Pasta frola, how to make the traditional quince jelly easy

The pasta frola is a sweet tart typical and traditional gastronomy of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. It’s really easy to prepare. It consists of a dough base with edges whose filling is usually quince jelly, sweet potato or even dulce de leche; it is covered with a lattice of strips with the same dough as the base and is baked to later be eaten temperate or cold, either dessert or as an accompaniment to mate pm. Its popularity is such that it even has its own international day, on July 18.

It is said that this cake is of Italian origin since by the 6th century its preparation with the mass of neutral flavor was found in writing and in detail. It is said that it was not until after the 10th century that cane sugar was added to it. From the frola pasta, frolla in Italian, came the crostata, which starts from the same base and with the same latticework but whose filling is made with fresh fruit, pastry cream or ricotta cheese.

Do not miss out on trying it because the texture and flavor of this cake, as delicate as it is tasty, will not leave you indifferent.

recipe information

• • Preparation time: 20 minutes

• • cooking time: 30 minutes

• • total time: 1 hour and 35 minutes

• • rations:10

• • Category: desserts

• • type of cuisine: Argentina

• • calories per serving (kcal):352

Frola pasta ingredients for 10 people

For the mass:

• • 300 g of all-purpose wheat flour

• • 150 g of white sugar

• • 1 egg

• • 1 egg yolk

• • 1 tablespoon of vanilla essence

• • Zest of 1 lemon

• • 1 pinch of fine salt

• • 150 g cold butter

For the filling:

• • 400 g of quince jelly

• • 125 ml of hot water

Necessary utensils

• • 26 cm diameter cake pan

How to make pasta frola

The first thing we have to do is the base of the cake. To do this, we begin by making a volcano with 300 grams of previously sifted all-purpose wheat flour and add 150 g of white sugar, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 1 dessert spoon of vanilla essence, the zest of 1 lemon and 1 pinch of fine salt.

With clean hands, mix all the ingredients until they are integrated and obtain a dough with a sandy consistency.

We add 150 grams of cold butter cut into cubes to make it easier to integrate and, with our hands, we integrate it with the previous mixture until we obtain a smooth dough without lumps. We form a ball with the dough, wrap it in transparent film and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes to be able to stretch it without breaking it.

Meanwhile, we prepare the filling of the pasta frola. Mix 400 grams of quince jelly with 125 ml of hot water until you get a homogeneous quince cream.

Take the ball of dough out of the fridge, line a 26 cm diameter tart pan with baking paper and proceed to stretch 3/4 of the dough.

With a rolling pin, we shape the dough into a circular shape until it is half a centimeter thick. To stretch the dough without breaking it, we can put it between two sheets of baking paper.

Put the dough on the baking paper and put it in the mold, cut the dough that protrudes flush with the edge of the mold and fill the dough in the mold with the quince cream. Put the cake in the fridge to cool down.

We proceed to stretch the quarter of excess dough. This time we stretch it into a rectangle and then cut it lengthwise into 1 cm wide strips. We refrigerate together with the cake for at least 15 minutes and turn on the oven at 180 ℃ with heat up and down.

The cooling of the cake and the strips of dough is done since the dough has a high percentage of butter and with a little heat in the environment, and the heat of the hands, it would become unmanageable. For this reason, it is necessary to cool it to later be able to decorate it with the trellis. With the cake and the dough already cold, we form the upper lattice by overlapping the strips of dough with each other.

We introduce the frola cake in the second guide of the oven starting from the bottom and bake it at 180 ℃ for 30 minutes or until we see that the lattice turns a nice golden color. We take it out of the oven and remove it from the mold when it has warmed enough not to burn us. This cake is delicious once cold but I am sure that more than one will not be able to resist waiting so long to sink their teeth into it. Enjoy!

Easy preparation summary

1. 1. For the mass: form a volcano with the flour and place in the center the sugar, the egg, the yolk, the vanilla essence, the lemon zest and the salt

1. 1. Integrate until you get a sandy dough

1. 1. Add the cold diced butter and mix until it forms a ball. Wrap it in transparent film and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.

1. 1. For the filling: mix the quince jelly with the hot water

1. 1. Take the dough out of the fridge, separate 3/4 of the dough and line a circular mold with baking paper

1. 1. Roll out the dough, giving it a circular shape until it is half a centimeter thick.

1. 1. Put the dough in the mold and fill it with the quince cream. Remove the excess dough and refrigerate the cake

1. 1. Roll out the remaining quarter of the dough into a rectangle and cut it into 1 cm strips. Refrigerate 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 180 ℃ with heat up and down

1. 1. Decorate the cake with the strips forming a lattice

1. 1. Bake the pie frola at 180℃ for 30 minutes or until the surface is golden. Take the tart out of the oven, unmold it when it warms up and serve it cold