This impressive strawberry basil crostata is an elegant and simple dessert that’s truly beautiful to serve. The dough comes together in minutes and is filled with lemon macerated strawberries, basil, and a layer of sweet mascarpone. This is a perfect dessert for any Spring celebration.
A crostata is one of my favorite things to make and share.
A little truth about me—I’ve never loved rolling dough. It likely goes back to baking cookies with my grandmother. Every holiday, she would make sand tarts with my mother and me, rolling the dough so thin you could see the grain of the cutting board through it. And we made a lot. By the third or fourth round, she’d already be sweating from the effort, while I was happily assigned to decorating—which, to me, felt like the far more desirable job.
I think that’s where my lifelong aversion to rolling dough began.
So traditional pie has never really been my thing. But a crostata is different. The dough comes together easily in the food processor (no hand-cutting butter, which already feels like a win), and once it’s rolled out, there’s no pressure to make it perfect. It’s completely free-form—whatever happens, happens.
You simply fill it with fruit—in this case, a soft layer of mascarpone topped with strawberries and basil—fold up the edges, and bake. The result is a dessert that feels rustic but still elegant, with a look that’s entirely its own. It’s the kind of dish that feels just as natural at a casual gathering as it does at something more thoughtful.
For this Perfect Pairings series, I’m focusing on strawberry and basil, a combination that creates a subtle balance of sweet and savory. In this crostata, it becomes something that works beautifully as either a spring dessert or an unexpected appetizer.
Serve it simply as it is for a more casual start to a meal, or dress it up for dessert with a spoonful of basil whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.
Strawberry Basil Crostata
Ingredients
Method
- For the pastry dough: Use a food processor to combine flour and salt, pulsing to combine. Add in the butter pieces. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Add the mascarpone, lemon zest, and lemon juice and pulse. Add the ice water and run the machine until the mixture is moist but does not form a ball. Turn the dough out on a sheet of plastic wrap and use the plastic wrap to help form a disk. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- For the strawberry filling: in a medium bowl combine strawberries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt. Gently toss to coat and let sit 10-15 minutes, until the strawberries begin to release their juices. Add in the sliced basil.
- For the mascarpone, use a small bowl to stir together the mascarpone, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt until smooth.
- Roll out the pastry dough to about 1/2" thick in a circular shape on a sheet of parchment paper. Transfer the dough and parchment paper to a baking sheet.
- Spread the mascarpone mixture on the pastry dough, leaving a 1 1/2"-2" border. Spoon the strawberry mixture over the mascarpone. Fold in the edges of the dough over the fruit. Brush the edges with beaten egg. Sprinkle with raw sugar.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes until crust is a deep golden brown. Let cool for 20-30 minutes to allow the fruit to set. Garnish with more basil or a drizzle of honey.
Hosting Notes
- What’s beautiful about a crostata is that it’s freeform. Don’t strive for perfection–allow it to be what it becomes.
- Make this in advance and keep at room temperature until you’re ready to serve for extra ease.
- I like to add an egg wash and a sprinkle of turbinado sugar on the outside for presentation of the crostata.
- The basil here is subtle–we’re going for a wink and a nod, not an entire garden in the dessert.
- Serve the crostata on a cutting board directly at the table for a rustic look. For a more refined look, cut slices and serve with basil whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
- A drizzle of honey or balsamic syrup would be a nice a way to finish this as well.
The Perfect Spring Guest
I designed this Strawberry Basil Crostata as a part of my Perfect Pairings series. That series focuses on seasonal pairings that would be perfect to sub in to any of my Spring menus here on the blog. It keeps things fresh and unique, allowing you the reader to build your own optimal party menu. Try it in one of these menus:
- I love this one as a finisher to my Modern Spring Dinner Party Menu, which features the silkiest green pasta and asparagus flatbread for the season. A rustic crostata is the perfect modern way to end the evening.
- Add it to my Spring Tea Party Menu, which modernizes a classic tea party. The crostata would be lovely sliced in small wedges and shared.
- A crostata would be wonderful way to end my Bright Early Spring Dinner Menu, which features mustard roast salmon and smashed potatoes. I’m definitely doing vanilla ice cream with that one.
- This could easily be served for brunch alongside my Brunch for the First Signs of Spring. The beautiful color would be so gorgeous beside the orange ricotta muffins on that menu.
- I like to add this crostata to my Casual Dinner Party Menu which features make ahead friendly food. The crostata can be made in advance as well so it fits right in.
