Daring Bakers - Crostata

I feel guilty..  Guilty for having the Daring Bakers logo on my blog but I haven't done one challenge since I don't know when.. Time have caught up with me and I shall make it a point to be a loyal member again.. ;) And now, I am a happy baker once more!!

I've made tarts before this. This recipe was so much easier to handle than my previous experience, which was good. As the weather at my place can be quite humid, tart dough tends to be sticky. However, this recipe was easy to handle which made me really happy.

The made the pasta without using any machines. It was the first time I did that and I am so happy and proud of the results. :) Of course you can do the pasta frolla using a food processer which is much easier. But unfortunately, I have not got any food processor and decided to use my hands instead of my KitchenAid. I think it was easy to do it without any machines and there's lesser things to wash! haha.. It's more satisfying, trust me..

In terms of taste, the pasta frolla had a mild sweet taste but it was buttery. But it's okay to me cos I filled mine with pastry cream which was sweet and the glazed fruits made it sweet too. So the tart did not add much more sweetness. So it's just lovely for me. Definitely, my go-to pie crust recipe next time.

I made mini tarts using some leftover strawberries, some baked with pastry cream and some with Lingonberry Jam. The strawberry tarts were delightful. I feel that lingonberry jam in itself is an acquired taste. It has a sharp tang (tartiness) taste. But luckily the pastry cream kinda neutralize it. I can take a few bites of it but not more than that. I think lingonberry taste better with savoury food like steak. The pastry cream didn't look that successful but taste quite good. It kinda bloated up in the oven, then sank a lot when it was cooling down outside. 

But overall, this was a good challenge. I love the recipe and loved all of it. :) For more information on the recipe alternative method, you can click here.   

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.

Crostata di Frutta Fresca
Pasta Frolla
1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp (100 g) superfine sugar (caster) OR a scant 3/4 cup (90g) of powdered sugar
1 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
Zest of half a lemon
1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl

1. Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.

2. 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.

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 for at least two hours. You can refrigerate the dough overnight.

Pastry Cream (taken from Baking from my Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)
2 cups whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 (50.2g) unsalted butter, cut into b its at room temperature

1. Bring milk to a boil in a small saucepan

2. Meanwhile, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the yolks together with sugar and cornstarch until thick and well blended.

3. Still whisking, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk - this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won't  curdle.

4. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the milk.

5. Put the pan over medium heat and whisking vigorously, constantly and thoroughly (making sure to get into the edges of the pot), bring the mixture to a boil.

6. Keep at a boil, still whisking for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.

7. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are fully incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky.

8. Scrape the cream into a bowl. Put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water and stir in the pastry cream occasionally until it is thoroughly chilled, about 20 minutes. OR

8a. Press a plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold. 

Building the  Crostata di Frutta Fresca
You will need:
A layer of pasta frolla base
A layer of pastry cream
A layer of fresf fruits

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF [180ºC/gas mark 4].

2. Roll out a batch of the pasta frolla and cover the base of the tart pan. (I took out the pasta frolla from the fridge and left it to warm up a little bit for easier rolling. Put the pasta frolla in between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll).

3. 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.

4. 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. (I used uncooked rice grains as that was all I have at home). 

5. Place the crostata shell in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. (The mini tarts took around 15min in my oven. Do not overbake as it results in very hard and crispy shells like mine. *grins* It's still edible though). 

6. 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.

7. Remove from the oven and let the crostata shell cool completely before proceeding.

8. If you use a tart pan with removable bottom, release the base from the fluted tart ring, then slide the cooled crostata shell on a serving plate for filling. (Note: If you’ve used a cake pan or pie plate, use a bit of care in taking the shell out of the baking vessel.)

9. Spread the prepared pastry cream over the cooled shell.

10. Decorate the surface with fresh fruit. The crostata must be cool, but not cold, so if you refrigerate it, take it out of the fridge half an hour before serving. This crostata is best eaten the same day it is prepared.

11. I warm a bit of glazing gel with some water to put as glaze on top of the fruits to make it last longer and look nicer. :)

~I'm counting  UFOs
I signal them with my lighter
And in this moment I am happy, Happy~