It is one of the oldest desserts in Italy’s culinary tradition. To create this treat, we will use Italy’s very best chocolate.
ONE OF ITALY’S OLDES TRADITIONS
Crostata with dark chocolate is one of Italy’s oldest, most traditional sweets. It is synonymous with home, often associated with the deft cooking hands of a beloved grandmother. Despite the fact that the recipe is very simple, small alterations can give the crostata a completely different consistency and flavor. That’s why everyone has their own version: when tasting crostata, most Italians will say, “it’s good, but it will never be as good as the one my nonna used to make!” Crostata is a tart loved by children and adults alike, and it is a great addition to the table for breakfast, snack-time, or special occasions.
IT’S EASY TO MAKE, SO LET’S DO IT!
There are many commercial tarts available at supermarkets, but it’s just as easy to make them at home. The benefits to making your crostata at home are many: kneading is fun and can help relieve stress, but, most importantly, you can exercise control over the quality of the ingredients you use. You can make the crostata with a variety of different fillings: any type of jam is fine, from apricot to raspberry. However, chocolate — combined with ricotta or hazelnuts, for example — makes an exceptional filling. The base is always a simple shortcrust pastry. Our chocolate tart is ideal for special occasions. As a filling, instead of using a commercial hazelnut cream, which is high in unhealthy sugars, we recommend Venchi dark chocolate. Venchi is one of the leading companies in Italian artisanal chocolate. Founded in Turin, Venchi is now well-known all around the world, boasting 115 stores and over than 350 chocolates recipes.
THE SECRET? VENCHI ORGANIC ECUADORIAN 70% DARK CHOCOLATE BAR
We suggest using Venchi’s Organic Ecuadorian 70% Dark Chocolate Bar. Cultivated according to the ancestral techniques of Chakra, Ecuadorian cocoa has an aromatic intensity with toasted notes. You will need 2.46 Oz of chocolate.
Some tips for preparation: after preparing the shortcrust pastry, leave it to rest in the fridge for at least 40 minutes before molding — make sure you have some dough left over to create a lattice top. Then combine the sugar and the potato starch in a saucepan with a little bit of milk and stir until the mixture becomes thick. Next, add the chocolate (cut into pieces) and continue to stir until it is fully melted. For some extra flavor, add a spoonful of rum!
When the mixture is fully amalgamated, pour it into the shortcrust pastry. Create a lattice pattern on top of your crostata. Bake the tart for 40 minutes and serve once cool.
