Crostata is the most classic rustic dessert in Italy, it is a jam filled pastry crust & recipes vary greatly across the country. You will find this on the table of almost every nonna ready to serve in case anyone pops-in. It gets better after sitting out a few days & dries up nicely (if you don't eat it before!) and is erfect with your morning
cappuccino. In our area the most popular jams are fig & apricot - just divine with chopped almonds toasted on the top!
Italian Jam Tart
Enough to make two 9in tart pans.- top & bottom. Use what you have, we use round pizza pans.
1 1/3 cup butter
5 scant cups of flour
1 1/4 cups of sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 full eggs + 3 yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
drop of booze - grappa, rum, brandy, anything you like
favorite marmalade/jam, about a half a cup depending on your taste
Cream butter & sugar until light & fluffy. Beat in all the eggs & vanilla.
Sift together all the dry ingredients.
Incorporate the flour into the butter & egg mixture with a few strokes of a wooden spoon forming a dough. Take 1/3 of the dough & press into a parchment lined tart pan to 1/4 inch thickness. If the dough is sticky wet your finger tips slightly.
Generously spread marmalade on the shell.
To make the lattice work top:
Pull off a pinch of dough & roll into a long snake. This is an easy dough to work with if it breaks just pinch it back together. This is a rustic tart. Moist hands will help if the dough is sticky.
Continue until you have enough to make your lattice top.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about an hour or until the top is nice & brown, the bottom is cooked & the dough should shrink away from the pan a bit.
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