Happy International Women’s Day - especially to this special one! ❤️ Let's make Crostata al Limone di Mamma Maria - Mamma Maria’s Lemon Tart! 🍋 The combination here of the Italian lemons with my mamma’s beautiful shortcrust pastry, makes this one of my favourite recipes to enjoy all year round. It’s a great sweet treat to have in the morning with your cup of coffee but it also makes a delicious dessert. Of course it can be served with any other jam but the sweetness and the acidity from the lemon makes this crostata really stand out! Plus, this jam was made fresh by my Zia. Once you have your jam ready, it's very easy to make the crostata by following a few simple steps. Once you taste it, I promise it will be one of your favourite recipes too! Makes: 1 large crostata Serves 8 Ingredients 300g 00 flour (plus extra for dusting) 150g granulated sugar 3 eggs (1 whole and 2 yolks) 150g butter, cut into cubes Zest of ½ a lemon 400g lemon jam or any other jam you wish to use instead Method For the lemon shortcrust pastry, place the cold butter along with the sugar in a large bowl. With a wooden spoon mix everything well until the butter and sugar are fully combined. Add the grated lemon zest followed by the eggs and a pinch of salt and mix it all in again. Now add the sieved flour and start mixing it all with the wooden spoon. Finish mixing with your hands, kneading it quickly for 3-4 minutes until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous mixture: your shortcrust pastry is ready. Form a loaf, cover it in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for 30-40 minutes. Now with a rolling pin and a sprinkle of flour, roll it out between two large sheets of baking paper forming a round shape of about 33cm diameter. Keeping the parchment paper at the bottom, transfer the roll out pastry and place it in the round baking tin (33cm large and 3cm tall), making sure it fits well to the base and edges. With a small knife with a thin blade or with a pasta cutter, remove the excess bits of dough. Knead them again, cover and rest them in the fridge. With a fork, poke the base without reaching all the way to the bottom. Transfer the lemon jam inside and level well with a spoon to make it even. Now using the same method as before with the parchment paper, re-roll the cooled down leftover pastry about 1-2 mm thick. Using a pasta cutter or a knife cut, make 0.5 cm wide strips. Place the strips onto the jam mixture, crossing them to make the lattice pattern. Bake the tart in a pre-heated static oven at 170° for approximately 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is nice and golden. Leave the tart to cool down in its tin for at least 10-15 minutes. This will keep the tart solid and firm so that it doesn’t fall apart when removing from the tin and when serving later on. #internationalwomensday #happywomensday #womensday #lemontart #lemon #tart #crostata #mum #sharingiscaring #baking #jam #bakingtime #familytime #italiancooking #iwd #iwd2024 - @our_cookingjourney