Apple and Cherry Crostata
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
Rough puff pastry
350g plain flour
¼ tsp salt
60g butter, cubed, chilled
1/3 cup water, chilled
140g butter, frozen
4 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced into wedges
1 cup fresh or frozen cherries, pitted and halved
¼ cup caster sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
Zest of 1 small lemon
1 egg white, lightly beaten
½ cup almond meal
1-2 tbsp Demerara sugar
¼ cup flaked almonds
Icing sugar and vanilla ice cream or crème fraiche, to serve
Method
Place the flour and salt in a large bowl, add the chilled butter and rub using your fingertips until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Slowly add enough water to form a dough, mixing with your hands to form a ball. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, gently knead and then between two sheets of baking paper, roll the dough into a rectangle.
Grate half the frozen butter over the bottom 2/3 of the dough. Fold down the top third and fold up the bottom third, like folding a letter. Turn the dough 90 degrees and re-roll dough into a rectangle. Using the remaining frozen butter, repeat the process of grating and folding. Wrap the dough in glad wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes before using.
Preheat oven to 200°C.
Meanwhile, place apples, cherries, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and zest in a large bowl and toss gently to combine. Remove pastry from fridge. Roll out between two sheets of baking paper to form a 30cm square or circle. Prick pastry with a fork, and lightly brush with egg white. Sprinkle centre with almond meal.
Arrange apple cherry mixture over pastry, reserving any remaining syrup, leaving a 6cm border around edge. Roughly pleat pastry over apple cherry mixture, leaving centre exposed. Brush pastry with remaining egg white and sprinkle with Demerara sugar and flaked almonds. Bake for 30-35 minutes, turning temperature down a little if pastry is over browning, or until golden and puffed.
Dust with icing sugar, drizzle with any remaining syrup and serve with ice cream or crème fraiche.