Cranberry Crostata (Daring Bakers November)

Cranberry Crostata (Daring Bakers November)

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.

This is the third month in a row that I have actually participated in a Daring Bakers challenge! Can you believe it?  I had a bit of a rough spell with very little inspiration/energy, but I’m back!

This month’s challenge was to make a crostata with pasta frolla, a pastry dough that I was not previously familiar with. Here’s my (unofficial and non-professionally trained) take on it… It’s basically a standard pie dough/pastry crust moistened with eggs instead of ice water.  The proportions were a bit different than my traditional pie dough… My usual recipe has about 3 parts flour to 2 parts butter and 1 part ice water.  This one had almost equal parts butter and flour, though, making up for some of the lack of flour with superfine sugar.

That’s the ingredient analysis… Now, let’s talk about how it turned out.  My crust ended up having more of a shortbread/cakey texture than a flakey pie crust.  Honestly, I’m not really sure if that was how it was supposed to turn out or if I may have done something wrong (though, I did measure by weight and mixed by hand so as to not over work the dough).  I saw a few other bakers who mentioned similar results in the forums.

Since I was feeling some Thanksgiving inspiration while I was baking this one, I decided to make a cranberry filled crostata.  I had quite a few fresh cranberries on hand (I stocked up on a jumbo 3 pound bag of them!), so I made a quick skillet jam flavored with orange and cinnamon. I just can’t get enough cranberry… It’s definitely one of my favorite holiday flavors. I left the jam somewhat tart, though.  I like it that way, but if you’re not a tart cranberry person, you may want to taste and add a bit more sugar/liquid accordingly.

Overall, I’m somewhat torn on this one.  It wasn’t bad, but I didn’t love it.  Not as much as I love a flakey pie dough.  I’m curious to hear what the other Daring Bakers have to say…

Cranberry Crostata

  • 4 cups fresh cranberries (frozen would work, too)
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • Juice and zest from 1 orange
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 batch of pasta frolla, chilled (see Daring Bakers recipe below)

For the skillet jam, combine the cranberries, brown sugar, orange juice, orange zest, and cinnamon in a large skillet over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the cranberries burst and the mixture thickens (about 15 minutes). Set aside to cool.

(Note: The skillet jam can be made a day or two ahead and stored in the refrigerator.)

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Roll out the pasta frolla (reserving about 1/4 of the dough) to about 1/4-inch thickness. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch tart pan and press the dough into the edges.  Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork and fill with the skillet jam. Roll out the remaining dough and cut long strips to lay across the top of the crostata.

Bake for about 30 – 35 minutes, until the crust is golden. Cool before slicing.

Pasta Frolla (Version 1 from Daring Bakers Challenge)

  • 1/2 c. minus 1 tablespoon [105 ml, 100 g, 3 ½ oz] superfine sugar or a scant 3/4 cup [180ml, 90g, 3 oz] of powdered sugar
  • 1 and 3/4 cup [420 ml, 235 g, 8 1/4 oz.] unbleached all-purpose flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 stick [8 tablespoons / 4 oz. / 115 g] cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • Grated zest of half a lemon (you could also use vanilla sugar as an option, see Note 2)
  • 1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl

Making pasta frolla by hand –

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.

34 comments

  1. That looks gorgeous. I always thought a crostata was just another word for a galette!

  2. that looks so lovely! what a perfect holiday dessert!

  3. Kim says:

    Your crostata looks beautiful! I too felt the same way about the crust. I love my flaky pie crust and this was more like shortbread. Nice job on the challenge!

  4. Laura says:

    Beautiful job–lovely lattice work. I also made a cranberry filling, but I like the sounds of yours! My crust was shortbread-like, too.

  5. I’m all about the cranberries this time of year as well. I always buy extra to freeze so I can have them all year. Your crostata looks really good- I love the tart flavor of the cranberries. Beautiful! :)

  6. So beautiful! I love cranberries and haven’t ever used them in a tart. I think the shortbread-like crust works great with tarts. I suspect it’s the egg yolk and higher ratio of sugar that changes the texture from flaky pie crust to shortbread cookie-like.

  7. Joy says:

    That looks wonderful.

  8. Seems a few people shared your views about the pastry/ crust. Nonetheless, yours DOES look lovely ;-)

  9. Delishhh says:

    Nice work. I also did a cranberry version but with caramel sauce. I loved my crust and will be making it again.

  10. WOW that does look so delicious and I love the lattice you put on it also.

    Yes the final baked shell is more like a butter cookie than a pie crust but that is a good thing.

    Beautiful photos especially the last one.

    Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.

  11. I don’t think my last comment went through so sorry if this a repeat

    WOW your crostat looks so delicious I love the lattice work on top. That last photo is a beauty.

    Yes the crust is like a butter cookie but that is a good thing. Well done on this challenge.

    Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.

  12. Winnie says:

    Too bad you didn’t love the crust, because that’s an absolutely gorgeous crostata…

  13. Nicely done Jen you are so detail oriented. I loved the lattice work, it really added a nice touch! :)

  14. Robyn says:

    I love your photos and your crostata is beautiful! Pretty lattice :)

  15. Tracey says:

    Oh wow, that’s a stunning treat Jen! I’m on a cranberry kick too – I’ve also got the huge 3 lb bag :)

  16. This looks just beautiful…well done :)

  17. Liz says:

    Gorgeous crostata!!!

  18. This in one hell of an elegant crostata.

  19. So beautiful! Perfect for this time of year. I have participated in DB in awhile. I should get off my lazy butt and do it!

  20. naomi says:

    Your crosata looks amazing! Wow-delish.

  21. How beautiful!! What a great dessert for the holidays!

  22. Adelina says:

    Beautiful. I definitely can use my leftover cranberry sauce to use in this crostata.

  23. Wow, that was the most perfect pie I’ve seen on a blog I think. Or it’s actually the most perfect and pretty pie ever. Very well done. Wow.

  24. Tracy says:

    Beautiful crostata! I feel the same way about the pastry – plus, mine shrunk down so much in the pie dish that I ended up taking the pie out of the dish and cutting it into bars!

  25. Dana says:

    That is one of the most professional looking tarts I have ever seen! I am not a big cranberry fan but I would dig right into that one.

  26. Lora @cakeduchess says:

    Jen-your crostata looks gorgeous! This was my first DB challenge. I really enjoyed making my crostata for Thanksgiving and I love seeing what every one else made.

  27. Elizabeth says:

    This turned out absolutely beautiful!

  28. Simona says:

    Your crostata looks very nice! I see that Audax has answered your question.

  29. Jurgita says:

    You’re killing me with these pictures… Saved the recipe for… some day. Hope it comes soon :))

  30. Stanislav says:

    It is a shame that we don’t have cranberry in Slovakia:( but I think we can use another healthy fruit for preparing this cake.

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