APPLE CROSTATA WITH SPICES

Fall is finally here, you can see it everywhere: leaves falling from trees, cold wind on your face and that feeling of wanting to sip a cup of coffee while watching a movie or working on your laptop, curled up in a blanket. You probably know by now that although I like summer better, I do like fall, even if the sun sets earlier and it’s a bit colder. It gives me the perfect excuse to prepare dishes and desserts that I love, like this apple crostata with spices that I baked last weekend.

There are many recipes with apples on this blog (write the word on the search bar and you’ll find quite a few) and you will also find several recipes for crostata, like this one with strawberries, this one with Nutella, or this one with blueberries. So here’s a recipe combining this delicious and typically Italian dough with some juicy, red, autumnal apples I found the other day.

INGREDIENTS for a 24-cm mould (9,5 inches)

500 gr double zero (or doppio zero) flour

250 gr unsalted butter, at room temperature

200 gr powdered sugar

5 red apples

1 egg

2 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp nutmeg

METHOD

Put the flour in a bowl or KitchenAid, make a hole in the middle and add the rest of ingredients. Mix until everything is thoroughly combined. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours in the fridge.

Now, peel and cut the apples. Put them in a bowl, add the cinnamon, and nutmeg. Let it rest for a while so the apples can release their juice.

Hereafter, take the dough from the fridge and flatten using a rolling pin. Put the dough in the baking pan, so it rises about 4cm (1,5 inches) on the sides of the pan. Now add the apples and with the remaining dough make some strips and place them on top. I also created some small leaves for decoration.

Place the mould in the bottom section of the oven and bake at 170º C (350ºF) for 35 minutes. Let it cool before removing from mould and… buon appetito!

Take a look to this strawberry crostata or this one with blueberries.