Undoubtedly, French cuisine is one of the best in the world, if not the best. With its variety of all kinds of aromas and flavors, it is famous for its refinement and sophistication. And what about French desserts - a temptation that both young and old cannot resist.
French soufflé, crème brûlée, tarte tatin, profiteroles, as well as the already world-famous French macarons (do not confuse them with Italian ones, because French ones are almond flour cookies stucked together with filling) are only a small part of what French confectioners can offer you.
In today's article, we will introduce you to another French specialty, known as Crostata or Pastis Gascon.
The exact history of pastis Gascon is not very clear, but it is assumed that the word was borrowed from the Moors, who brought with them to Southern Europe their specialty "pastilla", which is made from multi-layered dough with pigeon meat, but has a sweet and salty taste. In terms of preparation, the pastis Gascon or Crostata is quite similar to it, except for the fact that its taste is exclusively fruity and sweet.
Crostata is also quite similar to sweet filo pastry pie, because it uses filo pastry sheets, but its filling is made of apples (the more famous version) or plums. Making the dough is simple and consists of only 5 products (egg, flour, water, salt and butter), but the more complicated part is rolling it out, which only experienced pastry chefs and chefs can do. For this reason, nowadays, Crostata is prepared mostly with ready-made filo pastry sheets, but it is imperative that they are thin.
You can prepare Crostata either by rolling the sheets or by layering. In the Crostata recipe that we will offer you, we have shown the layering method, because with it the airy, fluffy and delicate crust of Crostata has a more impressive appearance.
To prepare Crostata, you will need 1 kg of sweet and sour apples, thin and fresh filo pastry sheets, 120 g of butter, 1 small lemon, 150 g of brown sugar, 1 tbsp. Armagnac (you can replace it with cognac or rum, as long as they are of good quality).
The apples are washed, peeled and cut into cubes, and the peel of the washed lemon is grated and its juice is squeezed. Pour the lemon juice over the diced apples and mix thoroughly. This will not only add flavor to them, but will also prevent them from darkening.
In a sufficiently deep and wide pan, melt 80 g of butter, add the apples and fry without a lid for about 5 minutes, then add the sugar and stir everything for about 2 minutes.
When the apples are ready, remove them with a slotted spoon and let them cool, and leave the sauce on the stove for a little longer until it thickens.
To "assemble" the Crostata, you will need a cake pan with a detachable ring. Cover it with baking paper and start arranging the filo pastry sheets, strictly following the way they are arranged to acquire the desired crispy crust and spectacular look.
The first sheet is greased with melted butter and placed in the mold so that its edges protrude outwards (outside the mold). The next 5 sheets are arranged in a similar way, but we move them so that they are arranged at an angle of about 50-60 degrees from each other, and between each sheet we sprinkle sugar and brush with a little butter. The seventh sheet is folded into 4 and placed in this way on the remaining 6, so that it can absorb the juice that will form during baking.
In the well formed by the filo pastry sheets, we place the apples, sprinkle with the grated lemon peels, pour with the already thickened juice from the pan and spray with Armagnac.
Also arrange 5 halves of the sheets (i.e. 2.5 sheets), greased with butter and sprinkled with sugar.
When everything is ready, it's time to fold the Crostata, starting from the bottom layers and ending with the top ones. The idea is to make them look like a flower, like a rose for example. The last layer is also greased with butter, making sure not to break any of the layers.
Bake for about 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 180°C, then carefully cover with aluminum foil (so that the top layers of the filo pastry sheets don't burn) and bake for another 25 minutes.
You can enjoy your Crostata only when it has completely cooled down and be careful when cutting it. It goes great with a cup of aromatic black tea or Armagnac.
Don't miss out on finding out how to make real French bread at home, as well as the secrets of classic French Crepes. Be sure to try our recipes for French brioche or classic crème brûlée.
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