Apple Crostata

Try this apple crostata recipe for the simplest apple pie ever. There’s no blind-baking or decorating the edge of a crust. And best of all, no worrying about how the material of your pie plate might affect baking times. This is apple crostata recipe is surrounded by a circle of dough with the edges folded over to keep the filling in place. As basic as that sounds, the result is a luscious dessert with caramel and cinnamon sugar that is irresistible.

Does this sound an awful lot like an apple galette? That’s because it pretty much is an apple galette; a crostata is just a galette with an Italian name instead of a French one. The techniques are the same and if you’ve made galettes before this recipe will be a cinch.

Apple Crostata Ingredients

• All-purpose flour: You want the crostata crust to be flaky and light while also having good structure to not fall apart during baking. Use all-purpose flour because its protein content is just right for this purpose.
• Sugar: This will sweeten the crust while making it a little less bready and starchy. Also, sugar, flour and juice from the apple slices help form a gooey gel similar to that of apple pie filling.
• Cold butter: Cold butter is essential for making the crust light and flaky.
• Cold water: Water helps mix everything. Cold water, specifically, helps prevent the butter from melting too quickly as you work with the dough.
• Vanilla extract: This adds a subtle flavor to the crust.
• Tart apples: Tart varieties of apples like Granny Smith hold their shape and texture very well during baking.
• Ground cinnamon: Mix cinnamon with sugar to get a spicy-sweet combination that will flavor the apples and add a bit of caramelization during baking.
• Egg: When mixed with water it becomes an egg wash that will help the crust achieve a certain color during baking.
• Caramel ice cream topping: A drizzle of caramel ice cream topping that’s been warmed up is the perfect partner for baked apples.

Directions

Step 1: Mix the crostata dough

Julia Hartbeck for Taste of Home

Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter into the flour and combine until the flour looks crumbly. Next, slowly add water and the vanilla extract, tossing the dough with a fork to combine everything. Keep tossing the dough until it forms a ball. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator; chill the dough for about 30 minutes. The dough should be easier to handle once that time is up.

Step 2: Make the filling and assemble the crostata

Julia Hartbeck for Taste of Home

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Lightly flour your rolling surface and roll out the dough into a circle that’s 10 inches in diameter. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer the dough to the parchment. Mix the apples, sugar and flour for the filling and place spoonfuls of the filling over the dough. Cover most of the dough, leaving a 2-inch margin of uncovered dough all around the filling. Fold this dough up and over the filling, but leave the center of the crostata uncovered. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it all over the exposed filling; mix the egg with water and brush the egg wash around the top of the crust.

Step 3: Bake and top with caramel sauce

Julia Hartbeck for Taste of Home

Bake the crostata for 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust has turned golden-brown and the filling is bubbling. Slide the parchment and crostata off the pan and onto a wire rack. Drizzle the warmed caramel topping over the crostata. You can serve this warm or at room temperature.

Julia Hartbeck for Taste of Home

Apple Crostata Variations

• Make your own caramel sauce: Make your own caramel sauce if you want to make this apple crostata an even better homemade dish.
• Serve with a scoop of ice cream: Go ahead and pair this crostata with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. After all, the only real difference between this crostata and an apple pie is the lack of a pie pan!
• Use store-bought pie dough: You can use store-bought pie dough if you’re craving the taste of this crostata and don’t want to spend time making the dough for the crust yourself.

How to Store Apple Crostata

Place any leftover apple crostata in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to four days.

Can you freeze an apple crostata?

If the crostata has a simple apple and spices filling it can be frozen. (Some crostatas have additional fillings like cream and don’t freeze well.) The caramel sauce may have a thicker consistency when thawing, but the baked crostata should last for about three months when wrapped properly. Slice the remaining crostata into servings and place each on a flat baking tray. Freeze those for about 30 minutes to harden the caramel sauce. Wrap each slice in foil and store the packets in a freezer-safe bag or container. Let the slices thaw in the refrigerator.

Apple Crostata Tips

Julia Hartbeck for Taste of Home

Do you need to use tart apples for this recipe?

If you want the crostata to taste like the one the recipe is based on (which was a contest winner by the way), then yes, you would need to use tart apples like Granny Smith. But if the tartness doesn’t appeal to you or you’ve got a bunch of apples that you need to use up that aren’t tart then use those. Try to stick with apple varieties that hold their shape and texture well after baking, like Golden Delicious. Here’s a list of apple varieties and the uses they’re best suited for.

How do you avoid a soggy crust?

The juice in the apples (even tart ones) can seep into the crust as the crostata bakes, resulting in a soggy mess underneath that lovely apple filling. Be sure you’ve drained away any juice that’s sitting around the apple slices after you cut them and brush the inside surface of the crust with beaten egg white before adding the filling. Believe it or not, you can also prevent soggy crusts by using a pizza stone in place of a baking pan. Take a look at these tips if you’re interested in learning more about how to prevent soggy crostata an pie crusts.

Why does the butter need to be cold?

If you mix warm, softened butter with flour and sugar, the ingredients will combine to form a crumbly dough that’s difficult to roll out. This texture is ideal for recipes where the dough is pressed into a pan, such as shortbread. However, if you’re aiming for a flaky dough that holds together well and can be rolled out, you’ll want to use cold butter. Although the dough might initially appear pebble-like because the cold butter doesn’t fully incorporate, handling and rolling the dough will flatten the butter pieces. During baking, these flattened butter bits create air pockets, resulting in a flaky texture that easily separates when pulled apart or cut with a fork—perfect for a crostata. And if you ever find yourself needing to soften cold butter for a recipe that requires warm butter, here’s a quick way to do it.