I have been super busy at work the last few weeks which has left me little time to play with new recipes. So when the going gets tough and time is short, I return to trusted favourites. When it comes to making a cake/dessert, it generally falls back to the fail proof crostata.
The pastry is a simple one, with softened butter than needs minimal resting in the fridge (unless it is a hot day). I add both lemon zest and a bit of vanilla to the pastry to make it taste “more italian” (or more like mamma used to make). Crostate should be beautiful to look at so I like to use a fluted pastry cutter to make the lattice on top. The jam I used was home made plum jam, made from the plums that grew on the trees at my mother’s, which is not as sweet as store-bought jam and has chunky pieces of fruit in it – but you can use any jam you might have handy. The crostata will take you an hour and a half to make from start to finish. I love to eat it for breakfast or morning tea with a caffelatte and because it does taste so Italian, dream I am back in Italy.
Crostata con marmellata (Italian jam tart)
125 g (just over a stick) unsalted butter, softened
10g (1 tablespoon) icing sugar, sifted
240g (just over 8oz or 2 cups) plain flour, sifted
1/2 tsp pure vanilla essence
zest 1/2 small lemon
good pinch of salt
1 egg
1/2 jar good quality jam (use as much or as little as you like)
icing sugar for dusting
24cm (9 and 1/2 inches) tart tin with a removable base
Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Beat the butter and icing sugar until creamy. Add the vanilla, salt, flour and lemon rind and beat until crumbs form (no more than a couple of minutes). Drop in the egg and beat until it comes together (less than a minutes). Place on a working surface and knead a couple of times, rolling the pastry until it is slightly larger than your tart tin. If the pastry is too sticky to work with, then place it between two sheets of cling film and put in the fridge for up to ten minutes to chill. Line the tin who the pastry, pressing down it needed, with the borders only coming half way up the side of the tin (so that the sides of the crostata will be the same height as the jam filling), using a knife to make the sides flat and even if needed. Keep all the extra pastry that you cut off so that you have enough to make a lattice on the top. Roll out the remaining pastry between two sheets of cling film and place in the fridge so it is easier to cut into strips.
Spoon the jam onto the pastry base, flattening it so that it is just below the edge of the sides of the pastry. Take the remaining pastry out of the fridge and cut into strips, with a fluted cutter if you like, and make a lattice over the jam, allowing the ends of the strips to just touch the edges of the crostata.
Bake for 40 – 50 minutes, depending on your oven and how much jam you have on the crostata (more jam = slightly increased cooking time). Check it after 30 minutes. If the lattice looks like it is darkening too much, reduce the heat to 170C (340F). Remove when the pastry lattice is pale golden. Allow to cool on a rack for a few minutes, then remove the sides of the tin and dust with icing sugar. Allow to cool completely before serving.
This will keep for about five days in an airtight container (I like to keep mine in the fridge).
Related posts:
Lemon ricotta and orange marmalade tart
Rolled shortbread biscotti with plum jam
Apricot crostata with Marsala cream
Ricotta crostata
How lovely your crostata looks! I make these all the time and they always have that “rustic” look.
thank you, I think the rustic look is appealing because it looks/feels like “home”
Deliciously simple way to make pastry taste fantastic….this is one for me…thanks:)
I love adding lemon zest to pastry in particular – it gives it that extra dimension
Gorgeous!
thanks very much, it is delicious as well
My mouth is watering! I’ve always wanted to make a crostata con marmellata. I have some wonderful homemade jams in the pantry (made by friends!) and now I will give it a try.
Glad you like it and it is so much nicer with home made jam than with store bought
I am so excited you put this recipe up. I have so many memories of this tart at your house, and when I was in Rome there were I saw jam tarts everywhere. I especially remember your dad talking about the importance do good jam and buying Hungarian or Czech jam.
Stunning. A most elegant and moreish jam tart. Clever Italians 🙂
hmmm yum! that looks so very delicious.. I should try to make this at home, uuhh so excited!
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I’m going to make this one Paola! My father in law who is mad about anything Italian is going to love this 🙂
so glad you like it!!
How much flour is needed 2 cups or 8 ounces
I always go with grams myself, the other measures are added for readers and interestingly Australian cups are different from US cups! When I enter 240g into a conversion website it says 240g is 2 cups (not sure which country the cups are from though…)
[…] as I’d hoped. Aside from using Italian plums, it is not particularly exclusive to Italy. The Crosata con Marmellata and this German cake are […]
[…] hankies” (quite a funny name in English). I set about making them, adapting the dough in my crostata recipe by adding some cornflour, and using a ravioli-cutter I had purchased in Italy last year to make […]