Pie-a-Day #15: Crostata di Frutta di Stagione

This post comes to us from Lago restaurant in Santa Monica and Executive Chef Roberto Maggioni.

Seasonal market fruits fill this luscious Crostata di Fruitta di Stagione with abundant flavor, and it’s one of our most popular desserts.We’ve slightly altered our recipe for the Pie-A-Day project so it’s presented as an 8″ pie, but you can enjoy it at Lago as a tart.

Crostata di Frutta di Stagione

Seasonal Fruit Tart (8” pie)

Pie Crust:

300 g flour

150 g sugar

150 g butter

1 egg + 1 yolk

Lemon zest

Pastry Cream:

1/4 gal milk

6 egg yolks

200 g sugar

60 g flour

orange zest

Fruit Topping:

seasonal fruits

apricot glaze

For the crust:

In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients rapidly until the dough has a smooth consistency. Place the dough in the fridge covered with plastic wrap and let rest for at least one hour before use. Remove from fridge and place on lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch, cover a pie tin, and bake at 350˚ until golden brown.

For the pastry cream:

Warm the milk with the orange zest over medium heat. In a bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients. When the milk has reached the boiling temperature, add it to the mixture, stirring quickly to prevent egg coagulation. Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish and cook for 3 minutes or until it reach the correct thickness of a pastry cream. Cover and refrigerate.

To prepare the pie:

Cut the fruit in small slices and start warming the glaze over low heat. Spoon the pastry cream over the dough filling it slightly more than half full. Arrange the sliced fruit in a pinwheel fashion over the top of the pastry cream. Coat the fruit with the glaze, chill and it’s ready to serve.