Raspberry Fig Crostata Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• To make the crostada, dust a clean working surface with flour and roll out the pie dough until it's approximately 1/8-inch thick. Cut out a circular piece 8 inches in diameter. In a bowl, toss 1/2 cup of the raspberries with 1/4 cup of sugar. Place berries in the center of the pastry dough, leaving a 2 to 3-inch border. Begin folding crust into the center of the pastry, repeatedly allowing it to pleat as you lift the dough and work your way around the pastry. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and top with the remaining teaspoon of sugar. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and crisp. For the raspberry coulis, place 1/2 cup of raspberries in a small saute pan with 1/4 cup of sugar over medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes, or until berries release all their juices. Continue to cook until the mixture reaches a syrup consistency. Pass through a fine sieve or strainer while applying pressure with a ladle or the back of a spoon to remove all juices. Taste, for flavor then put aside to cool. Serve the warm crostada on top of Vanilla Anglaise; drizzle with the raspberry coulis.
• Before you begin, prepare an ice bath with an empty bowl and strainer. In a small bowl, using a wire whisk, mix egg yolks and 1/2 of the sugar. Place the heavy cream and the remaining sugar in a small pot. Slice the vanilla bean in 1/2, lengthwise. Using the back of a pairing knife, scrape the inside of the bean, removing all of the seeds. Place both the scrapings and the bean in the pot with the heavy cream. Bring the mixture to a boil. While continuously whisking, slowly add cream and vanilla bean mixture to the egg yolks. Return liquid to pot and place over low heat while whisking. Do not stop whisking!! The mixture will begin to thicken. Once it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, pass the mixture through the strainer and into the empty bowl over the ice bath. Continue mixing until cool. Serve underneath a raspberry crostada.

Steps:

• In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine flour, sesame seeds, almonds, sugar, salt, cinnamon and lemon zest. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add 2 eggs and vanilla, and mix just until it comes together. Form into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours until firm. (Double-wrapped, dough can be frozen up to 3 months.).
• In a saucepan, combine half the figs and half the raspberries with brown sugar, white sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Toss well. Add 1 tbsp butter. Bring to a boil and cook 2-3 minutes until thick. Transfer to a bowl and add reserved figs and raspberries. Stir gently to combine. Taste and adjust lemon or sugar if needed. Cool over ice bath until room temperature.
• Remove dough from refrigerator. Remove 1/3 of dough and return to refrigerator. Flour work bench and roll out larger piece of dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Dough will be very fragile, so keep it cold and work quickly but carefully. Transfer carefully to a 9" tart pan. Patch any holes carefully to be sure the base is solid. Press up to form sides.
• On a piece of baking parchment, roll out smaller piece of dough to 1/8" thick. Cut into 1/2" strips with pastry wheel or pizza cutter. Transfer parchment to a sheet pan and place in refrigerator 30 minutes.
• Fill tart shell with fruit mixture until level with top of shell, about 2½ cups of fruit. Beat 1 egg with water and brush over exposed edge of crust. Lay strips of dough over top in lattice formation. Brush each strip with egg wash as you lay it in place. Press down on lattice strips at edges of tart pan to press them into the edge of the tart shell and trim off excess. (Strips should form a lattice, but do not attempt to actually weave the strips - the dough is too fragile and will break.) Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
• Place pan on foil-wrapped baking sheet (to catch bubble-overs) and bake in preheated 350°F oven 40-45 minutes until juices are bubbly and lattice is golden-brown. Cool to room temperature, remove tart shell, and serve with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Steps:

• Mix the flour, sugar, and lemon peel, in a food processor. Add the butter. Pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add salt. Pulse in the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until moist clumps form. Gather the dough into a ball; flatten into a disk. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to an 11-inch round. Transfer the dough onto a heavy baking sheet that has been lined with a silpat or parchment paper. Stir the lemon juice into the preserve and spread the preserves on top of dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold the dough border over the filling to form an 8-inch round, pleating loosely and pinching to seal any cracks in the dough.
• Bake the crostata until the crust is golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Allow to cool. Sprinkle with the almonds and dust with the powdered sugar, if you wish. Slide a metal spatula under the crust to free the crostata from the baking sheet and serve.

Steps:

• For the pastry:
• Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and toss quickly (and carefully!) with your fingers to coat each cube of butter with the flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board, roll it into a ball, cut in half, and form into 2 flat disks. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. If you only need 1 disk of dough The other disk of dough can be frozen.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to the baking sheet.
• For the pastry (makes 2 crostatas) .
• For the filling:
• Cut the peaches and plums in wedges and place them in a bowl with the blueberries. Toss them with 1 tablespoon of the flour, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the orange zest, and the orange juice. Place the mixed fruit on the dough circle, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.
• Combine the 1/4 cup flour, the 1/4 cup sugar, and the salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts to hold together. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Gently fold the border of the pastry over the fruit, pleating it to make an edge.
• Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the fruit is tender. Let the crostata cool for 5 minutes, then use 2 large spatulas to transfer it to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Blend together flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Add yolks, vanilla, and water and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated and dough begins to form large clumps.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all dough together (using a pastry scraper if you have one), then divide dough in half and form each half into a 5- to 6-inch disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Simmer figs, water, orange juice, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan, covered, stirring occasionally, until figs are soft and mixture is reduced to about 2 cups, 15 to 20 minutes. Pulse in a food processor until finely chopped (mixture should not be smooth). Transfer to a large bowl and cool slightly. Stir in butter, eggs, vanilla, zest, and walnuts.
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Generously butter springform pan. Roll out 1 portion of dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a 12-inch round (dough will be soft; chill or freeze briefly if it becomes difficult to work with). Peel off top sheet of parchment and carefully invert dough into pan. (Dough will tear easily but can be patched together with your fingers.) Press dough onto bottom and 1 inch up side of pan, then trim excess. Chill tart shell until ready to assemble crostata.
• Roll out remaining dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a 12-inch round. Peel off top sheet of parchment, then cut dough into 10 (1-inch-wide) strips and slide (still on parchment) onto a tray. Chill until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Spread fig filling in shell. Arrange 5 strips of dough 1 inch apart on filling. Arrange remaining 5 strips 1 inch apart across first strips to form a lattice. Trim edges of strips flush with edge of shell. Sprinkle crostata with sugar.
• Bake until filling is slightly puffed and pastry is pale golden, about 30 minutes. Cool completely, then remove side of pan. Serve crostata with mascarpone.v

Steps:

• Make the Croustades: Place dough on a lightly floured work surface; lightly flour dough. Using a rolling pin, press the dough firmly in parallel strokes close to one another. Continue pressing with rolling pin, adding a pinch of flour to dough between strokes, until dough becomes more malleable.
• Continue rolling dough back and forth without rolling over the ends (which may make ends thinner and stick to surface). Turn dough 90 degrees, and continue rolling in the other direction; roll dough, changing directions as necessary, into a 15 1/2-inch square. Carefully transfer dough to a large baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap; transfer to refrigerator and chill until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Using a sharp pizza wheel, trim edges of dough and cut into nine 5-inch squares. Fold each square of dough, corner to corner, to form a triangle. Using the pizza wheel, make a cut over the fold on both sides about 1/2 inch from the edge of the triangle.
• Unfold triangles back into squares. Pierce the inner squares at 1/2-inch intervals using the tines of a fork. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and salt; brush inner squares lightly with egg mixture.
• Fold the outer corners of each square over to the opposite inside corners, one at a time.
• Using a floured fingertip, press the borders down and indent the sides of each croustade at 1/4-inch intervals with the dull side of a paring knife. Place croustades on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet; chill until firm, or cover and chill overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack set in the center of the oven. Bake croustades until well risen and deep golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove croustades from baking sheet and remove some of the puff pastry layers from the center by loosening the sides of the inner squares with a fork and lifting out, also removing any unbaked dough in the process. If you would like to use the removed layers as covers for the filling, return them to baking sheets along with the croustades; return to oven until centers have cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Make the Creme Anglaise: In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, cream, sugar, vanilla bean, lemon zest, and cinnamon stick; bring to a boil over low heat. Meanwhile, set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl; set medium bowl in a larger bowl prepared with an ice-water bath. Whisk yolks in another medium bowl.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove vanilla bean, lemon zest, and cinnamon stick from boiling milk mixture; discard. Whisk 1/3 of the milk mixture into the bowl with egg yolks. Return remaining milk mixture to a boil and, while whisking, gradually add egg yolk mixture to saucepan. Continue whisking until mixture thickens slightly, about 15 seconds.
• Remove from heat and pour through strainer set over prepared bowl. Continue whisking mixture until it cools slightly, about 30 seconds. Let stand until completely cooled. Transfer creme anglaise to an airtight container and keep refrigerated until ready to use. This can be done up to 1 day in advance.
• Make the Fig and Raspberry Filling: Stem, peel, and chop figs, reserving 5 whole figs to finish croustades, and place them in a large bowl. Add raspberries, reserving 18 to finish croustades. Cover and set aside at room temperature. This can be done up to 1 day in advance.
• Heat jam in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a boil. Let jam reduce slightly, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool for at least 15 minutes.
• Fold the cooled jam into the fig and raspberry mixture. Place croustades on individual plates. Spoon the mixture into the center of each croustade. Halve remaining figs; top each croustade with a fig half, cut side up, and reserved raspberries. Spoon some of the creme anglaise onto the plate and serve immediately.