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–+ servings

Crostata di Noci (Italian Walnut Tart)

Lightly sweetened ground walnuts fill an Italian pasta frolla crust in this Venetian dessert. If you’re not a fan of walnuts you could use other nuts. If you want to make the crostata extra festive, put a paper doily on top and sprinkle it with powdered sugar to get a pattern.
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Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes
Servings: 8 people
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pasta Frolla
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon powdered vanilla or vanilla extract
  • 1 pinch salt
  • Grated zest of one lemon
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 large eggs
Nut Filling
  • 1 pound ground walnuts
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 pinch salt
  • Grated zest of 1 large lemon

Method
 

Pasta Frolla
  1. Blend flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla powder, salt and lemon zest in a food processor until combined.
  2. Add the cold butter, cut in pieces.
  3. Blend till well combined. The mixture in the food processor will appear to move as one mass though when you stop the processor you will see that it is not.
  4. Add the eggs and vanilla extract if you are using that instead of vanilla powder and blend till it almost forms a ball.
  6. Remove the pastry from the food processor and incorporate the final bits of flour by hand.
  7. Wrap the dough in waxed paper and refrigerate for about 30 minutes before using.
Nut Filling
  1. Combine all ingredients and mix well.
  3. Cover the nut filling and keep it at room temperature while rolling out the pasta frolla.
Assembly
  1. Roll out pasta frolla between sheets of waxed paper until it is just large enough to come up the sides of a 10" diameter by 1” tall tart pan with a removable bottom.
  2. Trim the edges of pastry even with the top of the tart pan.
  3. Add the filling and spread it out evenly.
  4. The filling should come just to the top of the tart pan.
  5. Bake the crostata at 350°F for approximately 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
  6. Cool and remove the sides of the tart pan.
  7. The crostata can be sprinkled with powdered sugar for serving and/or accompanied by lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Notes

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