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Tart and Sweet Rosewater and Saffron Honey Gooseberry and Currant Crostata

Gooseberry and Currant Crostata with Rosewater and Saffron Honey

Sweet and juicy berries come together so easily in this quick to prepare crostata or open faced tart.  The honey is scented with exotic flavours, and the crust is brushed with egg and topped with sugar and almonds.  In no time, all you need is a big scoop of ice cream!

Course Dessert
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Resting Time 2 hours
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 2 cups mixed berries (I used gooseberries, currants, saskatoon berries and blueberries) Use what you can find! If you have slightly more than 2 cups, that's fine too!!
  • 1/4 cup runny honey try to use a mild flavoured honey, like clover or wildflower
  • 1 1/2 tsp rosewater
  • 1 tsp saffron threads crushed
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch
  • 1 sheet of puff pastry thawed in the fridge
  • 1 egg for egg wash mixed with a little water
  • turbinado or raw sugar for finishing
  • 2-3 tbsp of sliced almonds

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
  2. Rinse and sort through the berries, removing any stems (snipping off the tops and tails of the gooseberries with a pair of scissors) and place all of them in a medium bowl.
  3. Place the honey in a small sauce pan and warm over medium heat to a gentle bubble.
  4. Add the rosewater and the saffron and stir until softened and fragrant. Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes.
  5. To the bowl of berries, add the honey, the lemon juice and the cornstarch or arrowroot starch and stir to combine well.
  6. Open the packaging of puff pastry and lay out (either in the parchment paper it came in, or if there is none, then onto a fresh piece of parchment paper. Roll out to a rough 10 inch (26cm) circle (don't worry too much about shape). In my case, the puff pastry is practically at this size to begin with, so I just place the entire sheet (sitting on the parchment) onto my baking sheet.
  7. Trim away the corners on a 45 degree angle, so that you won't have excess pastry in those spots when folding the pastry over the filling.
  8. Mound the berry filling onto the pastry, leaving a good 1 inch border. (the border can be slightly larger (1 1/4 inch, if you like)
  9. Gently fold the edges up and over the berry filling, pleating as you go around. Press gently to get the folds to stay.
  10. Brush the entire border with the egg wash. Sprinkle the pastry with turbinado sugar.
  11. Take the almond slices and sprinkle the edges with them, pressing them in very gently where needed.
  12. Place the baking sheet on the middle rack in the oven and bake until the juices are bubbling and the edges are golden brown. This should take between 25-35 minutes. But each oven is different.
  13. Remove the baking sheet to a cooling rack. Once cooled a bit, use the parchment to remove the crostata to the cooling rack itself.
  14. You will want a really good sharp serrated knife to cut through the almonds and pastry.
  15. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe Notes

Inspired by Blueberry Chamomile Galette by Half Baked Harvest