Crostata – Daring Bakers November 2010

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 not familiar with Crostata/Pasta Frolla, however the challenge gave a number of different filling options. I decided to bake Crostata con la Crema; Crostata with a pastry cream filling and topped with fresh fruit.

Here's what I learnt:

• Roll the Pastry base out as quick as possible as the warmer it becomes the softer it is and the harder it is to handle.
• When rolling out the Crostata (pastry base) do it between sheets of Glad Wrap. I found transporting the pastry from the bench to the tart pan quite difficult but being able to pick it up with Glad Wrap helped.
• I made this twice and the second time the Pastry Cream had a slight bitter quality too it. I'm not quite sure why, but it may be due to putting too much lemon zest in the Pastry Cream mix.

What you'll need:

• 23-24 cm fluted round tart pan with removable bottom, about 1 inch [2.5 cm] high.
• bowls, as needed
• fork
• knife
• bench (or pastry) scraper
• rolling pin
• 1 pot/pan
• You can use a food processor, however I found it easier to make by hand.

Pasta Frolla Recipe (the pastry base):

• 100 g caster sugar
• 1 and 3/4 cup / 235g unbleached all-purpose flour
• a pinch of salt
• 8 tablespoons / 115 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces. I grated the butter first and then put it in the freezer to make it easier to rub into the flour.
• grated zest of half a lemon (you could also replace with vanilla sugar)
• 1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl

Making Pasta Frolla by hand:

1. Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Rub 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.
6. Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.
7. Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill overnight or at least 2 hours.

Pastry Cream Recipe:

Note: Prepare the Pastry Cream prior to assembling and baking the Crostata.

• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar (65 g)
• 500 ml milk (slightly more than 2 cups)
• 3 strips of lemon peel about 3" long and 1/2" wide (using a potato peeler to cut the strips makes it easier to avoid cutting the white part of the lemon)
• 3 tablespoons pastry (or unbleached regular) flour (25 g)
• Fresh fruit of your choice to cover the top of your Crostata

1. Pour the milk into a pan, add the lemon peel and warm up to to well below boiling point.
2. Meanwhile, 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. Add a small quanity of the warmed milk to the egg mixture to temper it.
5. Then slowly add the rest of the milk, mixing with a wooden spoon.
6. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and set it to very low heat, stirring at least every couple of minutes.
7. When the froth on the surface disappears completely, the pastry cream starts to feel slightly thicker. From then on stir almost continuously. When the cream reaches boiling temperature and thickens, cook briefly (1-2 minutes), then remove the pan from the heat
8. Remove the lemon peel, place the saucepan in a cold water bath, and stir to bring down its temperature.
9. While it's cooling, stir it every now and then to prevent the formation of a film over it.

Assembling and baking the Crostata

1. Heat the oven to 180ºC / 350ºF
2. Take the Pasta Frolla out of the fridge and unwrap it
3. 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 tart pan.
4. 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.
5. Roll the dough into a circle about 1/8th inch (3 mm) thick.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Cut a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil large enough to cover the bottom of the crust and extend out a bit over the edges of the pan.
9. You can use pie weights or dry beans to blind bake. Place whatever weight you’re using directly on the parchment paper or aluminum foil in an even layer. Although I am told by the French Man however that blind baking isn't necessary if you freeze the pastry shell first and then put it in a hot oven straight from the freezer.
10. Place the crostata shell in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
11. Remove the weights and parchment paper and continue baking the crostata shell until the border is light golden, about 5 minutes (watch carefully to avoid over-baking, which results in a hard shell). In the absence of weight, the crust may rise in the middle: if that occurs, gently push it back down with the back of a spoon.
12. Allow the Crostata Shell to cool completely.
13. Pour the Pastry Cream into the pastry base and using a knife or spatula, evenly spread the cream out into the base.
14. Decorate the top of your Crostata with fruit of your choice.