Fig Crostata

Delicious. Wonderful flavor combination, with the orange and walnut complimenting the figs. This is a rich dessert, so be careful with serving sizes. The pastry was great and worth the trouble. The freezer was my friend during the preparation and assembly. The earlier comment that there is a lot, and maybe too much, fruit filling is a worthy observation. Next time I make this I'll cut the filling by a third and see. Has anyone experimented using dried apricots and ground almonds instead of figs and walnuts?

• schireson

• Rancho Santa Fe, CA

• 12/30/2015

Superb as is - change nothing- follow recipe as written-and definitely use fresh orange juice and dried calmyrna figs - got mine at Trader Joe.

• dpkhouri

• NYC

• 12/4/2014

This tasted like mincemeat pie. Okay, but not what I was looking for. The other ingredients overwhelm the fig flavor.

• Anonymous

• Highland Lakes,New Jersey

• 10/30/2014

I want to love this recipe... and it is good for what it is. That said, I don't love what it is. Easy to prepare, tasty, just not over the top tasty with everyone asking for the recipe. It is good, just not a show stopper. I always have the ingredients on hand so, it will stay in my rotation.

• goldfish1

• Cleveland, OH

• 12/14/2013

SHEER AWESOMENESS! I've made at least 300 epicurious desserts; some are forgotten, some become repeat offenders, where others move into the realm of myth and legend. This crostata belongs soundly in the third group, and is definitely a top ten dessert from those I've made from this site. I like the recipe as-is. Less experienced cooks beware - the crust is a bit soft and delicate. Just read the instructions carefully, and you'll be rewarded with a soft, light, delicious crust. Other than that, this is an awesome dessert for any occasion, casual or formal. It always impresses.

• davey1107

• los angeles

• 2/25/2012

I liked this crostata, but I would make changes if I made it again. It came out very pretty and had great flavor, I just think the amount of filling was overwhelming. I would prefer to make it thinner for a better crust to filling ratio. The crust is delicious, difficult to work with as it is very tender, but comes out beautifully even if you don't make a perfect lattice. It's really a pretty straight forward recipe and a bit unusual, so I would make it again with the changes as described

• Anonymous

• La Crescent, MN

• 1/7/2011

I made this for Christmas 2010 and it was wonderful. Unlike one of the reviews, I had no trouble with the crust--and crusts are my biggest cooking challenge. Follow the directions for making the crust and it turns our perfectly. I did serve it with a dollop of mascarpone on top, and I think that just enhances the crostata.

• Anonymous

• Seattle

• 12/30/2010

I was looking for a way to use up the last of my fresh mission figs and found this delicious dessert! I used a food processor to make the crust. I ended up adding 6 Tbsp. of water which was probably one Tbsp. too many, so I ended up just patching the bottom crust together which worked out fine with floured fingers. I wasn't sure how many fresh figs to use so I probably used at least a quart and took another reviewer's advice and did not add the water. The cooking time was longer, but it was a cold afternoon, so I didn't mind. Rolling out the top crust between parchment paper worked great. I probably ended up baking my crostata a good 20 minutes longer as I waited for the filling to bubble. What a delectable treat when we finally got to have a slice! The walnuts and the orange flavors were fantastic together with the figs. The crust was so delicious, too. I thought it was the same as making a regular pie crust as long as I was willing to adapt to patching it in which was actually less stressful! With all of the butter involved jin the crust and the filling, I probably won't be having it again until next year's harvest, but I'll be sure to make it for company then! It was a delicious and unusual treat!

• BlushingTomato

• Campbell, CA

• 10/19/2010

是一个狂欢!我的笔记:我跟着recommendation of another cook, who used ripe figs and omitted the water (if you are in fig season, DO IT that way). Using the fresh figs also means you can omit the food processor part. Just cut the fig in quarters or eighths. Use ripe, but firm figs (I used black mission figs) I really LOVE the flavor per the original recipe.... I think bourbon could add a desirable note (as another reviewer noted). 1/8 cup of candied ginger put through a food processor could also be another good add. (Both bourbon and ginger would additional require testing) A few of the comments say the crust is difficult. I think the real reason is that the recipe calls for FAR too little water. I added sprinkles of cold water until the dough would stick together. Be careful not to make it moist, however. Also use a fork or pastry blender, NOT fingers. You don't want to warm the butter; this will result in lack of flakiness.

• nhaynes1980

• 9/20/2010

I made this for my Christmas Eve dinner party and it was a rave from all.One of the great desserts, from the tender crunch of the cookie dough to the earthy, orange-laced,nutty filling, this is a sophisticated Italian dessert that that has a wow factor of 10. It needs no accompaniement. My oven required 45 minutes to bring the pastry to golden brown, and perhaps others might want more sugar, but these are small quibbles.Go for it. It's beautiful and luscious.

• dpkhouri

• NYC

• 12/25/2009

I made this before Thanksgiving and it was delicious. But it was far too much filling for a 9" pan. I ended up having to dump it out, use the bottom crust for the lattice and roll the other half a bit thinner for a 10" pan. My mother uses a half sheet pan for her crostada (much higher crust to filling ratio). We are going to try this filling in that for Christmas.

• aakk

• nyc

• 12/23/2009

The flavor of the fig filling did improve overnight. It isn't a sweet filling, however, and those who want a sweeter dessert should add more sugar to the filling. The mascarpone adds a good note to the flavors. Next time I will add some chopped candied ginger to the filling to give it more interest. I've made other fig recipes that use anise as a flavoring, and that might work will here. I rolled out the dough for the top filling and then slid it, still covered with parchment paper, onto a baking sheet and then put it in the freezer for a half-hour. It made it easy to cut the dough into even strips and to place it on top of the filling.

• Johnzie

• Boston, MA

• 12/23/2009

It seems that there are many of us who have little to no experience with pastry dough. I was delighted to have the opportunity to learn from this recipe and, as with others, was very pleased with the result, which looked remarkably like the photo. It makes me want to try other pastries. I agree that this is not as sweet as I expected. I would probably join the poster who suggested using some bourbon and I also would be more generous with the sugar, both in and outside the crostata.

• afreed

• St. Louis

• 12/18/2009

I made this for Thanksgiving, and everyone raved about it! It was also excellent for breakfast that weekend :-) It took awhile to make, but was not overly difficult considering I had never made pastry dough, never used a springform pan, never made a tort or anything like this before! I did find that I had to let the dough warm up a bit (kneading it a little with warm hands helped) before I could work it to roll out and form the crusts. End result looked just as gorgeous as the picture online, and it was very exciting to take something so impressive-looking to my aunt's for Thanksgiving dinner.

• Anonymous

• Maryland

• 12/14/2009

Made it for Thanksgiving. It was very good but needed an extra bit of zing, next time I'll add a splash of Bourbon in the filling. The tart is better after a couple of days and benefits from being served warm. I liked that it wasn't overtly sweet, but I had decreased the brown sugar amount by about a half. The pastry dough is a typical French pâte sablée, which I'm used to make by hand, I find it easy to make after years of doing it but I can understand how beginners could be flustered by it. Instead of using a springform pan, I used my regular ceramic tart dish. I had a problem with the strips of dough as no amount of chilling could prevent them from breaking up. So instead of a lattice top I improvised a childish Suprematist design with squares of cut dough. I used real vanilla bean both in the dough and in the filling, and used the zest of the 2 oranges I pressed. Would definitively make it again, with a few improvements.

• frenchybutchic

• 12/3/2009