Cream Cheese Crostata with Orange Maralade
Crostata con Crema di Formaggio e Marmellata di Arance Amare
Crust
1 1/2 cups cake flour
4 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 large egg yolk
1/2 cup or 1/4 lb of butter, plus 1 tablespoon chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
Filling
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2/3 cup orange marmalade
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
For crust:
Mix flour and sugar together on work surface. Make well in center of mixture; add egg yolk. Scatter butter cubes over flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter and gently mix ingredients together until well blended and dough forms.
Lightly form dough into disk; wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour or overnight. The dough is very dry.
Make the Cake:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom with nonstick spray.
Llightly press dough onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 18 minutes. Cool crust in pan on rack.
For filling:
Beat cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, and sugar in medium bowl until smooth. Spread filling evenly in cooled crust; chill 1 hour.
Spread marmalade evenly over filling. Sprinkle almonds over top. Serves 6 to 8 small servings - it is rich. .
This is just cream cheese on a cookie. I was worried that it would be too sweet, however the marmalade adds a tartness to the combination. On my first couple of tries my pastry was tough - especially at the edges. But I found the knack to mix the flour, sugar and egg yolk. Cut and mix with a pastry cutter. Don't try to form a nice ball. It is not that kind of dough.
The recipe comes from a 2005 Gourmet article on food in Florence with this recipe from one of the top restaurants in Frienze — Restaurant Zibibbo.