NOVEMBER 2010 DARING BAKER CHALLENGE: CROSTATA!

I've never felt more satisfied with an empty bottle of jam until now. This means I've accomplished my mission for this week which is to finish my Daring Bakers Challenge on time. Things have been very hectic lately and I haven't been blogging as often as I would like to. But today, I found the time and I was able to finish it. This isn't the only batch of crostata I made, this must be the 3rd one but it's the only one I was able to take pictures of--it's that good!

The 2010 November Daring Bakers Challenge was hosted by Simona of briciola. 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.
I chose to make version one of the given recipe of pasta frolla to make into Crostata di Marmellata and I filled it using the Mango-Lime Jam that I made.

PASTA FROLLA (version 1)
100 grams superfine sugar
235 grams all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1/2 stick unsaled butter, cold and cut into small pieces
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1 large egg and 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl
Whisk together flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Rub or cut the butter into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten eggs into it. Add the lemon zest to the flour/butter/egg mixture. Use fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients then use your fingertips. Knead lightly until it just comes into a ball. Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours.

I made the pasta frolla by hand and I didn't have any major problems with it, but I had to add a bit of water for the dough to come together. After that, it rolled out nice and easy. I used our drinking glasses to cut the base, lined a greased muffin pan with the pasta frolla before I pricked it with a floured fork and spooned in my filling. I cut the remaining dough into flower shapes and stuck them on top, brushed it with egg wash and baked it for 25 minutes.

And there they are, the finished product. Delicious! Thank you to Simona for this challenge, I discovered another yummy dessert.