The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.
On the same day I checked DB’S forum for this month challenge, we went to our cottage. And at same moment we arrived and I saw our persimmon tree, I knew from what will be my crostata.
Do not ever try to eat persimmon unripe. It’s a horrible experiance and you will probably never have a wish to put this thing in your mouth again. On the other hand meat of ripe persimmon has a marmelade texture, and it’s very sweet. So sweet that when you putting it in cakes or preserving it you almost don’t need sugar.

persimmon – kaki ili japanska jabuka
This month DB’s task was to create a Crostata, using mandatory one of the two offered recipes for pasta frolla, while the filling was left to the author’s imagination.
We were allowed to make crostata with any kind of fruit preserves or pastry cream by our choice.

persimon filling – nadjev od kakija
So what I did was the following.
Version 1 of pasta frola: (version 2 is pretty much same, but includes adding different flour to the dough, almond, coconut etc. what I do sometimes, but this time I decided that the persimmon and lemon taste doesn’t need to be mixed with some other taste. )
- 235 g of all purpose flour
- 90 g of powdered sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 115 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- grated zest of half of a lemon ( or vanilla sugar)
- 1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl

pita s nadjevom od kakija
The recipe includes instructions for making pasta frolla with food procesor or by the hand, what I did.
Making pasta frolla by hand:
- Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.
Rub or cut the butter into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice. - Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten eggs into it (reserve about a teaspoon of the egg mixture for glazing purposes later on – place in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use).
- Add the lemon zest to your flour/butter/egg mixture.
- Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, and then use your fingertips.
- Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.
- Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. You can refrigerate the dough overnight.
I use that kind of dough very often, so usually when I need it for pies, I don’t put it to chill in a disk shape.
I put immediately after kneading the dough into the mold, I shaped it with fingers, pricked the bottom of dough with fork on several places and then I left it to chill in the refrigerator. I also left some dough for decoration.

persimon crostata
In the meantime I made a persimmon filling:
To avoid that “deaf” sweetness in persimmon filling I add lemon and lime zest and juice. A lot of it. The ginger would be good to, and I did it last year, but my daughter doesn’t like the ginger, so I skip it this time.
Ingredients:
- 1,5 kg of persimmon
- 100 g of sugar
- zest of 5-6 lemon and lime
- pinch of salt
- juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime
- 25 ml of rum
Directions:
- Peel the persimmon and remove meat.
- You can further chop it in food processor.
- Then put it on a low heat to all the possible excess liquid has evaporated, add sugar and continue to cook stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves completely.
- Now add the juice and zest of lemon and lime, and cook, stirring until all thickens.
- Finally stir in the rum and leave to cool.

persimon crostata – pita s nadjevom od kakija
The further Simona’s instructions for assembling and baking the crostata di marmellata said:
-
-
Heat the oven to 190ºC.
-
Take the pasta frolla out of the fridge, unwrap it and cut away ¼ of the dough. Reserve this dough to make the lattice top of the crostata. Refrigerate this dough while you work on the tart base.
-
To help roll the crostata dough, keep the dough on top of the plastic wrap that you had it wrapped in. This can help rolling the dough and can also help when transferring the dough to your pan. You can also use parchment paper for this. However, you can also roll the dough directly on a work surface if you prefer.
-
Lightly dust the top of the dough and your work surface (if you’re rolling directly on a work surface) with flour. Keep some flour handy to dust the dough as you go along.
-
If the dough is very firm, start by pressing the dough with the rolling pin from the middle to each end, moving the rolling pin by a pin’s width each time; turn the dough 180 degrees and repeat; when it softens, start rolling.
-
Roll the dough into a circle about 3 mm thick.
-
If you used the plastic wrap or parchment paper as rolling surface, flip dough over the pan, centering it, and delicately press it all around so the corners are well covered. Peel away the plastic wrap.
-
Trim the excess dough hanging over the edges of the pan. Press the remaining dough around the border into the sides of the pan making sure the border is an even thickness all the way around.
-
Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork in several places.
-
Take out of the fridge the reserved pasta frolla you had cut away earlier. Roll it with your pin and cut into strips or use cookie cutters to make small shapes (this is not traditional, but it looks cute); or roll with your hands into ropes.
-
Spread the jam or fruit preserves evenly over the bottom of the crostata.
-
Use the prepared strips or rolls of dough to make a lattice over the surface, or decorate with the cut shapes. (Note: You can use dough scraps to make cookies: see the Additional Information section for some pointers)
- Brush the border and strips of dough with the reserved beaten eggs. You can add a drop or two of water to the beaten eggs if you don’t have enough liquid.
- Put the tart in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, check the tart and continue baking until the tart is of a nice golden hue. (Note: Every oven is different. In my oven it took 34 minutes to bake the tart until golden.)
- When done, remove the tart from the oven and let cool. If you have used a tart pan with a removable bottom, then release the tart base from the fluted tart ring.
- Make sure the tart is completely coll before slicing and serving.
-

pita s nadjevom od kakija
Cause I already did the steps form 1-11 on my way, I have covered the dought with persimmon filling and made the heart decorations from the saved dought.

persimmon crostata
Then I brushed the dough hearts with reserved egg mixture and baked crostata on 190° C for about 30-35 minutes.

pita s nadjevom od kakija
- 235 g brašna
- 90 g šećera u prahu
- malo soli
- 115 g hladno maslaca, narezanog na kockice
- ribana korica pola limuna
- vanili šećer
- 1 veliko jaje i 1 lagano istučen žumanjak
- 1,5 kg kakija (japanske jabuke)
- 100 g šećera
- korica 5-6 limuna i limeta
- malo soli
- sok 1 limuna i 1 limete
- 25 ml ruma
- Pomiješajte brašno, šećer i sol.
- Dodajte na kockice narezan maslac, pa ga prstima umiješajte u mješavinu brašna da dobijete tijesto slično tarani.
- U sredini napravite udubinu u koju dodajte lagano istučeno jaje, dodajte koricu limuna i po želji vanilin šećer, pa zamijesite tijesto.
- Odvojite trećinu tijesta za ukrase.
- Tijesto razvaljajte u krug promjera 23 cm i utisnite ga u kalup za pitu, nabockajte vilicom i ostavite u hladnjaku najmanje pola sata.
- Ako tijesto nemate namjeru iskoristiti odmah, formirajte kuglu ili disk, zamotajte ga u najlon i ostavite da se ohladi.
- Može stajati u hladnjaku do upotrebe i do dva dana.
- Ogulite kakije i odstanite meso.
- Možete ga dodatno usitniti u multipraktiku.
- Stavite na umjerenu vatru, da isprai što više tekućine, dodajte šećer i nastavite miješati da se sav šećer istopi.
- Dodajte sol, sok i koricu limuna i limeta i miješajte da se nadjev zgusne.
- Na kraju umiješajte rum i ostavite da se nadjev ohladi.
- Pećenicu ugrijte na 190ºC.
- Od tijesta ostavljenog za ukrase izrežite srca, trake ili ukrase po želji.
- Kalup s tijestom napunite nadjevom, poslažite ukrase i sve lagano pređite četkom namočenom u lagano istučeni žumanjak.
- Pecite 30-35 minuta na 190°C.
- Pečenu pitu izvadite iz kalupa i ostavite da se ohladi na sobnu temperaturu, a zatim i u hladnjaku.
- Poslužite dobro rashlađenu.
Ooo, koje stablo!! Moze se cijelo selo najesti
@Zondra, Sandra hvala vam! 🙂
@Rosa thank you! 🙂
Oh Wow..ovo izgleda fantasticno! Yummy!:)
Cette crostata est splendide et doit être divinement bonne! J’adore cette garniture. J’adorerais avoir un arbre pareil dans mon jardin…
Bises et bon lundi,
Rosa
Ovo je savršenstvo draga Tadeja!!!
Sve pohvale!!!
Thank you all! 🙂
What a lovely presentation! these little hearts garland is sooo cute!!
The persimon filling sounds delicious 🙂
For the first time I see persimmon tree, and the first time I enjoy the sight of a persimmon crostata. Something inventive and worthwhile baking 🙂 Great choice and filling, love it!
Wow well done on the challenge , the crostata and the filling is awesome. Beautiful pictures.
Pavithra
http://www.dishesfrommykitchen.com
Beautiful crostata, and beautiful pictures, it came out so yummy. Nice job!
Those hearts of pasta frolla are so cute! I love your idea of persimmon filling! Great job!
crostata je predivna a ideja sa kakijem odlična ! Drvo sa plodovima zbilja plijeni pogled, jako lijepo izgleda i moram priznati da toliko plodova kakija na jednom mjestu nisam baš vidjela :). Ja sam jučer kupila par komada i neće biti dovoljno za pokušaj ovakve crostate. Ti si je zbilja majstorski napravila. Bravo za izvedbu, bravo za sve !
Beautiful Crostata! And what a gorgeous persimmon tree. Nice job on the challenge!
bas volim kad mi ne stane komentar 🙁 htjedoh reci da s kakijem nisam bas na ti, ali ovo tvoje tako dobro izgleda da se ne bi bunila niti sekundu. fotke su ti krasne, tako osvjezavajuce! odlicno!
Hvala svima, thank you all! 🙂
@Dunja, u pravu si, stablo ima jedno 25 godina i naš kaki je slovenac :), donešen je mislim iz Kamnja. Imamo još jedno mlađe i manje.
Ne miriši nešto maestralno, ali je rodan, jedini problem je što kasno zrije, a meni se u to vrijeme više ne da u prirodu da budem iskrena. 🙂 Može ga se pobrati ranije, zrije on i stajanjem, ali moraš ga imati gdje držati jer skuplja mušice :(.
Obično svake godine napravim po jedan novi kolač s njim, mi baš nismo od marmelada, tako da nažalost veći dio propadne, ako ne uspijemo pobrati i pokloniti. 🙁
Kaki se definitivno izvrsno slaže sa citrusima, đumbirom i vanilijom.
Krasno izgleda, ja nisam ljubitelj kaki-a, al na tvojim slikama izgleda predobro!! Dekoracija fenomenalna – savršena!
njamii!!! odličan recept, još bolje sličice, još bolja žličica s fijokom. 🙂
kod vas se samo fine stvari rade. ja obožavam kakije. čak ga i naš mali ivan jede ko jabuku..
Predobar recept i ideja..
zasigurno ću zapisati, jer rijetki
su recepti sa ovim voćem!
PUSA
Beautiful! I love persimmons. What a great idea for the filling.
Wow, wow, wow! Your crostata looks incredible… I absolutely love persimmons and cannot wait to try your filling. What a great idea — I don’t think I ever had them cooked.
What a beautiful persimmon tree! I love persimmons: they have a heavenly flavor and texture. Great idea to use them to make a filling. And your decoration is very elegant.
Prekrasno si je napravila i ukrasila ovim srcima. Volim kaki zbog njegove slatkoće i mislim da je odličan izbor za nadjev.
Olakšala si mi priznanjem da i ti stavljaš tijesto u kalup čim ga izradiš. Ja sam također došla do zaključka da na taj način neću imati problema sa lomljenjem i pucanjem tijesta.
Čestitke za sve, stvarno je vrhunsko.
This looks wonderful! I have only tried persimmon a couple of times, and one of those times it was under-ripe. I must give it another chance!
Ajme drveta, pa to je čudo, vidjela sam ih na stotine, ali sad vidim, znam da nisam vidjela ništa. Pa koliko je staro? 20, 30… Ja sam ga tek lani posadila, izgleda da mu ne odgovara sastav zemlje, stoji i ne miče se s mjesta.
Jako mi se sviđa ovo punjenje, dobro si ga oživjela, jer sama voćkica nije baš intenzivnog mirisa, naravno kako koja. Lani sam bila u Sloveniji na festivalu kakija, imali su izloženo preko 30 vrsta, neki su stvarno mirišljavi,
čista vanilija
Majko mila moja:))) Kako ovo prekrasno izgledda?! Nikada u životu nisam probala to voće, nekako me je odbijalo tom svojm teksturom, ali kada ovo vidim … probala bih!
Čarobnice!
Thank you all! 🙂
@Dajana, i ja sam se uspjela zeznuti, godine su trebale da pokušam ponovo i vjerojatno ne bih, da mi ne raste u voćnjaku u tim količinama! 😉
@Andrea, pusti, jučer popodne mi je Timna takvu stvar priredila da sam ja u jednom trenutku mislila da će mi od straha i neizvjesnosti srce stati. Kad sam konačno došla k sebi krenula sam pisati post na engleskom. Mo’š misliti pisanja i engleskog. Onda sam u jednom trenutku još i krivo kliknula i onda sam se konačno pobrala spavati jer mi je bilo jasno da od toga ništa.
Moram priznati da sam okusom kaki krostate i ja bila ugodno iznenađena. Limunove i limetine korice plus rum stvarno daju odličan tek!
I love persimmon but never thought it could make such a wonderful tart filling! Great take on the challenge! Love the decoration!
magnifique présentation, c’est superbe 🙂
Ja sam od onih koji su na teži način naučili učinak nedovoljno zrelog kakija na usta 🙁 Otad ga više nisam htjela ni pogledati.
Ali kako je ova crostata divna, zaboravila bih za čas prošlost.
Al` si je udesila, svaka cast – odlicno izgleda!
Bas sad razmisljam kako ja ustvari nikada nisam iskoristila kaki za neki desert, a tako dobro zvuci ovaj fil sa rumom 🙂
Wow… love the colour of the tart… I adore persimmons:)
A evo i ovog posta konačno. Cijelo jutro klikam po njemu u svom readeru i ništa. 🙂
Jako mi se sviđa ovaj nadjev od kakija, obožavam to voće. Predivna ti je i kroštata i fotke i mislim da ću ovaj nadjev isprobati i za neke druge stvari. 🙂
Inače kaki smo baš često jeli kad sam bila mala, a onda ga dugo, dugo vremene nisam nigdje vidjela. Sad ga posvuda ima za kupiti pa sam i ja počela smišljati razne deserte s njim. Jedan takav čeka objavu. 🙂