Aprikosenmarmeladen-Tarte

La storia di questo piatto

Die Crostata alla confettura di albicocche ist ein Dessert aus der Speisekammer, wie es in unzähligen italienischen Haushalten gebacken wird – ohne feste Herkunft, ohne Jahreszahl, einfach da. Sie gehört keinem einzigen Ort, sondern allen Küchen, in denen ein Glas Konfitüre auf Butter und Zitrone trifft.

Ingredienti

• 250 g Type 00 flour
• 125 g Cold butter from the fridge
• 100 g Granulated sugar
• 1 piece Whole egg
• 1 piece Egg yolk
• 1 piece Grated zest of untreated lemon
• 1 pinch Fine salt
• 300 g Apricot jam
• 10 g Butter for the tart tin
• 15 g Type 00 flour for the tin and the work surface

Preparazione

1. Cut the cold butter into cubes and place it in a bowl with the flour (250 g), the sugar, the pinch of salt and the grated lemon zest: use only the yellow part, as the white pith beneath is bitter. Then work quickly with your fingertips, rubbing the butter into the flour until it becomes a coarse sand with no visible pieces. The secret is that the butter must never melt: if your hands start to feel warm, stop and hold them under cold water for a moment, then dry them well and resume.
2. Add the egg and the yolk and mix only as long as needed to bring everything together: when the dough gathers into a soft, slightly marbled ball, stop there, even if it looks rough. Overworked shortcrust becomes hard like a dunking biscuit, and that is not what we want. Flatten the ball into a disc, wrap it in cling film and refrigerate: resting relaxes the dough and chills the butter, so the pastry rolls out without tearing and stays crumbly in the oven.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C, static, and grease (10 g of butter) and flour (about 5 g of flour) a 24 cm springform tin with a removable base, so you can unmould the whole tart. Take the dough out, cut off about a third and return it to the cold: it will be used for the strips. Roll the rest out on a floured surface with the remaining 10 g of flour, to about half a centimetre thick and no more, otherwise the tart turns heavy; the pastry is ready when it is even and lifts without tearing. Press it onto the base and sides of the tin, trim the excess and gather the scraps with the reserved third. If the dough breaks or becomes too soft, leave it 10 minutes in the fridge and resume: shortcrust rewards patience, not haste.
4. Prick the base all over with the tines of a fork, closely: this lets steam escape so the base does not puff up or warp during baking. Stir the jam (300 g) with a spoon until soft and spreadable; if it is too runny, it will slide out of the lattice in the oven. Spread it in an even layer about 1 cm thick, leaving a 1-2 cm border free: too much jam makes the tart cloying and raw in the centre.
5. Roll out the remaining pastry to half a centimetre and cut strips about 1.5 cm wide. Lay them over the jam first in one direction, then in the other, weaving them into a lattice, and gently press the ends against the edge to seal them. Remove the excess by running the back of a knife along the rim. Before baking, give the tart a short rest in the cold: the strips stay sharp and do not slump.
6. Bake on the middle shelf at 180°C. Do not rely on the timer alone; use your eyes and nose: the tart is ready when the pastry is golden, the edges slightly darker, the jam just bubbling at the sides and a scent of butter and lemon fills the kitchen. If the edges colour too quickly, cover them with a sheet of foil.
7. Take it out and let it cool in the springform tin: hot jam is lava and freshly baked shortcrust is fragile and would break when cut. When it is lukewarm, open the clasp and unmould it gently, using a wide spatula to release it from the base, and serve at room temperature. Before bringing it to the table, taste a slice: the pastry should be crumbly, rich with butter, with that thread of lemon that wakes up the sweetness of the jam. If you find it too sweet, next time choose a more tart jam, which keeps the dessert in balance.