Welcome to my “day after”, when the mind says “NO” and the body says “OH HELL NO!”. I needed a mental day, to recover…slow, and easy, and I am loving it. Dim Sum with the kids, painting, cleaning, and baking! Yes! I am easy! I made 4 crostatine, mini crostatas. Crostata is the Italian version of a pie, not too stuffed, not as sweet, and with no butter.
I made 4 tiny itty bitty ones, cause I like tiny things, 2 with my own blueberry jam, and 2 with Nutella.
It was also my mom’s to go to sweet, so it made me feel all awwww…I’ve only lived in the same country as her for 19 years, and I know I have missed a lot of mommy time, but that lady was freaking amazing, and we all miss her. Anyway…I think I didn’t press the stripes enough, and they sorta broke a lil at the edges, but lesson learned…I will focus on “pretty” after I master “delicious”. I got pretty close to delicious…
Here is
½ cup sugar
⅓ cup sunflower oil or canola oil
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 heaping cup apricot jam or any other jam
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Brush your tart pan with oil, then dust it with flour.
To a mixing bowl, add sugar, oil, water, lemon zest, and vanilla extract.Stir well with a spatula until the sugar and the oil are combined.
Combine flour and baking powder in a separate bowl, then add them to the wet ingredients.Mix with a spatula until the mixture turns into dough.
Compact the dough with your hands until all the pieces come together.
Take ¾ of the pastry dough and transfer it onto the tart pan.Flatten the dough with your hands until it covers the pan’s bottom and sides.
Prick the bottom and the sides with a fork.This prevents air bubbles from cracking the crust.
Fill the base with the jam. Spread it out with the back of a spoon.Tip: if your jam is compact, stir it in a bowl first to break off lumps.
Dust a working surface with flour (you can use a cutting board) and roll the remaining dough with a rolling pin. Cut 8 – 10 strips with a sharp knife or a pastry wheel cutter.
Arrange five strips on top of the crostata, then arrange the other five strips diagonally to form a lattice top.
Apply some pressure with your fingers where the strips and the edge of the tart meet so that they stick together.
Bake on a baking rack (not a baking sheet) in the center of the oven at 350°F or 180°C for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the crostata is golden brown.
Let cool down before removing from the tart pan. Devour it!
