What makes Italian jam tart so special
Italian jam tart is another recipe that I learnt (or “learned” if you’re American….when I was studying in the States, the professors ALWAYS told me I had a spelling error for that one!) from an Italian friend who is an incredible cook. Pasta frolla (if anyone knows the English translation, please let me know!) is the dough that is used for making this jam tart, or “crostata di marmellata”. It has lemon zest in the crust which marries extraordinarily well with jam. I’ve only found pastry like this in Italian tarts.
Make the dough step-by-step
I’ve set out this recipe a little differently than usual, with accompanying photos for each step, as I know people have a tendency to huddle in a corner of the kitchen with a bowl over their head and say “NO WAY! I CAN’T MAKE DOUGH!” (or is it just that my kids are on holiday from school and I think everyone acts like them?). Don’t worry though. If it works out wrong, you can scrape into the trash-bin and I promise that I won’t tell anyone. The only thing you will have lost is some flour and a couple of eggs. The photos below show you what the dough should look like at each step. At the end, don’t be afraid to add more flour if you’ve added a little too much water and the dough is very sticky.
Short post today, as we’re off to Sicily for a week’s holiday tomorrow and I need to do some packing. Sorry, just had to have a little boast! 🙂 I promise to bring back all sorts of fabulous recipes and share them with you. That is, if I can fit through the plane door on the way back, as Sicily is famous for its wonderful food,….oh, and I think there might be a monument or two there to look at if you have the energy to hoist yourself off your chair in the pauses between meals and snacks.
By Lisa Watson
Italian jam tart
Ingredients
- 300 g Flour 2 1/2 cups
- 100 g Sugar 1/2 cup
- 1 pinch Salt
- 2 Egg yolks cold
- 150 g cold Butter 10 Tbsp, 1 1/3 sticks
- 1 lemon Lemon zest
- Water
Instructions
To make the dough
- Use a food processor if you have one. Mix together the flour, sugar and salt.
- Dice the butter. Add the butter, and pulse the mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg yolks and lemon zest and briefly pulse to mix them in.
- Add water and pulse until the mixture begins to clump together. You may only need 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls.
- When the dough is finished, wrap it in airtight wrap. Place it in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes, or up to 2 days, before you use it.
To Make the jam tart
- Heat the oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).
- Take the dough out of the fridge. Cut it in two pieces of approximately 1/3 and 2/3.
- Roll out the larger bit into the shape of the tart pan you have. I vary between using a rectangular 20 x 30 cm (12 x 8 inch) one and a round 26 cm (10 inch) diameter one. I grease the pan with butter and layer the bottom with baking paper.
- Once you have put the dough in the pan and smoothed it out, spoon half a jar of jam (such as Bonne Maman) in and spread it out so that it covers the dough.
- If you’re feeling fancy, you can then roll out the other piece of dough and make a lattice top. I don’t have the patience for doing that, so I generally cut out various shapes with cookie cutters and place them on top.
- Bake for 25 minutes until the dough is golden.
- Let it cool in the pan before eating so that the jam sets.
