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If you have a bounty of apples, one of the easiest desserts you can make with them is this apple crostata.
What is an apple crostata?
Crostata is the Italian term for a simple rustic tart, or galette.
To make this apple crostata, we toss some apple slices with lemon, sugar, cornstarch, and spices, roll out a round of dough, and arrange the apple slices in the center of the dough. Fold the sides of the dough a little over the fruit and bake. It’s easy!
For more information on which apple varieties are best for baking, check out our Guide to Apples.
A little back story…
I planted an espaliered apple tree when I moved into my house a few years ago. It came with apples on it, and seemed so full of promise.
For the next 3 years the tree flowered, but alas no apples. Not until this year, when I spied 7 beautiful apples on its lowest branches. Hurrah! Finally!
At least until the raccoons got to them. Or maybe it was the squirrels. In any case, one day they were all gone, and I didn’t pick them!
Fortunately, my parents’ trees are loaded with more apples than they can possibly use. When it’s apple season my father makes applesauce and apple treats practically every day.
Unfussy apple crostata
Dad loves making this apple crostata because it’s not too fussy. It tastes great, and he doesn’t have to attempt to make it look pretty.
My father, at 85, is a practical man. He doesn’t have time for pretty (unless it’s my mom, who in both of our opinions is the most beautiful woman we know), but he does love apples baked with cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, and butter.
This simple crostata is a perfect way to enjoy apples of the season. The crust is on the thin side, meaning you get mostly apples with a serving. He tops it with heavy cream that he has whipped up with some powdered sugar and vanilla.
Best Toppings for Apple Crostata
More favorite apple desserts
Apple Crostata Recipe
We've included directions for making a simple butter crust. You can also use a store-bought crust (flat or folded, not in a pie tin) to save time.
If you can, use a mix of apple varieties for this tart. The result will be more interesting.
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 1/4 cup (160g) flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (skip salt if using salted butter)
- 8 Tbsp (1 stick, 113g) chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Filling:
- 1 3/4 pounds (800g) good cooking apples (Fuji, Jonagold, Pippin, Granny Smith), about 3-4 apples
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Small pinch of salt
To Finish:
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon cream
- 1 teaspoon sprinkling sugar (can use plain sugar)
- 1 teaspoon butter
Whipped cream:
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream, very cold
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
1 Make the dough: To make the dough, place flour, sugar, and salt into a food processor and pulse a couple of times.
Add half of the butter and pulse 8 1-second pulses. Add the rest of the butter and pulse several more times, until the largest piece of butter is no larger than a pea.
Add 2 Tbsp of very cold water to the dough. Pulse a couple of times. Continue to add icy water, a teaspoon at a time (no more than 3 teaspoons) until the dough just holds together when you pinch some with your fingers.
Empty the food processor bowl onto a clean surface. Gather up the dough into your hands and form a ball. Flatten into a disk and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 1 hour.
2 Peel, slice apples, toss with lemon: As the dough is chilling, peel, core, and slice the apples into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch slices. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with the lemon juice and lemon zest. Toss the apple slices around in the bowl so that they are all a little coated with the lemon juice.
3 Whisk sugar, cornstarch, spices, then toss with apples: In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and salt. Sprinkle over the apple slices and gently mix so that the apple slices are all well coated with the sugar mixture.
4 Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).
5 Roll out dough: Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit 5 to 10 minutes before rolling out. Place on a lightly floured clean surface and roll out to a 14 inch (35 cm) round. (The dough round will be on the thin side.) Pro-tips: don't let the dough stick to the table. If it starts to stick, sprinkle the surface with more flour. If the dough gets too soft to work with, chill in the refrigerator for a few minutes.
6 Mound apples on dough round: Gently transfer to a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. Mound the apples in the center of the dough round, allowing for a 2 1/2 to 3 inch (6 to 8 cm) margin around the edges. Gently lift up and drape the edges over the apples.
7 Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, dot with butter: Whisk together the egg white and cream. Use a pastry brush to brush over the exposed areas of the crust. Sprinkle the top of the crostata with sugar. Dot the exposed apples with butter.
8 Bake: Bake at 400°F (205°C) for 45 minutes to an hour, checking after 30 minutes or so. If the apples start to brown too much, tent them with foil.
9 Cool: Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for 30 minutes to an hour before serving.
10 Make whipped cream: To whip the cream, place the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl (sometimes I like to freeze the empty bowl so it stays colder when whipping the cream). Use a hand mixer to whip until you have soft peaks. Chill until ready to serve.
Serve the apple crostata with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
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Links:
Peach Galette here on Simply Recipes
Apple Cheddar Galette here on Simply Recipes
Strawberry Raspberry Crostata from Joy the Baker
Pluot and Ginger Crostata from Honestly Yum
Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
Apple Crostata
I found the dough crumbly and extremely difficult to work with. I followed the instructions exactly. This was my first time making dough from scratch, so maybe user error here…
I’ll try again maybe using more water (as it was a very dry day, low humidity…) to see if that helps.
Hi Kellyn, making dough from scratch can be tricky, and ight take a few tries before you get it right. It took me many pies before I really felt comfortable with it! If your dough was crumbly, that means it needed more water–you were right! You want the dough to hold together when you squeeze it. Keep on sprinkling in water 1 tablespoon at a time until it gets that way. I usually work the water into the dough like I’m tossing a salad rather than kneading, per se–that helps keep from overworking the dough, which makes it tough. Sometimes pie dough needs a lot of water, and sometimes not does not. It’ll come to you eventually :) Our sour cream pie crust is a little more user-friendly, if you’d like to try that recipe.
I’ve made this a few time now, and it is always a huge success and easy to make.
I’ve had to adjust to make few adjustments to make it work every time:
I increased the quantity of water in the crust to 1/4 cup instead of 2-3 tablespoon to be able to make a ball. I also do not use the cinnamon in the apples, it is just better without that extra flavor.
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Can this be made in advance?
Hi, Lynn! Yes, this can be made at least a day or two in advance. Pop it back in the oven for a few minutes to crisp it up again, if that’s what you’d like. You could also freeze it for up to a month (wrapped well in foil). Enjoy!
I have been making a similar Apple Crostata for a long, long time. There is a simple trick to keeping the juice from running out onto the parchment and burning. After you roll out your crust (it is ok to use a store-bought crust and roll it out thinner) and before you dump your apples onto it, spread 1/2 cup of graham cracker crumbs on the dough, leave a couple inches around the edge to fold up. You absolutely cannot taste the cracker crumbs in the finished product and they absorb the excess juice and keep it inside the Crostata. I also roll my crust out directly on parchment on a pizza peel and bake it on a preheated pizza stone. When baked, it is easy to remove with the peel and then just slide onto the cooling rack. I make these often as they are so easy and so good.
Elise, My neighbor gave me a bunch of apples from her tree and so I made two apple crostatas this weekend — one for us, and one for the neighbor. (I’m hoping to get more apples!) I have never made a pie crust before because I don’t have a food processor, but your sour cream pie crust was super easy and delicious. My apples didn’t seem overly wet when I put them into the crust, but then during cooking a ton of juice leaked out and burned on the bottom of the pie and the baking sheet. (Still delicious, but definitely lent a burnt sugar flavor.) I read in a comment above that some apples put out more juice, and I’m wondering if roasting the apples first like you do in the pear and cranberry crostata recipe would perhaps cook some of that extra liquid out first, before putting it into the crust? Would that be a good solution if I get more of my neighbors apples?
Hi Beth! You could pre-cook the apples. Or after you toss them in sugar, let them sit for an hour. The sugar will help the apples release their moisture. If you want, you can boil down that liquid until it is almost caramelized and add it back to the apples.