, so, yes, he really, really loved the crostata very much  and wanted to protect it from frostbite. Please don't roll your eyes at me, I can see you.

Many thanks to Simona for organising these beautiful recipes, my husband and I love you very much!

Crostata with Pastry Cream and Homemade Apricot and Mango Jam or Crostata con Crema Pasticcera e Marmellata di Albicocca e Mango

I assume you don't really want to make apricot and mango jam from scratch, do you? You do? I'm so relieved! If only because you won't be able to find it anywhere, I dare you. I won't have the time to post the instructions today but let me tell you...it's exceptional. Write to me if you really must have the recipe  now and I'll email it to you, otherwise, a very good quality homemade or store-bought jam will do rather nicely.

First, make the crust or la pasta frolla

Ingredients

• Caster sugar 100 grams
• Plain flour 235 grams
• A pinch of salt
• Cold butter, cut into small pieces: 115 grams
• Zest of half a lemon, grated
• One large egg and
  
• One large egg yolk : beaten together in a small bowl

1. Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.
   
2. Rub or cut the butter into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice.
   
3. Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten eggs into it (reserve about a teaspoon of the egg mixture for glazing purposes later on – place in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use).
   
4. Add the lemon zest to your flour/butter/egg mixture.
   
5. Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, and then use your fingertips.
   Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.
6. Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. You can refrigerate the dough overnight.
   

Now you are ready to make the pastry cream

Ingredients

• Extra-large eggs: 2
• Sugar: 1/3 cup or 65 grams
• Milk: 500 ml
• Lemon peel about 8 cm long and 1 cm  wide: 3 strips
• Barely one drop of natural almond essence (my addition)
  
• Cornflour: 12 grams (Simona's recipe asks for 25 grams of plain flour)
  

1. Pour the milk into a pan, add the lemon peel and warm up to to well below boiling point.
   
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until the mixture is bubbly.
   
3. Sift the flour over the egg mixture and beat briefly until it is incorporated.
   
4. Temper the egg mixture with a small quantity of milk, then slowly add the rest of the milk, mixing with a wooden spoon.
   
5. Pour the mixture into the pan and set it to very low heat, stirring at least every couple of minutes. When the froth on the surface disappears completely, the crema starts to feel slightly thicker. From then on stir almost continuously. When the crema reaches boiling temperature and thickens, cook briefly, about 30 seconds.
   
6. Remove the pan from the heat, remove the lemon peel, place the saucepan in a cold water bath, and stir the crema to bring down its temperature. While the crema cools down, stir it every now and then to prevent the formation of a film over it.

Assembling and baking the crostata with the pastry cream:

1. Heat the oven to 180º C.
   
2. Take the pasta frolla out of the fridge, unwrap it and cut away ¼ of the dough. Reserve this dough to make the lattice top of the crostata. Refrigerate this dough while you work on the tart base.
   
3. Roll the dough into a circle about 3 mm thick.
   
4. Trim the excess dough hanging over the edges of the pan. Press the remaining dough around the border into the sides of the pan making sure the border is an even thickness all the way around.
   
5. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork in several places.
   
6. Take out of the fridge the reserved pasta frolla you had cut away earlier. Roll it with your pin and cut into strips or use cookie cutters to make small shapes (this is not traditional, but it looks cute); or roll with your hands into ropes.
   
7. Cover the bottom of the crostata crust evenly with the pastry cream, and then, top with jam.
   
8. Use the prepared strips or rolls of dough to make a lattice over the surface, or decorate with the cut shapes.
   
9. Brush the border and strips of dough with the reserved beaten eggs. You can add a drop or two of water to the beaten eggs if you don’t have enough liquid.
   
10. Put the tart in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until crust is golden.
    
11. When done, remove the tart from the oven and let cool. If you have used a tart pan with a removable bottom, then release the tart base from the fluted tart ring. Make sure the tart is completely cool before slicing and serving.