Crostata morbida di albicocche

Apricot jam tart is often my breakfast choice as well as the perfect afternoon snack or a light dessert. It’s particularly loved by kids due to its soft consistency and lower amount of sugar, often served on birthdays. I’ve been searching for a soft tart recipe for a long time but, I’ve never found a good one, too hard, too sweet, too rich then my neighbor offered me a slice of her home made crostata with fig jam and here it was the perfect soft crostata I was looking for. I asked her the recipe and it became my favorite since then. It’s quick to prepare and fast to bake so it’s often a solution when I have unexpected guests.

You only need few ingredients to prepare this simple dessert and the few ingredient you need are always handy and available in your pantry. For the crust, I often use semi whole wheat flour which gives the cake a rustic touch and a deeper flavor. I also prefer a good homemade jam and the apricot one seems to be my favorite among other flavors, not too sweet and with a hint of tartness.

Ingredients

unbleached all purpose flour, I often use semi whole wheat flour
8 Tbsp./g. 112 chilled unsalted butter, cut in small cubes
1 large egg
g. 75 light brown cane sugar, like turbinado
1 tsp. natural vanilla  extract
a pinch of sea salt
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
g. 250 apricot or plum jam or one of your choice, better not too sweet

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°/175°.
2. In a bowl mix flour, butter, sugar and egg by using the tips of your fingers so that you won’t warm the dough. If it’s too soft let the dough rest for 15 minutes in the fridge.
3. Place the dough in a non stick removable 10 inch tart pan and spread it quickly with your fingers making  a small border on the sides.
   Poke the bottom of the tart with a fork then spread the jam. Bake it for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.