NuM NuM

"The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well."

Remember a few weeks ago I mentioned I joined an Internet cooking club? Well as fate would have it, it's also associated with an Internet baking club.......and guess who joined. :D Laugh if you must, but you all benefit from the yummy recipes - so if you keep laughing, the hand that feeds you will bite you!

Our challenge this month was to bake a crostata which is basically an Italian baked tart/pie. They can be sweet or savory and I've made a couple in the past which I served to guests who ecstatically devoured the whole thing. I'd had my eye on this recipe for a while now so I finally had a reason to make it. I followed the crust recipe from the challenge, but the filling is from Alice Water's Apple Tart which can be found here. Overall the dessert was sweet without being too over the top, and if you hadn't guessed already - yes, the crust was the best part. Buttery and flaky perfection - perfect with a scoop of ice cream.

If you're an apple pie purist, this may not be the recipe for you. It's quite different from your traditional apple pie since cinnamon and nutmeg are not used. The apples are thinly sliced and showered with a coating of turbinado sugar. Once baked, it's brushed with a thick syrupy glaze made from a reduction of apple peals, cores, and sugar. I baked the crostata at the Cindyro's and I think the oven temperature ran a little high so my filling turned into mush - but it was still delectable. This pie travels well and would be great to take to your next holiday party. Enjoy!