Jam tart, in Italian crostata is a very typical home made cake in Italy and because everyone likes it and it requires no special effort, it’s baked at any opportunity. The ultimate classic is made with apricot jam, but its base, called pasta frolla, is the perfect match with any flavour of jam and marmalade. I bake it to say thank you to friends, to bring to a last minute dinner party, or just to use up a jam jar that’s not getting the right attention. This time, I had this beautiful Bonne Maman plum jam at home and I wanted to say thank you to a neighbour who is always very kind and brings treats and food for my cat. So I made him this crostata, hoping that he would enjoy it as much as my cat enjoys the treats he brings.

Ingredients:
250g butter
500g type 00 flour
2 large eggs (use 3 if you have small ones)
200g icing sugar
the zest of one lemon
1 jam jar (choose your favourite)
1 pinch of salt

Step 1 – Melt the butter in bain marie and add it to the flour and salt, starting to work it using your hands. Add the sugar, eggs and lemon zest and knead until you have a compact dough.

Step 2 – Make a ball with your dough and wrap it in cling film. Put it in the fridge for one hour.

Step 3 – Once you take it out of the fridge, place it on a flour-dusted surface and stretch it with a rolling pin until it’s 7-8mm thick.

Step 4 – Carefully place your stretched dough on the dish you will use for the tart, making sure you patch up any gaps. Using a fork, pierce the base of your tart. Then add the jam spreading it evenly on the base.

Step 5 – Use the remaining dough to decorate the top of the tart: you can create some stripes and place them on top of the jam to form a grid, like I did. Or you can stretch it with the rolling pin and create different shapes to place on top of the jam. I had quite a bit left so I also created a mini tart which I filled with chocolate spread as a surprise for my other half.

Step 6 – Place your tart in a hot oven and let it bake at 170º for 50-60 minutes. Your tart is ready to enjoy! Have you ever tried jam tart before? Let us know if you try this recipe!