Crostata con la Crema: Nov. 2010 DB Challenge

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.

I was pretty excited about this challenge - I just bought a new tart pan, and made my first tart, days before the challenge was posted.  The challenge was specifically to make the crust, or pasta frolla, and fill it with any variety of fillings.  I used a combination of the suggested fillings by layering blackberry jam and the pastry cream.  The end product tasted alright but I think there was a lot of room for improvement.  The pastry cream was delicious prior to baking but took on a strange rubbery texture once baked.  If I were to make this tart again, I would bake the dough and the jam first, then add the pastry cream and top with fresh berries. 

The crust, however, was perfect exactly as is.  I will definitely use this crust recipe again - especially since I think it will lend itself well to a variety of fillings.  So, below are the recipes used for the crostata in the pictures.  I recommend getting a little creative ;)

pasta frolla

---Ingredients-----------------------------------------------------------

a scant 3/4 c powdered sugar
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
grated zest of half a lemon
1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl
1/4 t cardamom

---Preparation-----------------------------------------------------------

Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.

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.

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).

Add the lemon zest to your flour/butter/egg mixture.

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.

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.

Meanwhile make the Crema Pasticcera:

Crema Pasticcera
Adapted from this recipe

---Ingredients-----------------------------------------------------------

3 egg yolks
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c corn starch
1 c milk, 1%
1 c cream
lemon peel (sans pith)
2 T seedless blackberry jam

---Preparation-----------------------------------------------------------

Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan along with the lemon peel. Place on a low heat and very gently bring to near boiling point - stir constantly to ensure the milk doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until creamy and light. Sift in the flour and whisk until it has been incorporated. Pour in the cooled milk mixture and whisk until smooth and runny. Pour out into a clean saucepan.

Place over a low heat and stir until the mixture thickens. When you start feeling resistance remove the pot from the heat and stir until that resistance fades. As the cream begins to thicken, remove the lemon peel.

Once the sauce is thick - it should hold its shape - remove from the heat, stir vigorously before pouring into a heat-proof container. Swirl in the jam. To stop a skin forming, place plastic wrap against the top of the sauce. Keep in the fridge until the Frolla is ready.

---Assembly-----------------------------------------------------------

Heat the oven to 350ºF [180ºC/gas mark 4].

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.

To help roll the crostata dough, keep the dough on top of the plastic wrap that you had it wrapped in. This can help rolling the dough and can also help when transferring the dough to your pan. You can also use parchment paper for this. However, you can also roll the dough directly on a work surface if you prefer.

Lightly dust the top of the dough and your work surface (if you’re rolling directly on a work surface) with flour. Keep some flour handy to dust the dough as you go along.

If the dough is very firm, start by pressing the dough with the rolling pin from the middle to each end, moving the rolling pin by a pin's width each time; turn the dough 180 degrees and repeat; when it softens, start rolling.

Roll the dough into a circle about 1/8th inch (3 mm) thick.

If you used the plastic wrap or parchment paper as rolling surface, flip dough over the pan, centering it, and delicately press it all around so the corners are well covered. Peel away the plastic wrap.

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.

Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork in several places.

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.

Cover the bottom of the crostata crust evenly with 2 T of the jam from before, then the pastry cream.

Use the prepared strips or rolls of dough to make a lattice over the surface, or decorate with the cut shapes.

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.

Put the tart in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

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.

A pdf of this challenge can be found here.

 Nutrition Facts, calculated with the Recipe Calculator
serving size: 1/12th of recipe

Calories 295.5
Total Fat 17.3 g
Total Carbohydrate 31.0 g
Dietary Fiber 0.5 g
Sugars 15.6 g
Protein 4.5 g