(DB Nov 2010) You say crostata, I say ...

Jam tart :)

Yes, it’s that time again. No, not just Daring Bakers reveal time. It’s dance recital time! This year, MC junior joins in the fun for the first time. So a great part of my day today was spent making ballet buns (no, not edible), and making sure costume bits didn’t go missing at the dress rehearsal.

Which means my post for today is probably going to be quite succint (did I just hear cheering?). And do forgive me if I don’t get a chance to visit your blogs promptly. I will definitely come along soon, promise!

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’d made pasta frolla and crostata once “before blog”, but it didn’t quite float my boat that time around. I thought it was a bit dry and boring. Luckily, this challenge gave me the chance to try a new recipe and I am definitely a convert! Perhaps using lots of home-made jam made a difference. And perhaps rolling the dough out quite thinly helped too.



I chose version 1 of the pasta frolla recipe, and made the whole thing in the food processor. The cicadas were screeching madly singing loudly outside when I made the tart, a sure sign of a very hot day, so I needed to chill my dough a little. My work process went something like this : roll out dough, refrigerate, put into tart pan, refrigerate, spread jam on, refrigerate, roll out lattice dough, refrigerate, place lattice on, refrigerate, brush with eggwash, refrigerate. Finally the crostata made it into the oven, and I covered the top lightly with foil for the first 15 minutes or so of baking, to protect it from browning too quickly.






The resulting crostata had a beautifully rich and buttery base, complemented by the yummylicious  strawberry, peach and ginger jam I had made earlier. I took the tart along to a picnic to share with friends and we polished it all off in one go. Thanks Simona for the very tasty challenge.



Do check out the different variations created by my fellow Daring Bakers. You’ll find the recipe at the Daring Kitchen or at Simona’s   blog.  As for the jam, I used 2 peaches, 500g of strawberries, some lemon juice and a chunk of ginger,  and made it up as I went along, following a few tips from the  national centre for home food preservation(US based) . I also referred to The Cook’s Companion, and found it useful to cook the jam until it reached about 104˚C (boiling vigorously).

 Jam, lovely jam.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!