Fig Crostata (fig jam tart)
A wonderful fig tart (or crostata alla marmellata as the Italians call it) with a lattice top with step-by-step instructions for the sweet dough and homemade fig jam.
The time given in the recipe is for the pie (making the dough and baking it), not included is the time it takes to make the fig jam.
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- pinch salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter cold and in pieces
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
For the homemade Fig Jam:
- 2 pounds fresh black figs
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 strips orange or lemon peel or one of each
- large pinch ground cinnamon
- ½ to 1 cups water
Instructions
For the dough:
- In a food processor pulse a few time to mix 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, ½ cup sugar and pinch salt.
- Scatter 1 cup unsalted butter pieces on top and mix until you have butter the size of peas.
- Add 1 egg and 1 egg yolk and process using on/off until it starts to come together. Don’t let it form a ball. It should come together when you pinch it with your fingers.
- Turn it onto the counter and press it together to form a flat disk. Or do like I do, and put it inside a plastic bag and aid yourself with the bag while pressing your knuckles until it comes together. That way you don’t touch the dough unnecessarily.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour and up to 2 days.
- When ready to bake, cut the dough in two pieces, one larger than the other (about ⅓ of the amount for the small piece) and roll the large one on a lightly floured counter until a few inches bigger than the pie plate. Keep the small piece covered and refrigerated.
- Carefully line the pan and pinch the edges. You might need to cut a few overhanging pieces.
- Prick the bottom and refrigerate or freeze (better).
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
- To blind bake: cover the dough with a large piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper and add weight: ceramic baking balls, uncooked rice, beans, chickpeas, flour. Anything that will hold the paper and can go into the oven.
- Bake for 15 minutes and carefully lift the paper with the weight. The dough should be somewhat dry and have held its shape. Bake it for another 5-10 minutes, until no streaks of butter remain in the bottom and the surface is dry. Let it cool on a wire rack while you prepare the lattice.
Assembling the tart:
- Fill the pre-baked tart dough with fig jam, covering the whole surface but don't overdo it. Some jam will not be used.
- Roll out the small amount of dough that was in the fridge on a lightly floured counter to a thickness of half an inch or so. You want the center to be an inch larger than the pie plate. Remember you need two of each length.
- With a pizza wheel or a large kitchen knife, cut strips and make a lattice on top of the fig jam.
- To do that, begin with the longest strip in the middle and work your way to the edges, using shorter strips as you approach the sides. Pinch the edges to seal both doughs.
- Repeat to make a crisscross pattern. Pinch together broken strips or if you miscalculated and are short. Rustic is the way to go.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, until the dough is golden and the jam bubbly.
- Let cool on a wire rack, remove from the pan and serve plain or with a dollop of whipped cream.
- Leftovers can be kept at room temperature for a day or two, wrapped in plastic or under a cake dome.
For the homemade fig jam:
- Have a large saucepan ready.
- Wash 2 pounds fresh black figs, cut out stems and cut them in 3-4 pieces each, depending on their size. We need large chunks not bite-size pieces.
- Put them in the saucepan and add the whole amount of sugar. Leave them to macerate (release their natural juices due to the sugar added) for ½ an hour.
- Add ½ cup water, 2 strips orange or lemon peel and large pinch ground cinnamon.
- Put the saucepan over low heat, really low heat and stir so that ingredients mix a bit, but careful not to break up the fig pieces.
- Stir every 15 minutes or so until it thickens and the liquid starts to become syrupy. It does need to be somewhat liquid, you don’t need for all the water to evaporate and leave you with a thick syrup. Because this will mean the figs are too dry.
- It will take 50-60 minutes approx.
- You can add an extra ½ cup of water and that will speed up the process but the figs will disintegrate more (maybe you don’t mind) and you’ll be left with a whole lot of fig syrup. Your call.
- While still hot put in sterilized jars and keep refrigerated. For sterilizing jars this is a good tutorial with different methods. Use sterilized jars if you're planning on keeping them for a long time (always refrigerated). They last for a week or so if using regular, unsterilized jars.
Notes
Don't overwork the dough after adding the flour. This is a critical step if you want a tender, light dough. Once the flour is added, don't overwork it, it doesn't need to be kneaded. It needs to be mixed until there are no visible streaks of flour (image below).
Always let it rest in the fridge before rolling it. This step is absolutely essential. The dough, even if you didn't work it much when assembling it, will have developed some gluten (great for bread for example but not for doughs), so it needs to relax in the cold refrigerator before it is rolled. Otherwise, it will be difficult to stretch and will be too elastic, which will make it shrink as it bakes and be tough.
Homemade fig jam:
Use black figs and cut them in large chunks, 4 pieces is the best. Use figs that are firm as they will disintegrate less during cooking. Stir the jam often over very low heat. You can speed up by adding more water and medium heat, but the jam will have fewer chunks and the syrup more watery.