Handmade by Hoffy: Raspberry Jam, Strawberry Rhubarb Jam, and Blueberry Crostata

Another great recipe from Giada De Laurentiis...I first tried this recipe a few years ago. I purchased her book and thought I would try this quick and easy dessert recipe. I love quick recipes! A light crust with my favorite preserves, "raspberries"! I'll also tried a Blueberry Crostata and a Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Crostata.

Raspberry Jam Crostata

Strawberry Rhubarb Crostata

Blueberry Crostata

Crostata is an Italian term, the French call it a galette; however, they are both the same. You can use these terms interchangeably. They're referring to the same, easy and distinctly elegant dessert, breakfast treat or an addition to a light supper. By whatever name, this free-form pastry is always a great choice when you find yourself with a bounty of peak season produce.

You can also make savory crostatas with tomatoes, onions, spinach or whatever you might have left over in the refrigerator. Make the simple crostata crust, add your favorite filling and you have either a great dessert or a savory accompaniment to a light dinner or something yummy for breakfast.

I recommend making one of these this coming summer with some fresh fruit and veggies from the farmer's market. A great treat for the good ol' summertime.

There are many kinds of crostatas (galettes). You can make sweet or savory crostatas. Whatever you have on hand and want to make a quick side dish or dessert. At the end of this post are some different kinds of crostatas and galettes with links to the author's post. Everyone of them looks so delicious. I know how much I love Giada's recipe for Raspberry Crostata. I'm pretty sure that each and everyone of these is just as yummy...and so very easy!

How to Make Crostata Crust..

I make my crusts in a food processor. It works so well. It doesn't overwork the dough. Start with the flour, sugar, lemon peel and salt and pulse a few times. Then add your very cold butter and pulse again until the mixture looks a little bit like tiny peas. I usually pulse about 10-11 times. Add your ice water and pulse again a few more times to incorporate the cold water.

When your dough looks like the above picture, it's ready to go. To check and make sure it's right, squeeze a little bit of the dough in your hand. It should come together pretty easy.

At this point you will dump the mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap and form a disk. Flatten and wrap tight and place in the refrigerator for about an hour. The dough needs to rest and make sure that all the flour is now incorporated.

Remove crust from refrigerator and place some flour on a counter or a plastic pastry mat. Start rolling until you have a 12"-14" circle.

There are two ways of folding over your crostata crust. You can fold it over before you put your preserves on the crust

Or you can place the preserves on the crostata crust first and then fold it over onto the preserves. It is totally up to you. Once your crostata crust is ready to go, place it on a sheet of parchment paper and slide onto a large cookie sheet.

Bake in a 400℉ for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is brown.

And here it is...so delicious. After it cools, sprinkle powdered sugar on the top and sit down and enjoy a great treat!

Raspberry Jam, Strawberry Rhubarb Jam or Blueberry Crostata Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons ice water
Flour for dusting, as needed
1 jar (3/4 cup) raspberry preserves, or Strawberry Rhubarb Jam or Blueberry Jam...see note below
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon sliced almonds, toasted
Powdered sugar, for dusting, optional

Note: I made my own Strawberry Rhubarb Jam. You can check the recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Jam here. The recipe for the Blueberry sauce is below.

Directions:

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 silpate 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.

Blueberry Sauce for Crostatas and Pancakes Recipe

Ingredients:

3 C. blueberries, fresh or frozen or you could use blueberry preserves

2 T. lemon juice

1/3 C. granulated sugar

1/3 C. water

1 T. cornstarch

2 T. water

Directions:

Add the blueberries, lemon juice, sugar and 1/3 cup water to medium saucepan over low-medium heat.
Let the sugar dissolve and bring to a gentle boil to soften the berries while stirring occasionally.
n a small cup dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of water.
Add the cornstarch to the blueberry mixture and stir to dissolve.
Gently boil for 5-10 minutes to thicken the sauce. It will continue to thicken as it coos
Remove from heat and serve immediately over ice cream, pancakes, waffles or crostatas. You can let cool and serve over cheesecake also.

Thanks to Just So Tasty for a quick blueberry sauce recipe.

And finally, the recipe for the "Raspberry, Strawberry Rhubarb Jam and Blueberry Crostata" is truly a great recipe. The crust is very flaky and with the taste of summer in the raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb and blueberries, you can't go wrong with this yummy and easy dessert!

One Final Thought...

I love desserts but sometimes I just want to make something very simple with very few ingredients. This recipe is all of that. Easy, simple and uses very few ingredients and is very easy on the pocketbook. You get a lot of bang for your buck in this recipe!