Autumn is here and apple season is upon us so now is the perfect time to make a rustic apple crostata. A crostata is basically a folding of fresh fruit with a little sugar and spice into a buttery pastry dough. The crostata is the Italian version of the French Galette but in essence they’re the same thing.
The best thing I like about making a crostata is that the process is free form, easier than making a pie, and when you make them no two will look alike, but that’s the rustic charm of it.
It really doesn’t matter what type of apples you use, use what you like, but look for large ones so you’re not peeling forever.
I actually ended up using large Gala apples for this sliced about 1/8 inch, as opposed to quartering the apples and having them chunkier, the slices will lay better in the crostata and you’ll be able to fan them out and layer on top of each other which makes it look prettier.
This is a dessert you can make in a pinch, especially if you have some store-bought pie crusts tucked away in your fridge like I do. I happen to love Trader Joe’s pie crusts, you can actually see pieces of butter in the dough. It’s looks elegant and tastes amazing and your house smells incredible while it’s baking in the oven.
Apples, cinnamon and crust oh my!
Serve it alone or with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream, either way you’re going to love it.
Desserts don’t have to be fussy and complicated to taste awesome, cut into a piece of this apple crostata and see for yourself!
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- 1 quality store-bought package of pie crust, room temp for easy rolling or homemade pastry dough (I used Trader Joe's)
- 3 or 4 large apples of your choice, I used Gala, peeled, seeded and sliced into ⅛ inch
- ¼ cup sugar plus a little more for sprinkling on crust
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon or to taste, I like alot. You can also add in some nutmeg to your liking
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- a pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon, melted butter
- 1 egg, for egg wash
- a squeeze of lemon juice onto apples so they don't turn brown
- Line a baking sheet with parchment and heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place sliced apples into a bowl and add the sugar, a squeeze of lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon and a pinch of salt, tossing gently until well coated, set aside.
- Un wrap your dough and smooth it out with a rolling pin, stretching it out and pressing together any breaks.
- Place dough onto parchment lined baking sheet.
- Arrange the apple slices on top overlapping them and fanning them into a circle leaving a good 1½ inch border all around.
- Fold the dough over the apples in a rustic fashion, if the dough tears just pinch together.
- Drizzle the melted butter over the top of apples.
- Whisk the egg and brush all over the crust then sprinkle crust with sugar.
- Bake at 400 for 40-50 minutes or until it is nicely golden brown according to your oven temp.
- Let it sit before cutting, serve with ice cream or whipped cream
- Enjoy!