Apple Crostata

The apple crostata is a wonderfully rustic dessert with a flaky pasta frolla crust filled with cinnamon sugar-coated sliced apples. This dessert is great any time of the year but we especially love it for the holidays with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Fruit-filled crostatas are wonderful desserts because they are simple, rustic, and like most Italian food, they allow the ingredients to shine.

This easy apple crostata is especially good during Fall and Winter and is a great alternative to apple pie. 

We love serving apple crostata on our Thanksgiving and other holiday dessert tables alongside some favorites like pumpkin pie with amaretto whipped cream,  orange olive oil cake, espresso martinis and pumpkin spice martinis.

How to make it

First, make the pasta frolla (sweet shortcrust pastry)

1. In a food processor, combine 2 cups (250 grams) of all-purpose flour,  1/3 cup (80 grams) of granulated sugar, a pinch of fine sea salt, and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest.  Give the ingredients a quick pulse to mix.  Add 1/2 cup (113 grams) of cold, cubed butter and pulse again to create small, coarse pieces.

2. Add 1 room-temperature egg and 1 room-temperature egg yolk and pulse a few more times until a grainy dough is formed.
3. Place the dough onto a work surface and knead for just a few seconds until a dough ball is formed. 

4. Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour prior to using.  Note: the dough can be made up to 2 days ahead of time.

Next, assemble and bake the apple crostata

1. Slice 3 to 4 medium-sized apples into quarters, then slice the quarters into 1/8″ thick slices, or slice using a mandoline.  Place the slices into a large bowl.  Note:  We kept the skin on our apples but if you prefer to remove the skins, do so prior to slicing the apple into quarters.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to the apples and give them a toss.  In a small bowl, whisk together a 1/4 cup (50 grams) of packed brown sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons (12 grams) of all-purpose flour, and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.  Add the sugar mixture to the apple slices and toss until combined.

3. Remove the pasta frolla from the refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes.  Preheat your oven to 375f and set the rack to the middle of the oven.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 12-inch circle, about 1/3 to 1/2 of an inch thick.
4. Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper.  Note: Just rolling it on parchment paper works even better and is the process we should have followed for these pics!
5. Arrange the apples in the center of the dough leaving at least 1 to 1 1/2 inches around the perimeter.
6. Begin to gently fold over the edges of the dough while leaving the center exposed.

7. Beat 1 egg to create an egg wash and using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash around the edge of the crostata.  Sprinkle the edge with 2 teaspoons of sugar.  
8. Bake the crostata in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the edges are crisp and golden.  Allow the crostata to settle for 10 minutes prior to slicing.  Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Top tips for amazing apple crostata

• The dough.  The dough used for this recipe is pasta frolla which is an Italian sweet shortcrust pastry that’s used in many recipes, including Pastiera Napoletana.  The dough should be made using cold butter and should not be kneaded any longer than necessary.  If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a pastry cutter to cut the cold butter cubes into the flour mixture. The dough should sit in the fridge for at least an hour but can be made up to 2 days in advance.  When you’re ready to use the dough, allow it to sit for about 10 minutes before starting to work it.  As you begin to work it with your hands it will soften up and become more pliable.
• The apples. Granny Smith apples are the quintessential apple pie apple.  They’re tart and hold up well to baking.  We used a combination of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples for this apple crostata.  You can use any apples you’d like but we’d suggest staying away from using red delicious or any of the mealier apples as they may not hold up as well to baking.
• Filling. We used cinnamon in our filling but you can feel free to get a little creative here with spices.  Pumpkin pie spice, a touch of nutmeg, or Garam Masala would all lend nice flavor here.
• Sugarcoat it. One of the last steps is to egg wash and dust the dough with sugar prior to baking.  We used granulated sugar here but an even better choice (for aesthetic purposes) is to use large-grain turbinado sugar as it will be even more visually appealing. 
• A word on baking. When baking, or making any dough, we recommend using a kitchen scale to measure in grams as the measurements will be exact.  There is room for error when using cups to measure these ingredients.  Also, keep in mind that all ovens are different and the baking time may be slightly different in your oven as it is in ours.

If you’ve enjoyed this rustic apple crostata recipe or any recipe on this site, give it a 5-star rating and tell us about it in the comments below.

We strive to satisfy a number of learning styles.  If you are someone who prefers to learn by watching, you can find most of our recipes on YouTube and our Facebook Page.