orange + chocolate {crostata}

Last month, after our lunch at Paradise Beach with Gillian, I vowed I was going to try to recreate the chocolate and orange marmalade crostata that we had for dessert. Even though I spoke to the cook, she was a bit vague and not so much help when it came to the actual recipe. The one thing I knew is that my tart was not going to be vegan (hers was) because for me, one of the best things about a crostata is copious amounts of butter in the crust.

As it turned out the crostata I made this past weekend with orange and chocolate ended up being completely different. First of all she had worked the chocolate part into the crust itself. Did she use chocolate cookies in her crust? Nuts too? I’m pretty sure it also had some coffee in there as well. It was very good, and I’m going to have a go at her version soon, but I had more important things to think about.

What I had to figure out was how I was going to use the incredible jar of organic olive oil based chocolate spread from the farmer’s market.

This little jar of deep dark chocolate presented a big problem for me. I knew that once I opened it, I would be very likely to eat the entire jar myself with a spoon if I didn’t figure out a way to share it via a crostata recipe. Because that’s what happens with jars of nut and/or chocolate spreads around our house. They get eaten. With a spoon. By me. 

The solution I came up with, while inspired by the original chocolate/orange vegan beach crostata, was a 100% more decadent. I used my trusty butter-filled crostata crust recipe, and baked it with a jar full of Colle del Gusto bitter orange marmalade. Once out of the oven, I only had to wait until it cooled completely to spread on the entire jar of their Cioccoliva Brut.

Since Il Colle del Gusto makes other nut spreads and jams I’m already thinking of other combos. Pistachio butter and apricot? White chocolate and raspberry? Because otherwise? It’s just me and a spoon. 

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orange + chocolate {crostata}

Prep 20 mins

Cook 30 mins

Total 50 mins

Author Elizabeth

Yield 8

Ingredients

• 1½ cup all purpose flour
• 7 tablespoons butter (125 grams) softened
• 2 egg yolks, room temp
• ½ cup sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 jar (about a cup) of bitter orange marmalade
• 1 jar (about a cup) of dark chocolate/hazelnut spread
• 1 10 inch diameter removable bottom tart pan.

Instructions

1. Line the tart pan with parchment paper.
2. Preheat oven to 180C/ 350F
3. Put flour in in big bowl, and make well in center. Add butter, yolks, sugar, and salt to well. Mix the wet ingredients with your fingers, then slowly start mixing in the flour. Just use your hand, and eventually the heel of your hand to mush it all together until it forms a ball. This only takes a few minutes.
4. Let the dough rest for ten minutes, then roll out into a rough circle on a floured surface. Don’t worry too much about getting it perfect, or even the same size as the pan. Just roll it out as best you can, then transfer it to the parchment lined pan. Using your fingers and heel of your hand, push out the dough to cover the bottom and come up the sides, patching up any breaks.
5. Empty out the the jar of orange marmalade onto the crust, spreading it evenly with a spoon.
6. Place on middle rack of oven and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes.
7. Let cool completely.
8. Using a spoon or butter knife, gently spread the chocolate spread over the jam.

Even though I go to the Farmer’s Market on Via San Teodoro almost every week, I have to admit that I had never tasted the Colle del Gusto products. It took my friend Rolando Beramendi to introduce me to the lovely couple behind these spreads while we were in Florence, visiting Taste. Rolando’s company, Manicaretti, imports three of their spreads and they are available through the following retailers: Zingerman’s and Di Bruno Brothers and online at  Market Hall Foods.