Cherry Crostata Recipes

CHERRY FOLDITUP

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in water and vodka, if using. Toss with a fork until flour mixture is moistened, then use your hands to bring dough together into a ball. Flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Roll dough into a large disk about 13 inches wide and 1/8-inch thick. Transfer dough to the prepared baking sheet.
• Pour cherry filling into the middle of the dough, leaving a 3-inch border. Fold the outside edge of the dough over the fruit, making occasional pleats.
• Brush milk over dough; generously sprinkle with sugar. Bake in the preheated oven until crust is golden and the fruit is bubbling, 35 minutes.

SOUR CHERRY CROSTATA

Steps:

• Make pastry dough:
• Beat together butter and 1/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reserve 1 tablespoon beaten egg, chilled, for egg wash and beat remaining egg into butter mixture, then add vanilla, beating well. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour, salt, and zest until mixture just forms a dough.
• Halve dough and form each half into a 5- to 6-inch disk. Wrap disks in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.
• Make filling:
• Heat butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then add fresh or frozen cherries with any juices and sugar and simmer, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. (Cherries will exude juices.) Continue to simmer until cherries are tender but not falling apart, about 8 minutes. Stir together water and cornstarch to form a thick paste, then stir into simmering filling and boil, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. Cool filling quickly by spreading it in a shallow baking pan and chilling until lukewarm, about 15 minutes.
• Assemble and bake crostata:
• Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining piece chilled) between 2 sheets of wax paper into a 12-inch round. Remove top sheet of paper and invert dough into tart pan. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch and fold inward, then press against side of pan to reinforce edge. Chill tart shell. Roll out remaining dough in same manner and remove top sheet of paper, then cut dough into 10 (1-inch-wide) strips and slide dough, still on wax paper, onto a baking sheet. Chill strips until firm, about 5 minutes.
• Put a foil-lined large baking sheet in middle of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Spread filling in chilled tart shell and arrange 5 strips 1 inch apart across filling, pressing ends onto edge of tart shell. Arrange remaining 5 strips 1 inch apart diagonally across first strips to form a lattice with diamond-shaped spaces. Trim edges of all strips flush with edge of pan. Brush lattice top with reserved beaten egg and sprinkle crostata with remaining tablespoon sugar.
• Bake crostata in pan on baking sheet in oven until pastry is golden and filling is bubbling, about 1 hour. (If lattice and edges look too brown after 30 minutes, loosely cover with foil.) Cool crostata completely in pan on a rack, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, to allow juices to thicken.

CHERRY CROSTATA

Steps:

• Prepare crostata dough: Sift 2 1/2 cups flour.
• Place flour, butter (minus 1 tablespoon), sugar, salt, and lemon zest in food processor.
• Pulse until mixture is moistened and crumbly.
• Add egg yolks and pulse until mixture just begins to form a ball of dough. (Crust can be mixed by hand if you do not have a food processor).
• Remove dough and flatten into a disk.
• Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Unwrap dough and place it on a floured work surface.
• I have a little better luck rolling out the dough if I let it come back to room temperature a bit.
• Roll out crust into a circle about 12 inches in diameter.
• Transfer circle to a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Using a fork, prick holes in the crust about 5 or 6 times.
• In saucepan over low heat, warm cherry (or strawberry) jam with remaining 1 tbsp butter.
• Spread warm jam in a thin layer over the crust, leaving about 1 1/2 to 2 inches around the edges for a border.
• Spread fresh cherries over the jam.
• Fold the outer edges of the dough over the fruit, leaving about a 6-8 inch circle of the cherries showing in the middle.
• I turned the halved cherries that were visible in the middle skin side up to make the crostata look a bit more uniform.
• Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• Let cool.
• Dust with powdered sugar if desired, and serve.