Tuscan Women Cook, the renowned culinary immersion vacation nestled in the heart of Tuscany, is delighted to share a delectable addition to your holiday feast - the Wild Plum Tart. As the holiday season approaches, Tuscan Women Cook shares this cherished recipe that encapsulates the flavors and traditions of the region.
Drawing upon generations of culinary expertise, nonna Donatella’s recipe from Ristorante 13 Gobbi in Montefollonico embodies the essence of Tuscan cuisine - simple, rustic, and bursting with flavor.
Crostata is a simple, yet elegant Tuscan jam tart served for dessert or breakfast. Fillings change with the seasons. In a wine growing town, it might be grape jam. Some make it using blackberry jam made from wild berries harvested along the roadside. But any variety works well, from orange marmalade to blueberry preserves. The buttery dough for crostata gains richness from melted butter and egg yolks, which also give it a golden color. Light and crisp, the crust is like eating a cookie cloud. The nonnas in Montefollonico like to make crostata with apricot or wild plum jam.
This delightful tart is the perfect centerpiece for your holiday gatherings, adding a touch of Italian charm to your festive table. This holiday season as visions of sugar plums dance in your head, bake up this easy and delicious tart.
Wild Plum Tart
Servings: 8
Tuscan Women Cook guests enjoy nonna Donatella's creation, along with limoncello and grappa, at the conclusion of their lunch class at Ristorante 13 Gobbi.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 egg yoks
- 1 whole egg
- 8 ounces butter, melted and cooled
- grated zest of orange or lemon
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- 1-¼ to 1-½ cups wild plum jam or other fruit jam such as apricot or blueberry
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter then line a 12-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. Make a parchment paper sling to help remove the crostata from the pan after baking. Cut a strip of parchment paper 2-inches wide and at least 16 inches long. Lay the strip in the pan. Allow the extra paper to hang over the sides of the pan.
Whisk together the sugar, egg yolks and whole egg in a large mixing bowl. Slowly stir in the melted butter. Add the zest, flour, and baking powder. Stir until it comes together into a soft dough.
Set aside approximately one cup of the dough. Spoon the remaining thick dough into the prepared pan. Using your fingers, press the dough into an even layer that covers the bottom of the pan and slightly up the sides.
Warm the jam so that it will spread easier. Then, pour the warm jam over the dough in the pan. Use a spatula to spread it out into an even layer.
Place remaining dough on a floured work surface. Knead it then roll it about ¼-inch thick. Cut the dough into thin strips. Position the strips in a lattice pattern on top of the jam.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes until the edges of the crust are golden and the lattice is firm.
Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. When cool use the parchment paper slip to carefully lift the crostata out of the pan.
Recipe and photo reprinted with permission of www.TuscanWomenCook.com from the Tuscan Women Cook Cookbook
Tuscan Women Cook is the unique and popular culinary immersion vacation located in the heart of Tuscany celebrating the food and culture of the Italian region and excursions into the charming village of Montefollonico.
During each day of the week-long program, a group of 16 participants learn to cook authentic Italian recipes from some of the best cooks in all of Italy…the local grandmothers, or nonnas of Montefollonico. These extraordinary women teach their cooking classes sharing family recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation.
For more information on Tuscan Women Cook visit their website, www.TuscanWomenCook.com.
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