Refreshing, fruity, critic – do you hear it scream summer? This fresh fruit and berry crostata is the perfect treat for you on a warm summer night.
This light, and not too sweet, summer dessert features a very special touch. The secret lies in the special marinade I created for these little pieces of heaven. I added thyme to give it an earthy, minty twist, and combined it with ginger to make it a tiny bit hot. It’s an incredible combination of flavors and indescribably tasty.
A crostata, as it’s called in Italy, or a galette in French, is a rustic pie made on a baking sheet without the use of a tart pan. With this recipe I created mini crostatas that you can serve to each of your guests individually. As mentioned, this is a rustic pie, and therefore, there’s no need to try to make them look perfect. Assembled with colorful fruits on top, these will look perfectly imperfect. I used a combination of plums, peaches, apples and blueberries, but you can choose whichever stone fruit and berries you like most.
The fruit and berry crostata is rather easy to make. Start this recipe by making the dough, either with a food processor, or by hand. If you don’t have a food processor, or if you just enjoy making doughs by hand, like me, I’ve described both methods down below to assist you. Making it with a food processor is quicker and a little easier, but it’s definitely worth making the dough yourself, even if you do not have a food processor. I will guide you through all the steps. And the rest of the recipe is super simple, too.
If you want to make the crostata dough by hand, first mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl together with a spatula. Then, put the flour mixture on the work surface and add the butter.
Using a dough cutter, work the butter into the flour mixture by splitting the butter into smaller pieces until it has the size of bread crumbs.
Next, form a well in the center and pour in the water and vinegar. Using the same technique, work in the liquid with the dough cutter until you get a mass that holds together when squeezed.
Pad the dough together and you’re all done!
To make it even more mouth-watering, serve each of these fresh fruit and berry crostatas with a scoop of vanilla ice cream – you’ll be blown away!! Enjoy this perfect, Italian, fruity dessert to end any summer day!
FRESH FRUIT AND BERRY CROSTATA
INGREDIENTS
Dough
- 200 g all-purpose flour plus more for the work surface
- 2 tbsp cane sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 130 g very cold butter cut into small pieces
- 60 ml of water
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Marinade
- 3 tbsp cane sugar
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves finely chopped
- 1 tsp honey liquid
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger grated
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
Filling
- 1 tbsp butter melted, to grease the parchment paper
- 1 plum halved, cored and very thinly sliced
- 1 apple halved, cored and very thinly sliced
- 1 peach halved, deseeded and cut into very thin slices
- 100 g of blueberries
- 1 egg yolk to brush on the dough
- 1 tbsp cane sugar to sprinkle on the dough
- 300 ml vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Dough
Method with a food processor:
- Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the food processor bowl and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until it is the size of breadcrumbs. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and ice water. Slowly pour the vinegar water into the food processor, pulsing to combine. Continue to pulse just until the dough begins to hold together, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a clean work surface and pad together, without massaging the dough. Shape the dough into a round disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to 3 days.
Method by hand:
- Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and mix together with a spatula. Put the flour mixture on the work surface, add the butter, and, using a dough cutter, work the butter into the flour mixture by splitting the butter into smaller and smaller pieces until it is the size of bread crumbs.
- Make a well in the middle of this mass and pour in the water and vinegar. Using the same technique, work in the liquid with the dough cutter until you get a mass that holds together when squeezed. Pad the dough together, without massaging the dough. Shape into a round disc-like form, wrap in plastic wrap, and store in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
Marinade
- In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, thyme, honey, grated ginger, lemon zest and juice.
Filling
- Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius (356° Fahrenheit), line the baking tray with parchment paper and butter. On a lightly floured, clean work surface, cut the dough into 6-8 pieces and roll out each piece into a 2-3 mm thick disc-like shape. Then, place on the buttered parchment paper.
- Spread a little bit of the marinade into the center of each disc, and add a few slices of each fruit and the berries on top of the marinade, leaving an open border of approx. 1-2 cm. Drizzle any leftover marinade over the fruit. Fold the edge of the dough up and around to slightly overlap the fruits. Brush the edges of the dough with egg yolk and sprinkle with cane sugar.
- Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for approx. 35 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is soft.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream if you like.
