A truly easy bake, a walk-by treat (aka a bake that lives with a knife alongside, ready to carve off a chunk as you walk past) and a way of crostata-ing that I prefer over the classic rolled-tin, lattice-topped versions (I honestly wouldn’t mind a break from rolling tart shells). For this recipe, I gently amend my polenta genovesi cookie dough and add some almonds for a heartfelt homage to sbrisolona (an Italian crumble cookie). The dough is then grated, à la Gale Gand’s famous Hungarian shortbread recipe from the book and TV series Baking with Julia. With a good jam inside, this tart is impossible to keep out of hands.
Ingredients
40 g (8½ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
80 g (23/4 oz) fine polenta
50 g (13/4 oz) flaked almonds 70 g (2½ oz) demerara (or other coarse) sugar
2 g (1/16 oz/1/4 teaspoon) fine sea salt
2 g (1/16 oz/1/4 teaspoon) baking powder
170 g (6 oz) unsalted butter, cool and pliable
60 g (2 oz) egg yolks (from approx. 3 eggs)
finely grated zest of 1 lemon,
orange or mandarin cooking oil spray
300 g (10½ oz) jam
sea salt flakes
Method
Make the dough by mixing all the dry ingredients, then rub the butter in until you have a breadcrumby texture. Loosen the egg yolk with a fork and stir in the zest. Add to the bowl with the dry ingredients and butter, massaging to a stiff dough. Divide the dough into two equal portions of 360 g (121/2 oz) each, form each into a rough log and wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze for a minimum of 1 hour, or overnight.
When ready to assemble, preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F) and place a heavy baking tray in the oven to heat up too. Lightly spray a 24 cm (91/2 in) round × 4 cm (11/2 in) deep loose-bottomed tart tin OR 23 cm (9 in) s quare tin with cooking oil. Start grating the first log of dough on the coarse side of a grater onto the work surface, then pile into the tart tin. Break any end nuggets up between your fingers – no bloody knuckles please. Level out the grated dough pile, then start to press down firmly. Push the dough a little higher on the sides to form a shallow dish for the jam. Re-spray the sides with cooking oil. The slight shallow will hold the jam, preventing it from touching the sides and fusing to the tin during baking.
Scrape the jam onto the base dough and smooth, leaving a clear 1 cm (1/2 in) border so the jam stays hidden (a hidden filling is my preferred aesthetic, but this also prevents side stickage).
Grate the second dough log on the coarse side of a grater for flossy flakes. When the inside of the box grater is two-thirds full, lift the grater off and start a new pile so the flakes don’t get compacted. Pick up handfuls and, starting around the edges first, place gently and evenly on the top. Let it fall from your hands and remain fluffy. Even out the grated dough with light fingers, but don’t compress – it will settle when baking. Place on the preheated tray in the oven. Bake for 45–50 minutes until the top is toasted sandy brown. Cool for 30 minutes before unmoulding. Sprinkle a few salt flakes on top. Always perfect with ice cream.
Keeps Up to 3 days at room temperature in an air tight container.