Strawberry Crostata with Mascarpone Cream

I had never heard about or seen a Crostata before until the other day when I came across this. Aren’t they beautiful?! Right when I saw it I knew that I needed to make one and bring it to Fiesta Friday! Hmmmm….how to make it low-glycemic?!  So, off on the adventure I went….

It was even harder than I thought it would be, and my kitchen is a disaster. There is cream all over the counter, all over what used to be clean pans, all over my basket full of baking stuff, and I too was covered in this cream. Only me! 🙂

That said, I love how the strawberries came out, cooked in the sweet sauce I made from pureed strawberries, honey, and tapioca starch.

A fellow foody blogger, Chad, introduced me to mascarpone, and I am so glad he did! This mascarpone cream is the perfect finish to this Crostata! Thanks Chad!

However, I am not totally happy with the crust….it crumbled way too much and seemed too thick. I didn’t like the consistency. So, I am not sure if I shouldn’t use the coconut flour again, should have added more liquid, etc. My gluten free pals out there, what do you think? I made pie crust with coconut flour the other day (with much less liquid) and it worked great…the crostata must be a different story entirely. I would like to try almond flour next time and see if that works better.

Even if it is not the perfect crust, I do hope all of you party goers at Fiesta Friday enjoy this gorgeous crostata! It seemed like the perfect springtime dessert!

And don’t miss out on dipping the extra strawberries in the cream! Absolutely delicious!

I am excited to see that Jhuls and Selma are co-hosting again! It is guaranteed to be lots of fun with these lovely ladies! And Alex is joining them for this fun adventure! Really thankful and excited to have you ladies as our hosts this week!

And as always, thanks to Angie who created this super fun idea which brings so much fun, laughter, and joy to all of us! Thanks Angie for hosting us every week!

Let the Party begin! 😀

• Servings: 6-8
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*Created by Lori at Creating Beauty in the Kitchen

For Pastry:

• 1 1/2 cups coconut flour
• 5 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 2 eggs
• Thinly sliced Almonds

For Filling:

• 1 pound of strawberries (16 oz) + about 6 strawberries for sauce
• 4 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp tapioca starch

For Mascarpone Cream:

• 1/3 cup mascarpone
• 1/2-1 cup coconut milk (thick stuff only)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp honey

For Pastry:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine all the dry ingredients together in one mixing bowl, and the wet ones in another.
• Then, combine all the ingredients with one bowl.
• Work all of the dough into a ball and then flatten it onto a parchment paper.
• Using a rolling pin, roll it out until it is large enough to put the fruit in the middle, and wrap the edges around the fruit.
• Once you have added all the filling in and wrapped the edges and put the almonds on (see below), move the crostata (keeping it on the parchment paper) onto a baking pan and then let bake in the oven for about an hour.

For Filling:

• Slice up the strawberries and put them in the middle of the dough.
• Wrap the extra dough up around the edges of the strawberry pile.
• Use some coconut milk to brush the outsides of the crust and then put sliced almonds on it.
• Use a food processor to puree about 6 large strawberries.
• In a saucepan, combine the puree, the tapioca starch, and the honey. Heat on medium heat, stirring until it thickens.
• Carefully pour over the strawberries and let the sauce go down into the fruit below.

For Mascarpone Cream:

• Combine all the ingredients and whip together with a hand held mixer.
• Place in refrigerator to cool.