Cherry Crostata

No ratings yet

A flaky, homemade pie crust piled high with fresh cherry filling makes the perfect cherry crostata. Crostatas (or galettes) are rustic yet elegant free-form pies. It's simpler to make than a pie, but just as tasty! The perfect dessert to make all summer long!

Prep Time20

Cook Time45

Total Time1 5

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: pie

Servings:

Calories: 336kcal

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

Pie Crust

1½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ cup (1 stick) very cold unsalted butter cut into ¼ inch pieces
¼ cup water ice cold

Cherry Filling

3-4 cups fresh cherries pitted
½ cup dried cherries
⅓ cup (66 g) granulated sugar or more depending on sweetness of cherries
¼ tsp almond extract
Juice from ½ an orange
2 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp (42 g) unsalted butter cut into small chunks
1 egg lightly beaten with 2 tbsp water
turbinado sugar for sprinkling
2 Tbsp. sliced almonds

Instructions

Pie Crust

In a food processor or by hand, stir together the flour and salt.. Sprinkle very cold butter over the top and pulse for a few seconds or cut the butter with the pastry cutter/fingertips until it is about the size of split peas.
Sprinkle half of the ice water over the flour mixture and mix gently to dampen flour. Add the remaining water in two stages and continue to pulse or stir until a dough forms. When enough water has been added to allow dough to hold together, gather it into a ball and transfer to lightly floured surface.
Press dough into a flat disk, then place in large zipper bag. Refrigerate dough for at least an hour or overnight.

Cherry Filling

Preheat oven to 400F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Combine the cherries, dried cherries, sugar, cornstarch, almond extract, and orange juice in a large bowl.
Roll out the pie crust to form a 12-inch circle. Place pie crust on prepared baking sheet, then pour the cherry filling into the center of the crust. Bring the sides of the pie dough around the filling, leaving the center of the crostata exposed.
Scatter the butter pieces on top of the filling. Brush the crust with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar and sliced almonds. Bake for 45 minutes or until filling is bubbling and crust edges are golden brown.

Notes

Do not overwork your dough. You can totally make your dough by hand (you're less likely to overwork it if you do) or with a food processor. Just be sure when using the food processor, to pulse the dough together. If you just let it run for too long it can result is overworking your dough, causing that gluten stuff to act up resulting in a tough dough.
Use butter. There are many debates about using half shortening/half butter to achieve the perfect flavor/flakiness ration. Shortening is a little sketchy though. Trust me, use all butter and you will still get that great flavor to flake ratio.
Use very, very cold butter. I like to cut up my butter into small chunks and then re-freeze it afterwards. Just the warmth of the knife can soften it too much.
Use ICE cold water. Sensing a theme here? Pie crust is all about the COLD. If the water is too warm it will melt the butter. So ice cold water! I like to put a few ice cubes in my water and chill it down. Just don’t add the ice 😉
Use fresh orange juice. When it comes to citrus in baking, freshly-squeezed juice always results in better flavor. You won't regret the extra minute to squeeze it fresh.
Choose good cherries. Since cherries are the main ingredient, choosing sweet, ripe cherries is important. Bing and Rainer cherries both work well for this recipe. If you use sour cherries instead, you may need to increase the sugar in the filling.

Nutrition