Saturday, November 27, 2010

Daring Bakers November - Blood Orange Crostata





Happy Holidays, as the Christmas music fills my kitchen and I prepare some scrambled eggs with basil and Parmesan cheese for the fam…I present to you the Daring Bakers November Challenge of “Crostata”.



This particular style filled with jam is the simplest of simple, I even succeeded here where in turkey land yesterday….I failed miserably! However that it neither here..nor there







INGREDIENTS FOR CRUST

½ cup fine sugar, you can use a blender/processor
1 ¾ cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 large egg + 1 yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick of butter, cubed

FOR JAM FILLING


1-2 jars of jam, I used 1 for 4 mini crostata’s







DIRECTIONS


Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl. Rub or cut the butter into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. I use my potato masher for this.







Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten eggs & vanilla into it. Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, and then use your fingertips







Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball. 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. Next run to the store and pick up your favorite flavor of jam. I used a Blood Orange.







Roll out your dough to a proper shape for whatever size tart pan you chose. I did 4 mini’s but this recipe could easily make 8. I reserved small portion of dough to make shapes for the top of my crostata. Pour jam into your shells until it reaches the top. Next place your gorgeous shapes on top of the jam…maybe a glass of wine too? Two? He he







Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes or until a golden brown. Please enjoy & here’s to the holidays.



48 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Those tartlets are so pretty! Very well done.

Cheers,

Rosa

Kris Ngoei said...

Beautiful mini crostatas and photo props! Since reading about the forum, I have been looking forward to your post, excellent!

Anonymous said...

beautiful!!! PS I am totally jealous that that is what it looks like outside your window right now! We are buried in about 5 feet of snow here!!

Sue said...

Your mini crostatas look so pretty! Love the blood orange jam!

Unknown said...

So adorable! I love orange marmalade, and I bet the tartness was amazing with the sweet crust.
:)

claire said...

those are too cute! orange jam is the perfect filling!

Unknown said...

YUM! Blood orange crostata sounds delicious! I love your pics!

Cookinva said...

Those are adorable! Love that jam!

Brownieville Girl said...

I love the way you have decorated the pies - really fun!

sadaf said...

nice photography !!! I must say you have nice window in your kitchen . I adore your version coz I love orange marmalade

Kristen said...

these are beautiful!

aipi said...

I can feel the fresh citrus smell through the monitor :) Really nice combination and awesome work!


US Masala

Velva said...

Your blood orange tarts are/will be perfect for the next eating festival that is just around the corner.

pam said...

So lovely!! I bet if I used storebought dough I could make these! :)

teresa said...

these are just gorgeous, they've got to be full of flavor, i love what you did with the crust.

The Capitol Baker said...

Adorable!! Great job!

Someone said...

beautiful presentation.

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Wow looks wonderful with beautiful pictures... Awesome job on the challenge.

Pavithra
www.dishesfrommykitchen.com

scrambledhenfruit said...

Your mini-crostatas look so cute! I love tiny food- the blood orange jam looks good in them. :)

Anonymous said...

These look great. Love the cutouts, what an ingenious way of using up the leftover dough.

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

What beautiful colour and they're so pretty too. Must have tasted out of this world!

Unknown said...

Ciao!
These little Crostatas made me smile :)
they are wonderful, I love the one with the stars!
Have a nice Sunday!
Barbaraxx

Chef Dennis Littley said...

you just hit my weak spot with blood oranges!! I fell in love with them in Italy...sigh
You did a great job with this daring bakers challenge!
cheers
Dennis

Angie's Recipes said...

Gorgeous! You have outdone yourself!

Fun and Fearless in Beantown said...

These mini crostats look SO beautiful!

Chocolate Freckles said...

Gorgeous pics!!! :) I smiled when I saw the little tarts!! awesome!

Monet said...

These are precious! Great job on this challenge. I love the simplicity of using jam! I am going to put these mini tart pans on my Christmas list. They are precious!

Renata said...

I love mini versions of food and these Crostate are adorable!

Reeni said...

These are so cute! Love the way you decorated them!

shaz said...

All your crostatas are so pretty and festive! Great job. So looking forward to the holidays :)

Anonymous said...

I love the simplicity of your crostatas. They are sized and garnished perfectly :) Great job on the challenge!

Unknown said...

Lovely! What a perfect, beautiful treat! Would love some of those eggs too! :)

Katrina said...

Your tarts are gorgeous. Love the top crust decor.

chef_d said...

...beautiful crostatas! Great job on this challenge!

Rambo&Monkey said...

Hey girl, I just made this tonight and came out great! Thanks for the recipe, love your blog so keep the recipes coming! :)

Tia said...

you're such an artist!

Miri said...

I really want some of those tart pans now!!

Val said...

Really gorgeous. I love your attention to detail.

Damaris @Kitchen Corners said...

I agree with Val, I love your attention to detail as well. Such perfect little tarts.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Looks good and easy!

Hope you had a blessed & delicious Thanksgiving!
~ingrid

Delishhh said...

WOW - blood orange, would have never thought of that. Nice work. I ended up doing cranberry and caramel.

Georgia | The Comfort of Cooking said...

Don't you love World Market? I've been going there nonstop lately for little odds and ends and will have to pick up some of this blood orange jelly next time... These crostatas look like a pretty and delicious way to use it! Thanks, Jen!

Unknown said...

I love this recipe! I sent it to my sister and she is going to let her kids decorate the top of their crostatas.

Tracy said...

Beautiful tartlets! Wonderful job on the challenge. :-)

becky said...

these are so adroably delicious!

Lori said...

Such cute little crostatas.

Jamie said...

I've been making jam-filled crostata since we lived in Italy and I love them. They are the perfect snack (and breakfast and dessert). Yours are little works of art and so tempting. What a great challenge that I just had to skip. Now I want to make these anyway.

Monica H said...

Those are beautiful little tarts!