Torta di ricotta, or ricotta pie, is an Italian cheesecake. There are many variations to torta di ricotta, some simple and others quite complex. Here's a Neapolitan torta di ricotta that's on the complex side.
Prep Time: 90 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
- ** For the Crust **
- 2 cups and 1 tablespoon (250 g) flour
- 2/3 cup (125 g) unsalted butter or rendered lard
- 2/3 cup (125 g) sugar
- 3 yolks
- ** For the Filling **
- 2/3 pound (300 g) fresh ricotta
- 2/3 cup (125 g) sugar
- The grated zest of half an orange
- 2 yolks
- 1/4 pound (100 g) finely minced candied melon peel -- you can use other candied fruit if need be
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation:
Mix the four and sugar and cream the butter. Combine the ingredients of the dough, using a pastry cutter and working the dough as little as possible with your hands. Form it into a ball and let it sit in a cool place for an hour.In the meantime, put the ricotta through a strainer, combine it with the sugar, and beat the mixture with a fork until it is smooth and creamy. Lightly beat the yolks and work them into the mixture a bit at a time, and finally stir in the minced candied fruit.
Divide the dough into two unequal pieces. Use the larger one to line a buttered 8-inch pie pan. Fill the pie with the filling, cover it with the second piece of crust, tamping down around the edges, and bake it in a moderate oven for about an hour. Let it cool, remove it from the pie pan, and dust it with powdered sugar.
