Its fresh, light flavour seduces even the most refined palates, while its versatility makes it a dessert for everyone, from the sweet-toothed to those who don’t like overly elaborate desserts.

Our Pastry Chef Federico prepares this crostata (tart) in different variations to please everyone, including the guests of the Hotel Tritone. The classic version, much appreciated by restaurant patrons, has a soft custard filling and a topping of fresh, seasonal fruit.

In Italy, the recipe for crostata first appeared in Bartolomeo Scappi‘s book Opera dell’arte del cucinare (Work on the Art of Cooking) in 1570, but some historical clues trace the origin of this dessert back to just after the year 1000, when the import of cane sugar began, thanks to trade between Venice and the East. This shows that even the history of a popular dessert like the crostata has some connection to ships and the city of Venice, just like the history of the Poli family.

Crostata di frutta fresca (Fresh fruit tart)

Quantities for 20 single-portion tartlets

Ingredients for the confectioner’s custard:

250 g egg yolks

300 g sugar

50 g rice starch

50 g cornstarch

700 g milk

300 g cream

1 Tahiti vanilla pod

Method:

Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and starches well. Separately, boil the milk and then pour it over the yolks and the rest of the mixture, stirring well. Pour everything into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly.

Once the mixture has come to the boil, place it in a container and cover it with film, taking care that the film is in contact with the mixture. Then place in the freezer for a minimum of 2 hours.

When the mixture has cooled, you can use the custard.

Ingredients for the shortcrust pastry:

1 kg flour

600 g butter

400 g sugar

40 g egg yolks

1 egg

Method:

Knead the butter and sugar in a machine (with a dough hook) or manually. When the mixture is uniform, add all the other ingredients and knead until the dough is firm and pulls away from the sides.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Once the dough has rested, roll out the shortcrust pastry to a thickness of 4 mm, make holes in the pastry with the tines of a fork and then line cake tins or tartlet cases with the shortcrust pastry. Bake at 170 degrees for about 12 minutes and then cool to room temperature.

Ingredients for the topping:

Fruit of your choice

Method:

Once everything is cooked, you can garnish the tart, first with the custard and then with fresh seasonal fruit or whichever fruit you prefer.

To taste Pastry Chef Federico’s crostata and book a stay at the Hotel Tritone you can write to us here or call (+39) 049 8668099