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Italian Crostata Recipes: Sweet and Simple Ideas | Easy Italian-American Dessert
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Mar 31, 2025
🍓 Welcome to Eat Every Slice! 🍓 In this episode, Zac and Chef Zoey dive into the heart of Italian-American baking with a classic Italian Crostata recipe. 🇮🇹 From a buttery shortcrust (pasta frolla) to juicy, sweet fillings like apricot jam and fresh berries—this is a slice of Italy you can enjoy at home! You’ll learn the history of this beloved dessert, easy baking tips, and fun ways to personalize your crostata for any occasion. Perfect for beginners and pastry pros alike! 🍰 📝 Ingredients You’ll Need: 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (180g) ½ cup granulated sugar (100g) ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed (113g) 1 large egg ¼ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 ½ cups of your favorite jam or fresh fruit preserves Zest of 1 lemon (optional) 🍋 👉 Discover the full recipe here: 🔗 Read the blog post 📲 Follow us for more delicious bites:
View Video Transcript
0:00
all right let's Dive Right In to the
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Italian crust dat we'll be looking at A
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Slice of Italy mastering the Italian
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crust dat from the fork and Fry podcast
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Zack and Chev zoy our guides today
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really make this episode fun sounds
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delicious already what are we looking at
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exactly well Zach describes the crusta
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as having this like rustic charm um it's
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been around for centuries maybe even
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Medieval Times wow centuries and there
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might even be a connection to royalty
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right I think I remember something about
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Queen Joanna II of being a fan exactly
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it's pretty cool that a dessert fit for
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a queen is now something anyone can bake
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at home absolutely it's definitely
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approachable especially with a simple
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base like pasta frola right that buttery
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short crust pastry pasta frola It's a
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classic in Italian baking and from there
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Zach and Zoe show how you can get
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creative with the filling it's really
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all about the versatility right Jam
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fresh fruit
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custard possibilities seem endless for
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sure you can really adapt it to any
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taste that's what makes it so appealing
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I think whether you're a seasoned Baker
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or just starting out totally and Zoe's
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recipe is surprisingly simple she starts
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with a basic grocery list flour sugar
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cold butter very important detail there
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cold butter got it what else an egg a
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pinch of salt and some vanilla extract
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basic stuff all right I can already
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picture myself sneaking a taste of that
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dough uhhuh me too but Zoe really
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emphasizes that chilling the dough is
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super important I know I know patience
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is key but tell me what's so crucial
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about chilling the dough besides you
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know keeping us from eating it all well
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think of it this way when the butter is
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cold it creates little pockets within
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the dough and as the crostata bakes
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those Pockets melt creating Steam and
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that wonderful flaky texture ah so
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that's the secret to that melting your
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mouth experience science ad8
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deliciousness precisely but if the
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butter is warm you lose that effect it
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just Blends into the dough and you end
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up with a denser crust not ideal gotcha
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so you mix everything up cut that cold
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butter into the flour until it's crumbly
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then chill for at least an hour that's
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right and then comes the fun part
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rolling out the dough fitting it into
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the tart pan adding the filling and
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creating that beautiful lattice top with
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strips of dough it's almost like weaving
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exactly and speaking of the lattice did
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you know it might even have a symbolic
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meaning oh really do while some food
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historians believe the lattice
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represents the woven Robes of nuns
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connected the crusta back to religious
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holidays wow that's fascinating I never
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thought about it that way it really adds
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another layer to the whole experience so
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after all that the Masterpiece goes into
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the oven what temperature and for how
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long according to Zoe she recommends
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350° fight for about 30 to 35 minutes
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you want that crust golden brown and the
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filling bubbly I can practically smell
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it now but even with a seemingly simple
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recipe like this there are always tips
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and tricks to elevate things right oh
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absolutely and LU Zoe shares some of her
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expert advice do you want to hear what a
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home Bakers often Overlook definitely
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let's learn from the best what does she
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say first things first she really really
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stresses keeping the butter cold I mean
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like throughout the entire process we
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already talked about the flakiness but
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she also mentioned it helps prevent the
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dough from becoming tough makes sense so
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if the butter gets too soft the dough
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could be uh overworked exactly
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overworking the dough is a no no and
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another thing she reminds us to chill
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the dough after it's shaped just before
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it goes into the oven ah so that's how
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you prevent the dreaded Soggy Bottom
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Soggy Bottom oh yeah nobody wants that
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and here's a good one if you're using
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let's say a juicy filling like fresh
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berries she suggests a little sprinkle
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of flour or corn starch on the bottom
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crust before the filling like right on
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the crust yep right on the crust it
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creates like a barrier soaks up any
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excess moisture and keeps that crust
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nice and Crisp that's a great idea Sagi
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bottoms have definitely sabotaged me in
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the past any other Pro tips for from
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Chef Zoe let's see oh for that perfect
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golden Sheen she loves using an egg wash
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just a simple mix of an egg and a splash
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of water brushed over the lattice top
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before baking so it's both for the look
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and the flavor yeah it gives that
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professional finish and adds a little
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something extra to The Taste nice so
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we've got the history the versatility
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the stepbystep and even some expert
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advice but you know Zach always the
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Curious foodie he takes it as a step
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further oh yeah what did he ask this
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time he asked Zoe about well
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americanizing the crada yeah what ways
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could we like put an American spin on
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this Italian classic interesting and
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what did she suggest her suggestions
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were actually pretty interesting she
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mentioned a peanut butter and jelly
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crusta you know playing on that classic
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American combo oh that sounds fun like a
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Twist on a PB&J sandwich right and for
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the chocolate lovers out there she
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recommended a Nutella and banana version
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Nutella and banana that's a winning
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combination for sure definitely and she
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even had a Fourth of July idea a red
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white and blue version with peaches and
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blueberries wow that's so creative using
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fruit to get that patriotic theme going
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yeah pretty cool but I have to say
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pardon me wonders if these variations
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are you know straying a bit too far from
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the traditional Italian crusta I see
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what you mean it's great to experiment
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but there's also something to be said
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for keeping the Integrity of the classic
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recipe exactly so is a peanut butter in
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belly cross still a cross daada or is it
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something else entirely that's a good
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question it really makes you think about
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where the line is between tradition and
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innovation in food food for thought
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literally yeah so we've talked a lot
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about the technical aspects of making
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cross a but what really stands out to
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you about this dessert is it the
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Simplicity the versatility or maybe that
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connection to history and culture you
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know for me it's how the cross data
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embodies Italian Hospitality it's all
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about sharing bring bringing people
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together around the table you know
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enjoying those Simple Pleasures I love
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that it's not just about the food itself
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it's about the experience absolutely
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it's a connection to something deeper
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and you know Zach and Zoe really
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highlight this throughout the episode
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the beauty of the crostada is in its
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imperfection all right it doesn't have
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to be perfectly symmetrical perfectly
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decorated it's that rustic charm that
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makes it special it's a good reminder
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for all of us really let go of that need
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for Perfection and just enjoy the
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process of making something delicious
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even if it's a little rough around the
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edges absolutely speaking of delicious
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Zach and Zoe from fork and try have
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definitely inspired me to try my hand at
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this crusta me too I can already picture
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that golden brown crust coming out of
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the oven oh yeah and slicing into it the
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filling just oozing out all right I'm
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officially craving a slice but before we
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get lost in our Cross of fancies let's
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recap what we've learned from this deep
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dive so we started with the history it
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could date back to Medieval Times maybe
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even enjoyed by royalty but despite its
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long history it's still a pretty simple
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dessert anyone can make it at home and
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we learned that the key to that perfect
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crust is all in the technique cold
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butter chilled dough and don't forget
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those expert tips from Chef Zoe the
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cornstarch barrier for juicy fillings
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the egg wash for that beautiful Sheen
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all great stuff but beyond the technical
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side we also explored what the cross
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Auto represents Italian Hospitality
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embracing imperfection the Joy of
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sharing homemade food with loved ones
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it's a dessert that feeds the soul as
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much as the stomach beautifully said and
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as Zach and Zoe would say don't forget
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to share your cross creations with us
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right we'd love to see what you all come
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up with but before you go off on your
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baking Adventures we have one final
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thought to leave you with just imagine
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okay so picture this you've just taken
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this beautiful golden brown crusta out
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of the oven uhhuh and that amazing smell
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of like buttery past ran fruit is just
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filling the kitchen yeah you can
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practically taste that sweet tart
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filling oh I know right but instead of
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you know putting it on a fancy platter
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mhm you grab some parchment paper wrap
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it up carefully and head outside ooh
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where are we going with this cristata
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well imagine this a picnic blanket
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spread out under some trees with the
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sunlight filtering through the leaves
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okay that sounds pretty perfect there's
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a nice breeze maybe you can hear some
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birds singing and we're sharing this
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warm rustic crostada with well people we
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love ex L friends family everyone
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gathered together enjoying life's Simple
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Pleasures lots of laughter Stories being
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shared memories being made that's what
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the costata is all about it's not about
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being fancy or perfect right not at all
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it's about connection warmth yeah
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sharing something homemade and heartfelt
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so to all our listeners out there we
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encourage you go bake your own cross
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don't worry about making it perfect just
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Savor those flavors creat your own
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memories with this classic Italian
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dessert happy B everyone and that's it
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for our deep dive into the world of the
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crusta thanks for joining us
#Desserts
#Jams
# Jellies & Preserves