Crostata di Marmellata is one of our favorite Italian desserts to eat here in Italy, and lucky for us, you can find it just about anywhere!
There are two components in this recipe for crostata: 'pasta frolla'(a forgiving, easy-to-make, rich and crumbly shortcrust pastry) and jam. But don't let the simplicity of this jam tart recipe fool you-it's delicious! I've used cherry marmellata for this crostata recipe, but any jam will do.
In this post, you'll find crostata step-by-step photos, a short how-to-make crostata video, and tips for how to make the best jam tart, all below.
What Is Crostata (Italian Jam Tart)?
Crostata is a rustic Italian tart made with a buttery shortcrust pastry called pasta frolla and filled with jam, fresh fruit, or sweet ricotta. It's one of the most beloved desserts across Italy-you'll find it in every pasticceria, trattoria, grocery store, and family kitchen.
What makes crostata special is its simplicity. You don't need many ingredients, and it doesn't need to look perfect to taste absolutely amazing. The best Italian crostata has a soft, cookie-like crust you can easily cut through with a fork-not the crispy, flaky crust you'll find in American pies.
Take a look at the photos below to see what real crostata here in Italy looks like. As you can see, we've definitely eaten our fair share😉!
And if you love this recipe, try my strawberry cheesecake crostata or my easy homemade strawberry jam crostata!
Jump to:
- What Is Crostata (Italian Jam Tart)?
- What Does Real Crostata Look Like in Italy?
- How to Make Crostata Like an Italian Video
- How Do You Pronounce Crostata?
- What's the Difference Between Crostata and Galette?
- What's the Difference Between Crostata and Pie?
- Traditional Crostata Flavors You'll Find in Italy
- Why You'll Love This Authentic Italian Crostata Recipe
- What Is Pasta Frolla (Italian Shortcrust Pastry)?
- What Can You Make with Pasta Frolla?
- Crostata Ingredients
- How to Make Crostata (Crostata Italiana)
- Crostata Troubleshooting (Tips for Success)
- When Do Italians Eat Crostata?
- How to Store Jam Tarts (Crostate di Marmellata)
- Looking for More Tart or Crostata Recipes?
- Looking for More Italian Dessert Recipes?
- 📖 Recipe
- Italian Crostata (Traditional Jam Tart) Troubleshooting Helpful Tips & Techniques
What Does Real Crostata Look Like in Italy?
Here's what crostata actually looks like at Italian pasticcerias, restaurants, and agriturismos-you can see we've definitely eaten our fair share!
How to Make Crostata Like an Italian Video
How Do You Pronounce Crostata?
Crostata in English literally means 'tart'. The crostata pronunciation sounds like 'croh-STAH-tah' or 'crōw-STAH-ta'.
Crostata with an 'a' at the end means one single jam tart. Crostate with an 'e' at the end is the plural form, meaning you're talking about more than one crostata.
What's the Difference Between Crostata and Galette?
While both are rustic tarts, crostata is Italian and galette is French-and the differences go beyond just the name.
Crostata uses pasta frolla, a sweet, cookie-like shortcrust that's soft and crumbly. It's typically baked in a tart pan with a lattice top, though freeform versions exist.
Galette uses a flaky, buttery pie-style dough (often pâte brisée). It's always freeform-the dough is rolled flat, filled, and the edges are folded up over the filling.
What's the Difference Between Crostata and Pie?
The main differences are the crust texture and the pan depth.
Crostata crust (pasta frolla) is soft, tender, and almost cookie-like. Once baked you can easily cut through it with a fork. It's made by creaming room temperature butter and sugar together, and contains egg, again similar to cookie dough.
American pie crust is flaky and crisp, made by cutting cold fat (usually butter or lard) into cold flour and does not contain eggs. Crostata is also baked in a shallow tart pan, while pies use deeper pie dishes with sloped sides.
Crostata dough (pasta frolla) is way more forgiving than classic pie dough especially for beginner bakers.
Traditional Crostata Flavors You'll Find in Italy
Apricot (albicocca) is our favorite and also the most common crostata flavor found throughout Italy, but you'll also find:
- Cherry crostata (crostata alla ciliegia)-used in this recipe
- Raspberry crostata (crostata al lampone)
- Strawberry crostata (crostata alla fragola)-try my strawberry crostata recipe
- Wild Berries crostata (crostata ai frutti di bosco)
- Blueberry crostata (Crostata ai mirtilli)
- Fruit Crostata (Crostata alla frutta) -pastry cream filled crostata crust with fresh fruit topping
- Orange crostata (crostata all'arancia)
- Peach crostata (crostata alla pesca)
- Plum crostata (crostata alle susine or crostata alla prugna)
- Apple crostata (crostata di mele)-often served warm
- Chocolate crostata (crostata al cioccolato)
- Mostarda crostata (crostata alla mostarda)-Italian candied fruit in spicy mustard syrup
- Nutella crostata (crostata alla Nutella)-modern but very popular!
- Ricotta crostata (crostata di ricotta)-sweetened ricotta cream filling
Branch out with more unusual fillings like caramel apple crostata (perfect for fall), fig, strawberry cheesecake crostata, or strawberry-rhubarb.
Why You'll Love This Authentic Italian Crostata Recipe
- It's one of the easiest desserts you'll ever make
- It tastes just like what you buy here in Italy
- Pasta frolla shortcrust dough is ready in minutes (no cutting the fat into the flour required)
- There are just 9 ingredients (and that includes salt)
- Easy kid-friendly dessert recipe
- This pasta frolla recipe is really easy to roll and cut
- Crostata can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen
What Is Pasta Frolla (Italian Shortcrust Pastry)?
Pasta frolla is a rich, crumbly Italian shortcrust pastry made with flour, sugar, butter, eggs, baking powder, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. It's the foundation of Italian crostata.
Unlike French pâte sucrée, pasta frolla has a more cookie-like texture and is rolled out thicker. It's made by creaming butter and sugar together (like cookie dough), which makes it incredibly forgiving-no cold butter, no cutting fat into flour.
The dough comes together in minutes using a stand mixer, hand mixer, or food processor. Some people call it 'stand mixer pie crust' because it's so easy. You can substitute all-purpose flour or cake flour for the Italian 00 flour.
The best part? This dough doesn't break when you roll it out, making it perfect for beginners. Kids can even press it into the pan instead of rolling-it still turns out delicious.
What Can You Make with Pasta Frolla?
This versatile Italian crostata dough can be used for so much more than jam tarts:
- Crostata di marmellata-jam tarts with any fruit filling (homemade strawberry jam is amazing)
- Crostata di frutta-pastry cream topped with fresh fruit
- Crostata alla Nutella-chocolate hazelnut spread filling
- Crostata di ricotta-sweetened ricotta cream filling
- Spitzbuben or Linzer cookies-jam-filled sandwich cookies with cutout tops
- Crostatine-mini individual tarts
- Dessert pizza
In Northern Italy's Alto Adige region (near the Austrian border), you'll find Spitzbuben-adorable jam-filled sandwich cookies made with this same type of shortcrust dough. The name means "little rascals" in German, and the top cookie has three holes cut out that look like a mischievous smiley face.
You might also hear them called Linzer cookies, Linzer Augen (Linzer Eyes), or Hildabrötchen depending on who's baking them.
Crostata Ingredients
Making great Italian crostata at home is easy with basic pantry ingredients. I suggest using Italian 00 flour for the finest texture, but cake flour or all-purpose work well too. A kitchen scale helps with accuracy.
- Italian 00 flour (or substitute all-purpose or cake flour)
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Sugar
- Egg and egg yolk
- Pure vanilla extract
- Lemon zest
- Fruit jam of your choice (cherry in this post)
See recipe card below for exact quantities.
How to Make Crostata (Crostata Italiana)
Homemade crostata can be made in any shallow baking pan-a tart pan with a removable bottom, a regular pie plate, or even freeform on a baking sheet. Use whatever you've got!
How to Make Crostata Step-by-Step Photos at a Glance
How to Make Crostata Step-by-Step
Step 1. Prep your tart pan. Butter and flour a tart pan and shake out excess flour.
Step 2. Measure the dry ingredients and cream the butter mixture. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together until well combined. Cream the butter, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla together until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Then add egg and egg yolks one at a time until just incorporated.
Step 3. Make the pasta frolla dough. Combine the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and form it into dough disc. Place the dough onto a floured surface and form it into a disc. Cover and refrigerate the dough to firm up.
Step 4. Roll out the bottom layer, add it to the tart pan. Divide the dough into two pieces with the bottom crust using slightly more dough than the top. Roll out the bottom layer, add it to the tart pan, press it in, trim the edges, prick it with holes on the bottom and refrigerate.
Step 5. Roll and cut the lattice top and any cutouts.
Step 6. Fill with jam and assemble the lattice top. Brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with coarse sugar. I used an all-natural homemade cherry sugar for the tops for the added color and flavor, but you can use any kind of sugar.
Step 7. Bake the crostata until golden brown. Cool completely before serving.
See the full detailed instructions in the recipe card below.
Crostata Troubleshooting (Tips for Success)
This Italian dessert is incredibly easy to make, but these tips will help ensure perfect results every time.
- Make sure the dough is completely chilled before rolling-this is a soft dough and needs to be firm to roll easily and to get the right consistency when it bakes.
- If you have kids who want to help, let them press the dough into the pan instead of rolling it out. Just chill the filled pan for at least 2 hours before baking so it can firm up.
- For a "perfect-looking" crostata, refrigerate the fully assembled tart for at least 20 minutes before baking (and up to 6 hours). This keeps the lattice edges "clean" when baking.
- Don't add more jam than the recipe calls for-1 cup for less jammy, 1.5 cups for more. Adding 2+ cups will cause the jam to bubble over like lava (trust me, I've done it!)
- Don't skip the lemon zest-this is what gives crostata its authentic Italian taste. The dough is good without it, but it won't be a true Italian crostata like you'll eat here in Italy.
- If the dough gets too soft while rolling, pop it back in the fridge for 20 minutes, then continue.
- Use extra flour as needed on your work surface and rolling pin to prevent sticking.
- Regular Italian 00 flour is traditional (below left photo) with its soft wheat flour and 11% protein (and what I've used in this recipe). But here in Italy they also make a flour blend (Miscela per Torte - below right photo) specifically for making crostata and biscotti that's comprised of soft wheat 00 Flour + wheat starch. You can substitute a high-quality all-purpose flour like King Arthur AP (with 11.5% protien), or cake flour.
When Do Italians Eat Crostata?
Here in Italy, crostata di marmellata is typically eaten for merenda (afternoon snack around 3:30-4pm), as an after-dinner dessert, or even for breakfast with espresso. Honestly, it's delicious any time!
How to Store Jam Tarts (Crostate di Marmellata)
Crostata never lasts long at our house, but if you have leftovers, here's the best way to store it:
- Room temperature: Up to 3 days in a cool environment, otherwise refrigerate.
- Refrigerator: Up to 5 days, wrapped well or in an airtight container.
- Freezer: Up to 3-4 months, wrapped well in sustainable cling film and placed in a freezer bag. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature with wrappings removed (to prevent condensation).
Looking for More Tart or Crostata Recipes?
Here are a couple of our favorite crostatas you may want to try next:
Looking for More Italian Dessert Recipes?
Here are a few of our favorite authentic Italian desserts-everything from classic vanilla bean panna cotta to real-deal Sicilian cannoli.
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Print📖 Recipe
Authentic Italian Crostata (Jam Tart)
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: One 11-Inch Tart (8 servings)
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Crostata di Marmellata is one of my favorite simple Italian desserts because it tastes great and it's easy to make (even for beginner bakers). Don't let the simplicity of this jam tart recipe fool you -- it's so delicious! Plus, you can fill it with any flavored jam or even Nutella.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups Italian 00 flour (sub all-purpose or cake flour) (300g)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder (3g)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (2g)
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (165g)
- ⅔ cup sugar (130g)
- 1 large egg (50g)
- 2 large egg yolks (40 to 45g)
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract (6g)
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 to 1 ½ cups of jam (315 to 500g)*see note below
- sugar for sprinkling over the top (optional but recommended)
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Homemade crostata can be made in a tart pan or other shallow baking pans with or without removable bottoms. They can even be made using a regular pie tin if you don't own a tart pan. For this post, I've used an 11-inch (28cm) tart pan without a removable bottom. If you use a 9 or 10-inch tart pan, you can make the bottom crust slightly thicker, or use the excess dough to make little Linzer jam tart cookies.
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C & prepare a 9 to 11-inch (23-28cm) tart pan. Butter the tart pan using your hands or pastry brush being sure to get into all the crevices. Add about ¼ cup of flour to the pan and tap it around to cover the entire surface with flour. Remove any excess flour and set aside.
- Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium-sized mixing bowl add the flour, salt, and baking powder and whisk well to combine.
- Make the pasta frolla shortcrust. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer or food processor), cream the butter, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract on medium speed until fluffy and lighter in color (about 2 minutes). Add the egg plus 2 egg yolks one at a time making sure each one is fully incorporated before adding the next one (it shouldn't take longer than 15 seconds total to incorporate all of the eggs). Turn off the mixer, add the flour mixture, and gently stir it in using a rubber spatula until no flour streaks remain.
- Form the shortcut pastry into a disc & refrigerate it. Add 2 tablespoons of flour to a non-stick Silpat or other surface and spread it out just slightly. Add the pasta frolla and gently start forming a disc incorporating the flour as needed to form a ball that doesn't stick to your hands when pressed. If you need just a bit more or less flour that's ok as long as you can form it into a soft disc without it sticking to the surface or your hands. Flatten it slightly, wrap it in sustainable cling film, and place it into the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
- Roll out the bottom crust. Remove the chilled dough disc from the fridge and divide it into two pieces (with one piece being slightly larger than the other). Place the smaller piece of dough back into the fridge while you roll out the bottom crust. Place the disc onto a lightly floured surface, press to flatten it, and shape it into a round. Roll it out to ⅛ of an inch (6mm) thick using more flour as needed to keep it from sticking to the surface. Gently roll the dough back onto the rolling pin to transfer it to the tart pan. Unroll it into the pan and press the dough into and around the pan making sure that there are no gaps between the pan and the dough (or it will shrink as it bakes). Use a knife or rolling pin to trim the excess dough from the edges. Add the leftover trimmings to the other dough block in the fridge to keep it cold. Prick holes all over the entire crust (sides and bottom) to prevent it from puffing up as it bakes and chill it in the refrigerator while you roll and cut the lattice top. It should be cold and firm before adding the jam.
- Make the lattice top and heart cutouts. Remove the smaller piece of dough from the fridge and roll it out as you did the first piece. Cut out 3 to 5 small hearts or desired shapes and set aside. Next, cut long strips as evenly as possible using a pizza cutter or pasta bike. Depending on the size of your tart pan, you will need 5-6 strips for the bottom layer and 7 to 9 strips for the top layer. For my 11-inch tart pan, I used 6 wider strips for the bottom layer and 9 thinner strips for the top layer.
- Assemble the crostata. Remove the chilled tart pan from the fridge and add the cherry jam. Decorate the top of the filled crostata with the lattice strips, place the hearts on top, brush with egg white, and sprinkle the top with sugar.
- Bake the crostata. Bake the crostata at 350°F/180°C for 10 minutes on the middle rack of the oven. Reduce the heat to 345°F/175°C and continue baking for 25 to 30 more minutes, or until just golden brown on top. Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and wait at least 2 hours before cutting into it. Once cooled, you may cover and refrigerate or freeze the crostata, or leave it covered at room temperature for up to 3 days, Enjoy!
Notes
Italian Crostata (Traditional Jam Tart) Troubleshooting Helpful Tips & Techniques
- Do not be tempted to add more than the amount of jam called for. You can add 1 cup for a slightly less jammy crostata, or 1 ½ cups for a little more fruit flavor in every bite. But adding 2 cups or more jam can result in the jam bubbling up and out of the tart like hot lava as it bakes (believe me, I've done it before).
- Skip the tart pan or pie tin and make a freeform rustic crostata right on a baking tray. To make a rustic crostata, roll out the crostata dough to desired size and place it on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Add the jam, spread it out, and fold about 2 inches of the dough in towards the middle to form a crostata crust or perimeter and bake as directed. *see photo in the main post.
- Make sure the dough is completely chilled before rolling it out or it will be difficult because this is a soft dough
- If you have kiddos who are small but want to help, let them press in the dough instead of rolling it out, just be sure to chill the filled tart pan for at least 2 hours before filling it and baking it.
- If you want a perfect-looking crostata, place the fully assembled crostata back into the fridge for at least 20 minutes before baking (and even up to 6 hours). This will make sure the edges of the lattice top stay "clean" while baking. I baked my crostata immediately after assembling and while it doesn't have perfectly "clean-cut" edges, it's still pretty. You decide based on your schedule and desired look.
- Don't be tempted to skip using the lemon zest in the pasta frolla. This is part of what gives it that authentic Italian taste that's so good. I mean, the dough is delicious without it, but it won't be a real crostata without that zest.
- If the dough gets too soft as you're rolling it out, pop it back into the fridge for 20 minutes or so to help firm it back up, and then continue.
- Don't be afraid to use extra flour on the work surface and the rolling pin as needed to help keep the pastry from sticking as you roll.
- Italian 00 flour is what's used for pasta frolla, but you may substitute cake flour or even all-purpose if that's all you've got.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Pies + Cobblers + Crostate
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 475
- Sugar: 41g
- Sodium: 105g
- Fat: 19g
- Saturated Fat: 11g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7.5g
- Trans Fat: 0.5g
- Carbohydrates: 70g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 5.5g
- Cholesterol: 100mg
Jennifer says
Should the butter be chilled or softened to room temperature? Thank you!
Kelly says
Hi Jennifer, the butter should be room temperature! I can't believe I left this off of the ingredients. I've added it now..thank you for your question:) It's helped me clarify this for others❤️. To make pasta frolla, you first cream the butter, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract on medium speed until fluffy and lighter in color so it's best to have room temperature butter for this step. I've updated the recipe card now!😊
JEFF LITTLE says
Bringing this to Thanksgiving looks wonderful!
Added Raspberry Jam and Sliced toasted almonds on top of the bottom crust.
Topped the tart with apricot jam for a nice shiny presentation.
Thank you for your work and advice most appreciated
Jeff
Kelly says
Jeff, I love hearing this!🤗 The raspberry jam is very traditional here in Italy:) But I am definitely impressed by your addition of toasted almonds and pastry shop sheen you added! I'm definitely going to have to try the toasted almonds...I hadn't even thought of this before, but I bet they complemented the raspberry perfectly and added really nice texture😍. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!
Francesca says
Used my nonna's apricot preserves and this brought back so many memories of her kitchen. Perfect recipe! Thank you
Kelly says
That means so much when I hear this kind of feedback, Francesca! It took me a while to get the crostata crust just right (the way they actually make it here in Italy), and it really is like what is served in restaurants, pastry shops, etc. But when I hear "it tastes like nonna's," that honestly makes my day❤️! Best compliment ever because nostalgia + good recipe=love and good memories.