Crostata is one of the most classic and iconic Italian desserts. This recipe makes the perfect dough (pasta frolla) just like nonna would make, and it's filled with beautiful strawberry jam. It's Italy in a dessert! You can even make it ahead of time, freeze it, and enjoy it at your convenience!
What is Crostata?
Crostata is an Italian jam tart. It is one of the most classic Italian desserts. It uses a shortcrust dough (pasta frolla) made with flour, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, baking powder and lemon zest. It's then filled with jam (most traditionally).
But the crostata has evolved from its original jam fillings to have different types of fillings - from nutella and ricotta, to pastry cream, the possibilities (and combinations) are endless!
Many regions and towns in Italy have their own desserts that vary from region to region. But a crostata is one of those desserts that is known and made throughout all of Italy.
What Makes a Good Crostata?
Quite simply, the dough (pasta frolla) needs to be perfect. Perfect in the sense that it can't be too hard, or too soft, or too crumbly. But it should be a little crumbly once it's baked and a little soft! Getting the perfect pasta frolla is a science.
I've tried many pasta frolla recipes and I've learned that the secret to getting a perfect pasta frolla dough it to use a combination of whole eggs and egg yolks. The egg yolks will make the dough soft once it's baked. If you use whole eggs, the pasta frolla will be too hard.
What is the Difference Between a Pie and Crostata?
A pie dough is more flaky than a crostata dough. A crostata dough is more crumbly, because crostata dough uses eggs, pie dough does not. And pie dough is not sweet, while pasta frolla is.
The star of a pie is the filling, while in a crostata, the dough and filling are equally as important. Pies are usually filled with fresh fruit, while crostatas traditionally use jam as a filling.
How to Store Crostata:
You can slice crostata and serve it once it has cooled completely (a few hours after coming out of the oven).
You can also slice it and keep it an in airtight container for a few days. Or you can slice it up and freeze it for up to 3 months. Just take it out of the freezer and defrost it at room temperature once you're ready to eat it.
How to Make Strawberry Jam Crostata - Step by Step
In bowl of a KitcheAid mixer, stir together flour, sugar, and baking powder (photo 1)
Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment, and add the eggs, egg yolk, butter and lemon zest (photo 2)
Beat the ingredients together in the mixer until the dough starts to come together, until it almost forms a ball (photo 3)
On a smooth surface, very gently form the dough into a ball (photo 4). Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for one hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove dough from the fridge, remove ¼ of the dough, and roll the rest of the dough out with a rolling pin on a well floured surface until it's ⅛" thick (photo 5)
Roll the dough on to the rolling pin, and transfer it to a tart pan (photos 6 & 7)
Top dough with jam and spread it out evenly (photo 8)
Cut strips from remaining dough, and make a lattice pattern on the crostata. Fold in the edges of the crostata over the lattices (photo 9)
Bake crostata in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until dough is golden. Remove from oven, let crostata cool completely (a few hours), slice and serve!
What to do with the leftover dough:
This recipe makes quite a bit of dough, due to the large size of the tart pan (11 inches) and you will have lots of dough left. You could make another crostata, or make jam cookies with the extra dough. Here's how to make them:
Roll out extra dough, cut circles with a cookie cutter, and place about ½ tablespoon jam in center of circle (photos 1 & 2).
Fold one edge over to form a half moon shape and seal the cookie well (photo 3).
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350ºF until golden (about 20 minutes).
Top Tips to Make this Strawberry Jam Crostata:
- This recipe uses quite a large tart pan - an 11 inch tart pan.
- This recipe will produce a lot of extra dough. You can use the dough to make another crostata, a pastiera, or jam cookies.
- This crostata uses strawberry jam, the most classic flavor, but you can use any other jam flavor you'd like- apricot, raspberry, fig, etc.
- If you are using a smaller tart pan than 11 inches, you could also halve the dough recipe.
- Use a high quality jam, as it's the only filling ingredient, so the flavor should shine.
- Ensure to roll out the dough on a well-floured surface, as it can be quite a moist dough. If the dough is sticking to the surface, roll it out again with more flour - it most likely needs more flour.
Other Tart Recipes You Might Like:
- Pistachio Mascarpone Tart
- No Bake Nutella Tart with Amaretti Cookie Crust
- Fig, Honey and Mascarpone Tart
If you’ve tried making this Jam Crostata, or any other recipe on the blog please let me know what you thought of it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’ve been up to.
Recipe
Strawberry Crostata (Italian Jam Tart)
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 ¼ cup butter at room temperature
- zest of one lemon about 1 tbsp
- 1 ¼ cup strawberry jam
Instructions
- In bowl of a KitcheAid mixer, stir together flour, sugar, and baking powder.
- Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment, and add the eggs, egg yolk, butter and lemon zest.
- Beat the ingredients together in the mixer until the dough starts to come together, until it almost forms a ball.
- On a smooth surface, very gently form the dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove dough from the fridge, remove ¼ of the dough, and roll the rest of the dough out with a rolling pin on a well floured surface until it's ⅛" thick.
- Roll the dough on to the rolling pin, and transfer it to a tart pan.
- Top dough with jam and spread it out evenly.
- Cut strips from remaining dough, and make a lattice pattern on the crostata. Fold in the edges of the crostata over the lattices.
- Bake crostata in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until dough is golden.
- Remove from oven, let crostata cool completely (a few hours), slice and serve!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- This recipe uses quite a large tart pan - an 11 inch tart pan.
- This recipe will produce a lot of extra dough. You can use the dough to make another crostata, a pastiera, or jam cookies.
- This crostata uses strawberry jam, the most classic flavor, but you can use any other jam flavor you'd like- apricot, raspberry, fig, etc.
- If you are using a smaller tart pan than 11 inches, you could also halve the dough recipe.
- Use a high quality jam, as it's the only filling ingredient, so the flavor should shine.
- Ensure to roll out the dough on a well-floured surface, as it can be quite a moist dough. If the dough is sticking to the surface, roll it out again with more flour - it most likely needs more flour.
Teresa Resteghini says
Hi, One querie before I start. Do you prick the base before putting the jam on top? I wish you put gramms weight measurements beside the cups meausurements.
Pina says
Hi Teresa! No I don’t prick the crust before filling it.
Julia Shamalova says
Do we brush eggwash over the crust edges?
Pina says
Hi Julia! I personally do not brush egg wash over the crust, and it turns out beautifully!
Julie. says
I tried this recipe this week and it was amazing. Family loved it and it was easy to make. Thank you 🙂
Pina says
Awesome! So glad you liked it
Pina says
Awesome! So glad you liked it!!
Julia S. says
Can we use margarine instead of butter for this recipe?
Pina says
Hi Julia! Thank you for your question. I haven't tried the crostata with margarine so can't say for sure. I think using margarine would change the texture of the pasta frolla a bit. If you do try it with margarine, please let me know how it turns out!
Julia S. says
Can we use earth balance butter sticks that is non-dairy and lactose free instead of the dairy butter for this recipe?
Pina says
Hi Julia! Thanks for your question. I haven't tried using vegan butter in this recipe, so don't know how the recipe would turn out or if it would change at all. I did a quick Google search and people have used Earth Balance instead of butter in pie crust with good results, so you could give it a try. If you do use it, please let me know how it turns out!
Julia S. says
okay, I will give it a try and let you know 🙂
Julia S. says
Hi. So I made this recipe using earth balance vegan butter and it came out really good. 🙂
Pina says
Hi Julia! So happy it turned out well 🙂
Nan W. says
Would like to make tartlets with different fillings. How many 4 inch tartlets would this dough recipe make ? Thanks
Pina says
Hi Nan! Such a great idea! Since this recipe makes enough dough for an 11 inch tart pan, you can definitely make 3 but this recipe also makes a ton of extra dough, almost enough for another tart. So I would say approximately 6x4-inch tarts. That's my guess. If you do make the tarts, please let me know how many you end up with!
Nan W says
I made 2 1/2 inch tarts. I wanted people to be able to try more than 1 flavor if they wanted. I put little Christmas cutouts on top instead of the lattice. Half of your crust recipe made about 16 of the small crostata. I love the crust, it was easy to make.
Pina says
Yay! So glad to hear! Glad you liked it. Love the idea of putting Christmas cutouts on top!
Silvia says
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I was cross referencing it with my family's recipe and they are exact! I also use an 11" pan and often have extra dough left over as well. I use apricot preserve filling or whatever I have on hand. Comes out great every time! When it cools I add the tiny round colorful sprinkles ( the hard ones that bounce) like my mother did when I was little. Since we are under quarentine here in NY I make one a week and have it with coffee almost every day! Stay safe and healthy.
Pina says
Thank you so much Silvia! Glad you liked the recipe - a simple crostata like this one can provide a certain comfort in uncertain times likes these. Stay safe!
Moxi says
I’ve tried a few different crostata recipes in the past and this one is definitely the best. The pastry comes out very similar to the crostata we enjoyed in Milano. I halved the quantities to makes one perfect Crostata with no leftover pastry. Good quality peach jam works very well!
Pina says
Yay thanks so much Moxi!! Yes this is why I love this one - it's an authentic Italian crostata!!
Sharon says
Have you ever heard of using cold vodka, in place of cold water, when making this kind of dough? I heard it makes the flakiness perfect.
Pina says
Hi Sharon! I've heard of using vodka in a traditional pie dough but not in a shortcrust pastry like this one with eggs in it. Could work though! I'm not sure.
DSelitto says
I’m so excited to try this recipe! Can I make the dough and leave it in the fridge overnight before taking it out or should I freeze overnight?
Pina says
Hello Dana! You have two options for making the dough in advance:
1) You can make the dough in advance and keep it in the ball in the fridge. When ready to use the next day, take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temp before rolling it out.
2) You can make the whole crostata in advance. I wouldn't bake just the dough without the jam the day before. Then keep it covered at room temp overnight until you're ready to serve it.
Hope that helps!
Rita Monaco says
I've been searching for the best crostata crust forever. I had even stopped making it because I never liked the end result, but not anymore. This is 10 times better than my M.I.L. (SHHHH, I never said that!) Love it, love it, love it!
Pina says
Thanks so much Rita! That means so much. The best part is that you can use it for so many other Italian pies - like pastiera, or a fresh fruit tart! Happy crostata making!
Andrea says
This seems so delicious! I was just wondering since I am using the Italian baking powder (lievito per dolci pane degli angeli) would I still put 2 teaspoons or would I need to change the amount? Thanks
Pina says
Hi Andrea! I use the same amount of lievito per dolci and baking powder. So you can use 2 tsp of lievito per dolci. Let me know how it turns out1
Andrea says
I tried it out and it turned out so good! The dough was perfect, not too hard and not too soft. Absolutely loved it, thank you for such a good recipe
Pina says
So glad you liked it!
Candy says
Can I use pie filling ? Also, can I bake this in a large jelly roll pan ? ( my grandmother used to make it in one of these )
Pina says
Hi Candy! I've never made it in a jelly roll pan but I don't see why not. And yes you can sue pie filling. Almost any filling will work with this pasta frolla/dough!
Let me know how it turns out!
Candy says
Thank you so much !! I definitely will !!
Candy says
I made it in the jelly roll pan and it came out great !! Awesome dessert to take to a holiday ! I used cherry and peach pie filling ( one on each side) and it was a big hit . Love this recipe !
Pina says
Hi Candy! I'm so glad you liked it!
Janice says
I made this using blueberry jam. It came out perfect and tastes delicious. I am having a tea in June and plan on making a strawberry and blackberry tart
Pina says
Hi Janice - I'm so glad you liked it! Blueberry jam sounds delicious. Best of luck with your tea - it will be fabulous!
Adam says
Just about to pull mine out of the oven. I am almost thinking it needs 4 cups flour as the dough kept breaking. Look forward to eating!
Pina says
Hi Adam, how was it?
Rose M. says
The crust is amazing...very buttery which I love and not dry which I don't like. Are you on Facebook, I can't seem to find you there?
Pina says
Hi Rose! I'm so glad you like it! This is a delicious recipe - one of my favorites.
Yes! I'm on Facebook, but don't post mush on there. My Facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/pinabresciani07
Thanks again for making my recipes!
-Pina
Anna says
Could I use one of the pre made pie dough for this recipe?
Anna says
Can you use store brought pie dough for this recipe?
Margaret De Dominicis Mcvey says
Thank you Pina for this recipe, I’ve made this several times and it comes out perfect every time! My Aunts in Italy would be proud! ☺️
Cix says
Just tried this in Hawaii and using extra large eggs. The dough became very difficult to work with, almost melting! It was warm in the house. Got a cookie sheet in the freezer and some ice packs on the counter to reroll the dough once I got the right size portioned out on the first rolling. Worked like a charm but now I want to ask: what size eggs do you use?
I also used a gluten free flour so that might have been a factor. It's a lovely recipe and the tips are great! Don't let my melting dough scare you!
Rebecca Pavlenko says
Can I freeze half of the dough to use later?
Planning to make this and I have a smaller tart pan. Sounds so good!
Pina Bresciani says
Hi Rebecca, you can definitely freeze half the dough!
-Pina
Mary says
Just made this, and I wanted to drop a note to say how good it is. With the exception of the size of pan (more following) and an adjustment for the amount of jam, I followed the recipe exactly. The crust tastes really good, and it has a nice texture that is a little crumbly and also soft just as described above. It does make a good bit of dough. I didn’t have an 11” tart pan, so I made two crostatas…one in a 9” tart pan, and one in a 9” spring form pan. Both turned out well. I used 1 cup of jam in each crostata. I also had enough leftover dough to make about 16 cookies as suggested. I will definitely be making this again.
Pina Bresciani says
Thanks for making this Mary! I agree, the dough is perfectly crumbly!
-Pina
Mary Anne says
I've made a strawberry jam crostata but didn't have time to bake it so I wrapped it a in glad wrap and froze it. Do I thaw the crostata before baking or can I bake it frozen. Thanks
Pina Bresciani says
Hi Mary Anne! I would thaw it first.
Hope that helps!
-Pina