Blackberry Jam Crostata
Published July 30, 2019
Constantine Poulos for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 1¾ hours, plus chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
FOR THE FILLING
3 cups/340 grams blackberries
1 cup/125 grams blueberries
¾ cup/150 grams granulated sugar, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons minced fresh lemon verbena (optional)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup sliced almonds
Demerara sugar, for sprinkling
FOR THE CRUST
1 ½ cups/190 grams all-purpose flour
¾ cup/95 grams whole-wheat flour
12 tablespoons/170 grams unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened
½ cup/100 grams granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon almond extract
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
68 grams carbs; 91 milligrams cholesterol; 474 calories; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 21 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 152 milligrams sodium; 6 grams protein; 37 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make the jam: In a medium saucepan, stir together blackberries, blueberries, sugar and lemon verbena, if using. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally at first, then more frequently as the mixture starts to bubble and reduce.
- Step 2
When mixture has reduced and looks syrupy (about 30 minutes total), stir in lemon juice and zest. Taste and add sugar if necessary. (This depends on how sweet your berries were to begin with.) Cook for 3 minutes longer, stirring frequently to prevent burning. When the jam is thickened and shiny but still slightly runnier than you expect jam to be, take it off the heat; it will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Step 3
Scrape jam into a bowl or heatproof container, stir in vanilla and let cool to room temperature. Taste and stir in a little more lemon juice if the jam seems very sweet. At this point, the cooled jam can be chilled for up to 1 week.
- Step 4
Make the dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, and set aside. In a second bowl and using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, lemon zest, vanilla, salt and almond extract until combined, then beat in flour mixture.
- Step 5
Scoop ½ cup of the dough into a bowl or container, cover and chill. Transfer remaining dough to a 9- or 10-inch tart pan and use floured fingers to press evenly into bottom and sides. Chill crust in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
- Step 6
When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread jam evenly into crust, then using your fingers, crumble reserved ½ cup dough over jam. Sprinkle with almonds and Demerara sugar.
- Step 7
Bake until golden, 38 to 48 minutes. Let cool completely to room temperature before serving.
Private Notes
Comments
Does the tart pan need to be buttered to keep the pastry from sticking?
Lemon verbena, which has a distinct lemon lilt, does not taste like any of the other lemon-based plants, like lemon balm, lemon mint, lemon thyme or lemon grass. It has a lighter, less aggressive flavor that can be best described as lemon perfume. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/09/garden/lemon-verbena-from-sorbet-to-soap.html I would recommend lemon zest as an alternative instead.
Very similar to the jam tart I’ve been making for years with a lot less sugar in the crust. Sometimes I arrange thinly sliced apples, pears or peaches on the top before baking but I like the almond cookie crust treatment The basic shortbread crust is always a winner. Comes together in a snap and is easy to handle. I add about1/4 cup ground almonds and t. lemon or orange zest, but skip the extracts Makes a slightly sweet, crunchy crust that works with almost anything.
Wow. Who knew how easy it is to make jam. I made peach and nectarine jam instead of blackberry. I made the crust vegan using Earth Balance vegan butter and egg replacer. It's in the oven now and I will cool it an take it to my book group for tonight's dessert. It will be delicious--at least the peach jam is so how could it be bad?!
How much jam is required if you are going to sub premade?
This is great. I alway reduce the sugar and in this recipe I reduced to 1/4 cup in the crust and 1/4 cup in the jam. I added one tablespoon of cornstarch for the last few minutes in the jam to thicken which is needed with the reduced sugar. I also used 4 cups of blueberries and a cup of blackberry. I think I will stick with blueberries - no seeds. With 1/2 cup of sugar total ( a full one cup less than called for) it was still a perfectly sweet treat.