Daring Baker's Challenge - Crostata!

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Is finally Summer!!! Of course is not official, but I was missing the sun and the warm weather. This weekend I didn’t have class so I could make the Daring Baker’s Challenge. Just in time, today is the last day!
My pets are loving the good weather! As you can see, they enjoyed the day outside!



This month Simona from Briciole challenged us to make crostata.
Crostata is like a pie, that can be filed with fruits, jam or pastry cream.
I decided to put all together, so I filed my crostata with pastry cream and strawberry coulis, that’s like a jam, a little thicker, like a syrup.
I loved the result, mostly the dough. Certainly I’ll keep it for other recipes. Thank you Simona!

Vanilla Crème Patissiere:

1 cup (225 ml.) whole milk 2 Tbsp. cornstarch 6 Tbsp. (100 g.) sugar 1 large egg 2 large egg yolks 2 Tbsp. (30 g.) unsalted butter 1 Tsp. Vanilla
Directions:
1. Dissolve cornstarch in ¼ cup of milk. Combine the remaining milk with the sugar in a saucepan; bring to boil; remove from heat.
2. Beat the whole egg, then the yolks into the cornstarch mixture. Pour 1/3 of boiling milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so that the eggs do not begin to cook.
3. Return the remaining milk to boil. Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, continuing whisking.
4. Continue whisking (this is important – you do not want the eggs to solidify/cook) until the cream thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla.

Strawberry Coulis:

160g strawberries
160g sugar
1/2 lemon juice

Melt the sugar. Add the strawberries and crush them. Add the lemon juice. Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the syrup consistence. Let it cool.

Crostata:
Ingredients

•1/2 c. minus 1 tablespoon [105 ml, 100 g, 3 ½ oz] superfine sugar (see Note 1) or a scant 3/4 cup [180ml, 90g, 3 oz] of powdered sugar
•1 and 3/4 cup [420 ml, 235 g, 8 1/4 oz.] unbleached all-purpose flour
•a pinch of salt
•1 stick [8 tablespoons / 4 oz. / 115 g] cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
•grated zest of half a lemon (you could also use vanilla sugar as an option, see Note 2)
•1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl

How to make:



1.Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.
2.Rub or cut the butter into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice.
3.Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten eggs into it (reserve about a teaspoon of the egg mixture for glazing purposes later on – place in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use).
4.Add the lemon zest to your flour/butter/egg mixture.
5.Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, and then use your fingertips.
6.Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.
7.Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. You can refrigerate the dough overnight.
1.Heat the oven to 350ºF [180ºC/gas mark 4].
2.Take the pasta frolla out of the fridge, unwrap it and cut away ¼ of the dough. Reserve this dough to make the lattice top of the crostata. Refrigerate this dough while you work on the tart base.
3.To help roll the crostata dough, keep the dough on top of the plastic wrap that you had it wrapped in. This can help rolling the dough and can also help when transferring the dough to your pan. You can also use parchment paper for this. However, you can also roll the dough directly on a work surface if you prefer.
4.Lightly dust the top of the dough and your work surface (if you’re rolling directly on a work surface) with flour. Keep some flour handy to dust the dough as you go along.
5.If the dough is very firm, start by pressing the dough with the rolling pin from the middle to each end, moving the rolling pin by a pin's width each time; turn the dough 180 degrees and repeat; when it softens, start rolling.
6.Roll the dough into a circle about 1/8th inch (3 mm) thick.
7.If you used the plastic wrap or parchment paper as rolling surface, flip dough over the pan, centering it, and delicately press it all around so the corners are well covered. Peel away the plastic wrap.
8.Trim the excess dough hanging over the edges of the pan. Press the remaining dough around the border into the sides of the pan making sure the border is an even thickness all the way around.
9.Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork in several places.
10.Put the tart in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
11.After 35 minutes, check the tart, and continue baking until the tart is of a nice golden hue.
12.When done, remove the tart from the oven and let cool. If you have used a tart pan with a removable bottom, then release the tart base from the fluted tart ring.
13.Make sure the tart is completely cool before filling.
14.Cover the bottom of the crostata crust evenly with the pastry cream.
15. Cover the top with the coulis.