CrostataBlack
linen napkin
from Cultiver. All
other props
stylist’s own.
Stockists p176.
BabàAll props
stylist’s own.
200 gm(1⅓ cups) plain flour,
sifted
75 gm hazelnut meal
75 gm (⅓ cup) caster sugar
125 gm chilled butter, diced
1 large egg
Roasted hazelnuts, to serve
Whipped cream (optional),
to serve
MARSALA PEARS
3 pears, such as Josephine
or William, trimmed, cut
into 8 wedges and cored
100 gm caster sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
70 ml Marsala
Juice of ½ lemon
HAZELNUT FILLING
125 gm butter, softened
Finely grated rind of
½ orange
Scraped seeds of
½ vanilla bean
125 gm hazelnut meal
125 gm pure icing sugar, sifted,
plus extra to serve
3 eggs, at room temperature
25 ml Marsala
30 gm plain flour
1 Pulse flour, hazelnut meal,
sugar and a pinch of salt in a
food processor to just combine.
Add butter and process until
coarse crumbs just form. Add
egg and 1 tbsp water, and bring
dough together loosely. Wrap
in plastic wrap and refrigerate
for 30 minutes to rest.
2 For Marsala pears, toss
pears and sugar in a bowl.
Heat a large frying pan over
medium heat, add olive oil
and pears and toss occasionally
until pears are deep golden
(20-25 minutes). Add Marsala
and cook until caramelised
(5 minutes). Add lemon juice
and cook for a further minute,
then remove from heat. Cool
pears in caramel.
3 For hazelnut filling, beat
butter, rind and vanilla in an
electric mixer fitted with the
paddle attachment until creamy
(2-3 minutes). Mix hazelnut
meal, icing sugar and ¼ tsp salt
in a bowl with your fingers, then
add to butter mixture and beatuntil just incorporated. Add
eggs one at a time, beating to
incorporate between additions
(be careful not to over-cream
the filling or it will collapse).
Add Marsala, fold in flour
and transfer to a piping bag
with a 3cm plain nozzle.
4 Preheat oven to 180°C and
line an oven tray with baking
paper. Roll dough between
sheets of baking paper to
5mm thick and freeze to firm
(30 minutes). Remove paper
from pastry and use it to line
a 24cm-diameter shallow metal
tart ring placed on prepared
tray. As dough comes back
to room temperature, trim to
a 30cm-diameter round and
ease into tart ring, pressing
firmly into sides (if you don’t
have a tart ring, make a
free-form tart).
5 Arrange pears in an even
layer over pastry base. Pipe
hazelnut mixture on top to a few
millimetres below top of pastry.
Pinch sides of pastry up andCaramelised Marsala pear crostata
SERVES 8-10 // PREP TIME 40 MINS // COOK 1 HR (PLUS COOLING, CHILLING, RESTING)
“I remember eating crostata for breakfast when I was travelling through Italy. It felt like a
rebellious, but right, thing to do,” says Koludrovic. “Now, for me, it’s the perfect finish to a lazy
Sunday lunch. The filling here isn’t traditional, but the base of caramelised pears with Marsala,
the great Sicilian fortified wine, is delicious. Serve warm with lashings of whipped cream.”
over filling, then bake until
golden brown and filling is
pufed and beginning to set
(18-20 minutes). Reduce oven
to 160°C and bake until tart is
firm to the touch and pastry is
deep golden (12-15 minutes).
6 Carefully remove ring while
crostata is still warm, then cool
completely. Dust with icing
sugar and scatter with hazelnuts
to serve. Crostata is best served
warm and fresh, but will keep
refrigerated for 3-4 days. Warm
before serving.➤