To be honest, this doesn't look too appealing. But then again, neither does apple brown Betty. However, when you bite into it, and experience the firmness of the chocolate, which gains creamy richness from the ricotta... Oh my! It will go frightfully fast.
And while logic would dictate that you wait for it to cool, at which point it becomes firmer, if you eat it while it's still warm -- not hot -- the filling is delightfully creamy, and... It Goes Even Faster.
And while logic would dictate that you wait for it to cool, at which point it becomes firmer, if you eat it while it's still warm -- not hot -- the filling is delightfully creamy, and... It Goes Even Faster.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups (300 g) unbleached flour
- 1/2 cup (100 g) unsalted butter, broken up into bits
- 3/4 cup (150 g) brown sugar (we used the paler granulated kind, not sticky dark brown sugar, though you are free to use the darker if you want)
- An egg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/8 pounds (500 g) ricotta, well drained
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/3 pound (150 g, about 6 ounces) bitter or milk chocolate as you prefer, shredded
- A splash of the sweet liqueur of choice, for example Alkermes or Cointreau (optional)
- 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- Another quarter cup of shredded chocolate
Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C)
Begin by making a crumb: Put the flour, unsalted butter, dark sugar, egg and baking powder in a blender and whir in pulses until you have fairly fine crumbs.
Wet a sheet of oven paper, twist dry, and use it to line a 9-inch (22 cm) pie pan. Cover the bottom and sides of the pan with a little more than half the crumb mixture.
Combine the ricotta, white sugar, shredded chocolate, and -- if you are including it -- liqueur. Mix well and spread the mixture evenly over the crumb crust.
Cover the ricotta mixture with the rest of the crumbs, and bake the cake for about 40 minutes.
Remove it, and when it has cooled to warm sift the powdered sugar over it, and then sprinkle the chocolate too. Enjoy.
Yield: 4-6 servings Chocolate Torta di Ricotta e Cioccolato, Chocolate Ricotta Crumble Pie
Begin by making a crumb: Put the flour, unsalted butter, dark sugar, egg and baking powder in a blender and whir in pulses until you have fairly fine crumbs.
Wet a sheet of oven paper, twist dry, and use it to line a 9-inch (22 cm) pie pan. Cover the bottom and sides of the pan with a little more than half the crumb mixture.
Combine the ricotta, white sugar, shredded chocolate, and -- if you are including it -- liqueur. Mix well and spread the mixture evenly over the crumb crust.
Cover the ricotta mixture with the rest of the crumbs, and bake the cake for about 40 minutes.
Remove it, and when it has cooled to warm sift the powdered sugar over it, and then sprinkle the chocolate too. Enjoy.
Yield: 4-6 servings Chocolate Torta di Ricotta e Cioccolato, Chocolate Ricotta Crumble Pie
