My mom makes the best apricot jam in the world (recipe coming soon, don’t you fret). I always try to get a jar when I visit or have her bring me one (or two or three). So, the other night when we were having an Italian themed family dinner at my house I knew what I had to do. Last fall, I had one of these homemade beauties in Rome and have wanted to make one ever since. I added almond flour to the original recipe and love the little bit of extra “oomph” that it gives. This crostata is simple, summery and oh so heavenly!

Apricot Crostata

Serves 10 – 12

1 3/4  cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
150g chilled butter, cut into cubes
2 egg yolks
1/4 icy cold water
2 cups good quality apricot jam (I used my mama’s cause I’m lucky like that)

Place the flour, icing sugar and butter in a food processor with dough blade and pulse until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add egg yolks and the icy cold water and process until the mixture forms a smooth dough. Scoop out of the bowl, wrap in cling wrap and let it sit for at 40 minutes in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 350 F and generously grease a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable base. Form 1/2 the pastry into a ball and place between 2 sheets of baking paper. Roll out until it is about half a centimeter thick and then line the base and sides with the pastry. The pastry should come about 2 cm up the side of the tin. Spread the jam evenly across the base of the tart. Now roll out the remaining pastry and cut it into strips. Carefully drape the strips over the pastry in a lattice pattern, leaving a nice gap between the strips. The pastry can be a little soft and sticky, so I didn’t  weave the strips because the dough was tearing too easily to do that (I didn’t let it sit for 40 minutes in the fridge—only 20 minutes—which is why I changed that in the instructions).  Trim any extra bits of pastry from the edges and bake in the oven on the top third rack for 35 – 40 minutes until the pastry is lightly golden (mine took a bit longer than that, but my oven is trippin lately). Cool before serving.

-CK 1.0

Recipe slightly adapted from Simple Food