On the 9th of September it was National Costata Cake Day . Crostata is a traditional common Italian cake. If you ask Italians, they will probably describe it as a dessert made of a shortcrust pastry base covered with jam, cream or fresh fruit, with the addition of thin strips of shortcrust pastry intertwined.
It is not easy to trace the origin of the crostata cake, but we can certainly define it as one of the oldest sweets in the peninsula.
The crostata cake is the classic among families’ desserts suitable for any occasion and can be transformed into many different cakes : fruit , chocolate, custard or apple cake
Name
The name derives from the Latin word crustāta, and the noun crusta (crust). The French term croustade and the English term custard are derived from it.
The word crostata first appeared in a dictionary in 1612.
History
The shape of the crostata recalls Roman desserts such as obleidos, which were wafers filled with honey, and hollow flour cakes filled with cooked fruit pieces. Some believe the first crostata was the famous pastiera. However, crostatas appeared at banquets as early as the early Middle Ages, where they were filled with cheese, honey, spices, and candied fruit. In the following centuries, the dessert acquired a sweet flavor thanks to the arrival in Europe of sugary products originating from the Americas and Asia.
Today the crostata is the most famous baked dessert in Italy and is consumed at any time of the day, so much so that several Italian companies produce small crostata cakes with jam or chocolate or Nutella for breakfast.
So ,who invented Crostata?
Many attribute the invention to a nun from the convent of San Gregorio Armeno. It is said that the strips of shortcrust pastry on the surface of the cake recall the grates with which the cloistered nuns attended religious services.
Traditionally, a crostata consists of a crust, usually three layers, of crumbly pastry topped with shortening and clarified butter. Today, shortcrust pastry is used instead.
Our family recipe for a Crostata con Marmellata with a little secret ingredient that makes it more flavourful and we’re glad to share with you.
Ingredients
For the shortcrust pastry: For the filling:
150g =2/3 cup softened butter 400 gr.=1 2/4 cups jam/jelly/marmelade
2 egg yolks
1 egg
150 g =3/4 cup sugar
a pinch of salt
a teaspoon of cinnamon
300g 00 =2 ½ cups flour /all purpose/regular/plain flour
Preparation
- work the butter and the sugar together
- pour in the flour
- Add the egg yolks ,the egg , the cinnamon and the salt.
- Knead quickly
- Form the dough into a ball and leave aside for one hour.
- roll out 2/3 of the pastry and line the cake mold with it.
- Then roll out the pastry and place it in the oven at 180°C for for 10 minutes covered by parchment paper and beans, then uncovered for other 5 minutes.
- When the pastry is ready, spread on the preferred jam/jelly/marmelade
- Level the surface
- Use the remaining pastry for decorating the cake.
- Bake in the oven for 5 minutes at 180°C/360°F
Sometimes, instead of being enclosed by strips of dough, it’s completely enclosed in a circle of dough (closed crostata).
It can be baked in the characteristic round molds with fluted sides, or it can be square or rectangular in shape.
Variations
Variations are usually filled with fruit jam (for example, apricot, fig, cherry, peach, strawberry, and berry), or cream. A very common filling is covered with custard and then decorated with fruit.
Variations from different areas of Italy
• with orange marmalade, chili pepper jam, and almonds (devil’s crostata).
• crostata with ricotta, sugar, and lemon zest, and may also include cocoa or raisins.
• flavored with cinnamon and aromatic liqueur.
• There’s a tart made by pouring Crema’s tortelli into it.
• The sour cherry tart.
• A dessert with pumpkin, amaretti biscuits, almonds, and candied fruit.
• There are also savory variations with meat or vegetables.
Here are some of our recipes:
Ricotta Crostata click for the link
Crostata con frutta made with a filling of custard(click here for the recipe)and covered with fruit
Crostata Cake covered with jam and then fresh fruit, in this case figs to enjoy the flavour of the fruit in contrast with the crunchy base.Click here for the peach jam recipe,Mandarins Marmalade
P.S:I dedicate this post to my firstborn daughter, a staunch lover of our family’s crostata cakes.
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