I don’t know why it’s taken me long to share this Italian apricot jam crostata. Crostatas, tarts, and galettes come from the same pastry family and are straight homies, at least in my mind.

In fact, there are only two main differences between crostatas and tarts/galettes. Tarts hail from France and are filled with fresh fruit before baking; that’s the format of most of the tarts and galettes on this blog. Crostatas hail from Italy and tend to be filled with homemade jam before baking. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but a quick distinction if you had to make one.

When I first began working BOH (back of house) in restaurants, I actually learned how to make tarts and crostatas at the same time! The Italian restaurant I worked at specialized in food from the southwestern region of Campania, which includes Naples. Their signature dessert was a chocolate tart with olive oil, but they also made crostatas filled with jam and topped with the most beautiful lattice work (I also learned that the secret to a good lattice topping is to buy a lattice dough cutter, and I’ve never looked back).

In the US, jam is seen more as a breakfast item than a dessert item, which is why I think crostatas aren’t as popular here. But they should be, especially during the summertime when fruit is at its best. For this Italian apricot jam crostata, I made a quick homemade jam using REALLY ripe apricots my friend dropped off for me. The jam itself takes 30 minutes, enough to thicken and gel, but not enough to be a true, preserved jam. But in my opinion, this quick jam is better than 90% of jams I buy.

Making jam at home means you control the sugar, and I always opt for less sugar to really let the fruit shine. Star anise and cinnamon add spiced warmth, and Grand Marnier gives it a boozy, adult kick of perfection. Don’t skip the Grand Marnier.

The other secret to this Italian apricot jam crostata is the dough. I use my cornmeal sablé dough for a buttery, stable crust that you can press into the tart pan rather than rolling it—so much easier! The leftover dough gets mixed with some hazelnuts for a simple streusel topping. I spared you the agony of cutting out lattice this time 🙂

Italian Apricot Jam Crostata with Cornmeal-Hazelnut Streusel

Created by Shikha on July 1, 2020

For the crostata base and topping, make a double batch of cornmeal sablé dough and keep in the fridge until ready to use.

Prep Time: 1h
Cook Time: 1h
Total Time: 2h

Yield: 1 crostata

Ingredients

For crostata dough:

Double batch of cornmeal sable dough

For apricot jam filling:

2 lbs of very ripe apricots
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
2 cups granulated sugar
1 lemon
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier, optional

For streusel:

1/3 cup hazelnuts

Instructions

For crostata crust:

Remove the double batch of cornmeal sablé dough from the fridge and let it warm up for about 20 minutes. It should still feel cold to the touch, but you should be able to leave an indentation easily if you stick your finger into it.
Take a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Use your hands to take small chunks of dough and press it into the prepared tart pan. Keep doing this until you have an even layer of dough on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Use a glass to make sure the bottom layer is even. You will have excess dough leftover—wrap that in plastic and put back in the fridge.
Put the tart pan in the freezer until ready to bake.

For apricot jam filling:

De-pit and slice the apricots into quarters or sixths, if the fruit is large. Discard the pits and place the slices in a large pot along with the star anise, cinnamon stick, and 1/4 cup of water.
Heat on medium-high until mixture is boiling, then reduce to medium and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the sugar and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. While jam is cooking, zest your lemon and cut in the lemon in half.
Add the sugar and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. While jam is cooking, zest your lemon and cut in the lemon in half.
After the 15 minutes is done, remove pot from heat. Add in the lemon zest, lemon juice from both halves, and 1-2 Tbsp of Grand Marnier. Taste after the first tablespoon to see if you want to add any more.
Place the pot on a trivet or towel, and put it in the fridge to cool down.
While the jam is cooling, parbake the crust. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Remove the tart pan from the freezer and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a Silpat - this is to keep anything from leaking. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust starts to pull away from the pan but hasn't taken on any color yet. Let cool for 5 minutes. Change the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

For streusel:

While crust is cooling, make the streusel topping. Remove the extra dough from the fridge and put into a small bowl. Roughly chop the hazelnuts and add to the bowl.
Use your hands to smush the hazelnuts into the dough to create small chunks of hazelnut-inflected dough. It doesn't need to look perfect—its streusel! Set aside.
Sprinkle the streusel chunks evenly over the jam.
Sprinkle the streusel chunks evenly over the jam.
Bake tart at 375 degrees for an additional 20 minutes, until tart crust is nicely browned but the hazelnuts aren\'t smelling burnt. The streusel might look lighter than the crust, but you want to make sure the crust is browned so it won\'t be soggy.
Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.