Finish off the rest of your plum haul from the season on a classic Italian pie/tart – the crostata. Beautifully rustic with a thin and flaky crust, this Plum Crostata boasts all the flavors of a fresh summer fruit pie without the hassle of a traditional pie.
Before we head into the season of elaborate, fancy, and “perfect” pie crusts, let’s pay homage to the crostata. The crostata is the way to have your pie and eat it too – all the flavors of fresh fruit filling on top of a buttery and flaky pastry – without the fuss of trimming, pinching, or any other method used to create lattices, borders, or shapes that will soon be filling our feeds.
Use up your plum haul from the season (or it’s relatives – peach & nectarine) by making a Plum Crostata. Fresh, juicy plums are cooked stovetop into a thick filling and mounded atop a thin and flaky pastry crust.
When it’s time to bake, a flawless pie top or border is not necessary with this crostata. Imperfection of the crust is what gives this plum crostata character and charm. The more “flaws” there are, the more “perfect” this crostata becomes!
How to Make Plum Crostata
Begin by making the pastry dough. Pulse together flour, sugar, and salt.
Then, add COLD butter cubes. Whether used in my blackberry scones or in a pie crust, using cold butter is the key to a flaky crust. As the butter pieces melt in the oven, steam is released and forms pockets that result in the flaky crust characteristic we all love so much.
Pulse the butter just until small bits of flour come together. Add ice-cold water (to keep the butter cold!) and continue pulsing until a dough ball forms.
Divide the dough in half and form a disc with each half. Wrap and chill in the refrigerator. Each disc is enough to make one crostata. If you’re only making one crostata go ahead and freeze one of the discs and be sure to halve the filling recipe!
While the pastry dough is chilling, make the plum filling.
Cook the plums in a large saucepan with sugar and orange juice until juices are released. You’ll know when enough juices have been released when the mixture looks soupy.
Thicken the plum mixture by adding a cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer. Continue simmering until the mixture is thickened.
Cover the saucepan and refrigerate the mixture until cool.
Before assembling the crostata, prepare your work surface with parchment paper the length of the sheet pan you will be using. Working on the parchment paper will make the transfer of the crostata from the work surface to the sheet pan much easier!
To make the crostata, remove one dough disc from the refrigerator and roll it into a 10 to 11-inch circle on the parchment paper.
Lift the parchment paper with the rolled dough and place on the sheet pan.
To the center of the dough, pile on the cooled plum filling, making sure to leave a 1 ½-inch border around the dough without filling.
Fold the border over the filling, making your way around the entire circle and pressing together any cracks to seal.
For a shiny and golden finish, brush the border with an egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar (aka Sugar in the Raw).
Bake until the border is golden brown.
The crostata can be sliced however you like and served warm or at room temperature. Personally, I like it at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream :)
Plum Crostata
Ingredients
Pastry
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- 1/4 cup ice-cold water
Filling
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 5 cups plums (about 7 plums), sliced into eighths and left unpeeled
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
- Turbinado sugar (e.g. Sugar in the Raw)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, fitted with the blade attachment, pulse together the flour, sugar, and salt to combine.
- Scatter the butter over the flour mixture and pulse until small bits of flour come together. Continue to pulse while adding the water through the feed tube. Keep pulsing until the dough comes together.
- Transfer the dough onto a well-floured surface. Bring together any crumbs and form a ball. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a small disc, about 6 inches wide. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- To make the filling, mix 3 tablespoons of water with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, combine the plums, sugar, and orange juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the juices are released. Stir in the cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer until the mixture is thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Cover the saucepan with the lid and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425°F and have ready two large sheet pans.
- Place parchment paper, the length of each sheet pan, on the work surface.
- Remove one dough disc from the refrigerator and place on the center of the parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to roll the disc into a 10 to 11-inch circle.
- Lift the parchment paper with the rolled dough and place on the sheet pan.
- To the center of the dough, pile on half of the cooled plum mixture, leaving about 1 1/2-inch border all around the dough.
- Gently fold the border over the filling, pressing together any cracks. Brush the egg wash on the dough border and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until border is browned. Allow to cool on pan to room temperature.
- Repeat with the second dough disc and remaining filling.
Notes
Inspired and adapted from Ina Garten for Food Network Magazine (June 2018)
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