Crostata di Mele {Apple Tart}

October4

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I LOVE Crostatas & this is one of my favorites. Crostata di Mele is an {Apple Tart} You pronounce it Crow-sta-ta d May-lay. Or just Delicious will do!

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I know you’re going to look at this LONG recipe & say is she nuts? Well the answer to that depends on the day you ask me LOL. I KNOW it’s a lot of steps but it’s not hard. You start off by making the dough and then putting it into the fridge for a bit. If you have to leave it longer than an hour, don’t freak out, it will be fine. Go, run & do your errands. The cream mixture is heavenly! & it really does thicken up quickly so be sure to stay by the stove & stir stir stir. You don’t to burn it. There’s no coming back from that mess up. You’ll have to start all over again!

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And the dough, did I mention how incredibly light and airy & favoloso it is? If you don’t have a tart pan you can use a springform pan. I just like the tart pan, it’s so ooh-la-la & the lift away sides just fascinates me LOL. Kinda like a magic trick & yes I still enjoy a good magic trick! Just be sure to spray it WELL with cooking spray. If you think it’s not enough, hit it again. You don’t want the crust to stick to the pan. That’s just not pretty. Oh it will be good, but you’ll be eating it out of bowls & with a spoon instead of sliced up. Just sayin’…

This Tart baking will make you want to skip dinner and dig straight in. You’ll want to be sure to bake it a little earlier in the day so it has time to set up in the fridge. The red currant jelly/glaze is ah-mazing on this. The flavors are insane together…the lemon peel (subtle as it may be) in the cream & the tartness of the apples (btw I used Granny Smith Apples. I like to bake with them because they seem not to ooze too much liquid, but feel free to use what you like) and then the red currants…oooh I’m drooling thinking about it. I just might have to go get myself another slice so I can more adequately describe it’s deliciousness to you. YES, I am that dedicated to you. I know, I know, you don’t have to thank me. It’s my job tee hee. There was even a little dough & cream left over after I made the Tart so I pulled out my little ramekins and made 2 individual size portions. How cute are those?

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I can’t wait for my next Crostata. Let me know what your fav flavor is! Who knows, that might be next one!

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What you’ll need:

Dough: 300 g (2 1/2 cups) Flour
50g Unsalted Butter - Softened
1 egg - Slightly beaten
25g Sugar
Pinch Salt

Cream: 1 egg
2 egg yolks
100g Sugar
50g Flour
4 1/4 cups Milk - Scalded
Peel of 1 lemon

Garnish: 500g Apples
50g Sugar
1 .32oz (9g) envelope of Vanilla Sugar
250g Red Currant Jelly
30g Confectioners Sugar - Optional

What to do:
Start by making the dough. To your stand mixer bowl, add the slightly beaten egg & flour & mix on low until incorporated. Add Sugar, a tbsp of water, a pinch of salt & butter. Mix well until it forms a ball. Cover dough ball with saran wrap & place into refrigerator to chill for about an hour.

To make cream: Start by placing your milk into a sauce pan and cooking over medium heat until it’s scalded, stirring occasionally (do not boil). WHILE the milk is heating, place the eggs & sugar into your stand mixer bowl & mix together until light & creamy. This will take a few minutes. Slowly add in the flour & continue mixing on low speed. Gradually add in the scalded milk a little at a time until all of the milk is incorporated. Turn off mixer. Pour mixture back into the pan you used to scald the milk, add the lemon peel & heat over low heat for approx 10 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir continually. Once mixture is thickened, take off heat and set aside.

Remove dough ball from refrigerator and place onto a well floured surface. Roll out dough to fit into your tart pan. Spray your tart pan with cooking spray. Place the dough onto tart pan & remove any excess dough from edges. Discard lemon peels from cream mixture. Add cream ontop of dough, leave enough space to add your apples on top.

Preheat oven to 355 degrees. Peel your apples and thinly slice them. Trying to keep them as uniform in size as possible. Place the apple slices on top of your cream mixture in a circular pattern.

Into a small bowl add your sugar & vanilla sugar & mix together. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly ontop of apples. Place tart onto a cookie sheet & bake for 30 minutes. Cover tart with tinfoil & continue baking for approx 15 additional minutes. The Tart should be only slightly jiggly before removing from oven. If Tart is too jiggly continue cooking until it’s firmer.

About 5 minutes before Tart comes out of oven place the red currant jelly into a small sauce pan and heat over medium heat stirring until jelly turns into a liquid. Pour the liquid over the top of the Tart & smooth with a spoon if necessary. Place Tart into the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour prior to serving.

You can garnish your Tart with fresh whipped cream or confectioners sugar.

Buon Appetito!

Goes great with:
A cup of Espresso

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posted under All Recipes, Desserts
62 Comments to

“Crostata di Mele {Apple Tart}”

  1. On October 5th, 2009 at penny aka jeroxie Says:

    Gosh!! I feel like having a chuck of that now please. Beautiful piece of work.

  2. On October 5th, 2009 at Divina Says:

    I love apple tart but never had it with a cream and jelly. This would be a great way to make a new apple tart. Thanks for the recipe and beautiful photo too.

  3. On October 5th, 2009 at genny Says:

    la mia รจ in forno:DDD

  4. On October 5th, 2009 at Dajana Says:

    Niente di meglio di una bella crostata. Come si fa a resistere?

  5. On October 5th, 2009 at VeggieGirl Says:

    I’d go for dessert first with that tart, for sure! :-D

  6. On October 5th, 2009 at The Italian DIsh Says:

    Very beautiful - I like the idea of the little individual servings, too!

  7. On October 5th, 2009 at lisa Says:

    I can do this. And I have a virgin tart pan!

  8. On October 5th, 2009 at Alyssa Says:

    Yum; I freely admit that I love making things in my tart pan. There’s just something I love about the ratio of crust to filling in a tart. This looks wonderful; thanks for sharing it.

  9. On October 5th, 2009 at George@CulinaryTravels Says:

    I love the look of that, so fresh yet autumnal. Vibrant yet calming. Oooh lovely.

  10. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks Penny! It was quite yum! I’m having another piece for breakfast but don’t tell ;) LOL

  11. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks a bunch Divina! I adore them. This is one of my favorite Crostatas.

  12. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Ciao Genny! Credo che devo far un’altra al piu’ presto! E’ incredibilmente delizioso!

  13. On October 5th, 2009 at saffron Says:

    Wow, now that looks amazing. :)

  14. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Ciao Dajana! Hai ragione, e’ per me, almeno, impossibile a resistere (non ho niente controllo con la Crostata) Baci!

  15. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Hi VeggieGirl! I think dessert first should be a new rule! :)

  16. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Grazie mille Elaine! I was so excited to have a little bit extra & I hate to waste anything so I thought the little ramekins would be perfect!

  17. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Ciao Lisa! Yes, you can do this & it’s about time you break in that Tart pan, we bought them foreva ago LOL ;) Mwah!

  18. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks so much Alyssa! I will be using my Tart Pan bunches over the next few months. Just love it!

  19. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks George! The Red Currant Jelly looks amazing on top & tastes even better! Very pretty sitting on the cake plate (well for all of the 2 seconds that it’s there before we dug in LOL)

  20. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Ah, thanks bunches Mary! So sweet of you!

  21. On October 5th, 2009 at Diana Says:

    Paula, this is beautiful! A great way to use those Autumn apples :)

  22. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks Diana! I love apples & we always try to have them in the house. One of the few good for them things my kids like to snack on (thank goodness for my apple corer LOL)

  23. On October 5th, 2009 at theUngourmet Says:

    You’re right! It does look worth the effort. Yummy! I love using the Granny Smith apples in my baking as well.

  24. On October 5th, 2009 at Jessie Says:

    I love the idea of apple tart with cream and jelly, it sounds really delectable

  25. On October 5th, 2009 at Angelia McGowan Says:

    This looks so good, I was just thinking of making an apple tart, but a free form one, I don’t remember exactly what they are called. This one looks so beautiful and elegant, great recipe!

  26. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks Kim! There’s something about those Granny Smith’s!

  27. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks so much Jessie! It is delightfully delectable! Tee hee!

  28. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks Angie! I love freeform Tarts as well. I just call them Rustic :)

  29. On October 5th, 2009 at Maria Says:

    Gorgeous tart!

  30. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks Maria! Mwah!

  31. On October 5th, 2009 at megan Says:

    oh dear…and I don’t even own a tart pan… this has got to be rectified…Looks awesome!

  32. On October 5th, 2009 at Spicie Foodie Says:

    I love apple tart, and love your recipe. I have a bunch of apples from my friends farm to use up, and this is going on the list to try:)

  33. On October 5th, 2009 at Danielle Says:

    oooh….love it! the individuals are great! hmmm….if i had a choice…peach?

  34. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks Megan & yes you should, no you must tee hee have a tart pan. I think I’d love to pick up some smaller ones as well! You can never have too many pots or pans LOL

  35. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Ciao Spicie! Thank you so much! I hope you love it! We just finished off the last slice from last nights Tart (& can’t even believe there were leftovers LOL)

  36. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Hi Danielle! I reallly did like the individual ones as well. I think a Peach Tart would be smashing!

  37. On October 5th, 2009 at Sandie (Inn Cuisine) Says:

    Definitely the type of dessert worthy of skipping dinner over!

  38. On October 5th, 2009 at Ms Whit Says:

    The Apple Tart looks scrumptious.

  39. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks Sandie! I completely agree ;)

  40. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks a bunch! I really appreciate that. Can’t wait to put my Tart pan to more use!

  41. On October 5th, 2009 at Jessica@HowSweetItIs Says:

    Wow this looks so good. I can’t wait to try it out. My husbands favorite desserts are apple ones. :)

  42. On October 5th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks so much Jessica! I love cooking/baking with Apples. They’re so versatile! Hope y’all <3 it!

  43. On October 6th, 2009 at lululu Says:

    wow, this is one awesome apple tart. love all delicate details, esp the lemon peel in the cream!

  44. On October 6th, 2009 at Alina Says:

    The cream does sound heavenly, we make something similar as a standalone dessert!! And apples with red currant jelly sounds like an excellent idea! Did you use home-made jelly?..

  45. On October 6th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks LuLu! I loved the suttle hints of lemon in the cream mixture too! Not overpowering at all, just the right hint!

  46. On October 6th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks so much Alina! I’m crazy about Red Currant Jelly now. No, I didn’t make the jelly. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at canning so maybe that will be my next challenge :)

  47. On October 6th, 2009 at Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction Says:

    Absolutely beautiful (as always)!

  48. On October 6th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks bunches Jen! Mwah!

  49. On October 6th, 2009 at ValleyWriter Says:

    This looks delicious - and so pretty, too! I love the color!

  50. On October 6th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thank you! LOVE the color too, it’s from the Red Currant Jelly!

  51. On October 6th, 2009 at sizzlechef Says:

    Looks glossy and clean. Thanks for sharing. Cheers !

  52. On October 6th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    I love the glossy-ness of it too! Almost glass like!

  53. On October 6th, 2009 at Bridgett Says:

    Wow, that is a beautiful tart! The color is just amazing. Even though it might take a little time, I can imagine it is totally worth it. Kudos to you for giving it a go and getting lovely results!

  54. On October 6th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks Bridgett! It’s one of my most favorite Italian Tarts. I love the color that the Red Currant Jelly gives it too!

  55. On October 7th, 2009 at Chris Says:

    It looks so good.

  56. On October 7th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks so much Chris!

  57. On October 12th, 2009 at Kamran Siddiqi Says:

    That Crostata looks awesome! I’ve got to give it a try!! :)

  58. On October 12th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Thanks so much Kamran! I love the addition of the lemon & red currant.

  59. On October 16th, 2009 at Polprav Says:

    Hello from Russia!
    Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?

  60. On October 16th, 2009 at Paula Says:

    Hello Polprav! Why yes, thank you so much. I really appreciate that!

  61. On June 27th, 2010 at Jan Says:

    Can you please give the measurements for everything using the US system if you can. (cups, tablespoons etc.) Thanks so much. I would love to make this!

  62. On July 6th, 2010 at Paula Says:

    Hi Jan! There is a handy dandy converter located in the right hand sidebar that you can use. Thanks so much!

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