Pasta Frolla

Pasta frolla is sweet pastry dough. It forms the base of just about every Italian dessert tart, from crostata alla marmellata to fancy custard, chocolate, or cream filled tarts. Pasta frolla is typically made with flour, butter, sugar, and eggs; it is a tender, silky dough that rolls out beautifully when properly chilled but that can be challenging to handle because it warms up quickly. Luckily, if it tears, it is easy to patch back together.

There are many variations to this recipe; some use whole eggs, others just yolks; some substitute lard for some of the butter. The dough is typically flavored with fresh lemon or orange zest, or a little of both. Omitting the citrus and adding cocoa turns it into chocolate pasta frolla. You can also substitute whole wheat or another flour for some of the all-purpose flour. A pinch of baking powder added to the dough makes its texture less like shortbread (crispy) and a little more cake-like (tender) when baked.

My version here calls for powdered sugar in place of granulated sugar, as it creates a super silky pastry that bakes up beautifully; it’s tender, but still sturdy enough to hold a filling without becoming soggy.

This recipe makes enough for one 9- or 10-inch lattice-top crostata, or two crostata shells.

INGREDIENTS
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Finely grated zest of 1 organic lemon
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large whole egg
2 large egg yolks

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Put the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse briefly to combine. Distribute the butter around the bowl and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Add the whole egg and egg yolks and process until the mixture just begins to clump together in the work bowl.

2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and briefly knead it together. Without overworking it, shape the dough into a disk, patting rather than kneading it. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until well chilled.

3. Follow the instructions in individual recipes for rolling out, cutting lattice strips, and baking.