Jammy crumble crostata
A truly easy bake, a walk-by treat (aka a bake that lives with
a knife alongside, ready to carve off a chunk as you walk past)
and a way of crostata-ing that I prefer over the classic rolled-tin,
lattice-topped versions (I honestly wouldn’t mind a break from
rolling tart shells). For this recipe, I gently amend my polenta
genovesi cookie dough and add some almonds for a heartfelt
homage to sbrisolona (an Italian crumble cookie). The dough
is then grated, à la Gale Gand’s famous Hungarian shortbread

recipe from the book and TV series Baking with Julia. With

a good jam inside, this tart is impossible to keep out of hands.

Make the dough by mixing all the dry ingredients, then rub the butter
in until you have a breadcrumby texture. Loosen the egg yolk with a
fork and stir in the zest. Add to the bowl with the dry ingredients and
butter, massaging to a stiff dough. Divide the dough into two equal
portions of 360 g (12½ oz) each, form each into a rough log and wrap
in plastic wrap. Freeze for a minimum of 1 hour, or overnight.

When ready to assemble, preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F) and
place a heavy baking tray in the oven to heat up too. Lightly spray a
24 cm (9½ in) round × 4 cm (1½ in) deep loose-bottomed tart tin OR
23 cm (9 in) square tin with cooking oil.

Start grating the first log of dough on the coarse side of a grater onto
the work surface, then pile into the tart tin. Break any end nuggets
up between your fingers – no bloody knuckles please. Level out the
grated dough pile, then start to press down firmly. Push the dough a
little higher on the sides to form a shallow dish for the jam. Re-spray
the sides with cooking oil.

The slight shallow will hold the jam, preventing it from touching the sides
and fusing to the tin during baking.

Scrape the jam onto the base dough and smooth, leaving a clear 1 cm
(½ in) border so the jam stays hidden (a hidden filling is my preferred
aesthetic, but this also prevents side stickage).

continued …

Keeps Up to 3 days at room

temperature in an airtight container.

Makes A golden tart for 6–8.

Takes Thirty minutes for the dough,

an hour to freeze and 1½ hours to
bake and cool. Make the dough the
day before, for a head start.
240 g (8½ oz) plain
(all-purpose) flour
80 g (2¾ oz) fine polenta
50 g (1¾ oz) flaked almonds
70 g (2½ oz) demerara (or
other coarse) sugar
2 g (¹⁄₁₆oz/¼ teaspoon) fine
sea salt
2 g (¹⁄₁₆oz/¼ teaspoon) baking
powder
170 g (6 oz) unsalted butter,
cool and pliable
60 g (2 oz) egg
yolk
(from approx. 3 eggs)
finely grated zest of 1 lemon,
orange or mandarin
cooking oil spray
300 g (10½ oz) jam
sea salt flakes