If you find yourself with a glut of blackberries from your garden or a great deal at the market, this crostata recipe is a fantastic and frugal way to make the most of your bounty. It not only creates a large, impressive dessert but also leaves you with extra homemade jam for your pantry.
The recipe calls for a substantial 600g of blackberries, making it an excellent way to use up a large quantity of fruit before it goes past its best. Turning fresh fruit into jam is a time-honored preservation method, and this recipe guides you through it simply and effectively.
The most frugal aspect of this recipe is its smart design. It intentionally produces more jam than is needed for the single tart. While the crostata uses about 300g of jam, the recipe yields closer to 500-600g. This means that with one cooking session, you get a beautiful dessert for today and a valuable jar of artisanal jam for the future.
This “bonus” jam can be enjoyed for weeks to come on toast, scones, or yogurt, saving you money on store-bought preserves. The other ingredients for the tart—flour, sugar, butter, and eggs—are relatively inexpensive pantry staples, making the overall dessert very cost-effective, especially when the fruit is homegrown or foraged.
This blackberry and bay crostata is a perfect example of frugal, resourceful baking. It’s a delicious and elegant way to preserve a seasonal harvest, minimize waste, and get two fantastic products from one simple process.