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My parents are moving to a smaller house and are cleaning out the old place. My mother asked me if I wanted this cookbook – Italy – The Beautiful Cookbook. I was all over it. Should I feel funny that my brother and I actually had originally gifted this to my mom. Not at all. I get to share use the recipes and keep this going in my family. This ricotta pie, known in Italian as Crostata Di Ricotta, is ricotta based and gets its chocolate flavor from melted semisweet chocolate and enhanced with Dekuyper’s Kirschwasser Natural Cherry Flavored Brandy. The original recipe calls for maraschino liqueur but I could not find it at my liquor store.
Ricotta Pie
The crust for this recipe is also homemade. It really is not that hard to make your own crust and it does not take that long. In the learning column, though, I would add that the crust needs to be par-baked a few minutes before adding the ricotta filling. I followed the directions exactly and the crust was not as firm as it needed to be. Ovens are so temperamental that it may just be my oven but be it cannot hurt to pre-cook the crust a little bit (only the bottom layer).
- 2 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 oz butter
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 3 oz semisweet chocolate
- 1/4 cup cherry brandy
- 8 oz ricotta
- pin of ground cinnamon
- grated rind of 1 lemon
- 1 egg white, beaten
- Combine 2 1/2 cups of flour, 3 egg yolks sugar and butter in a mixer. When it forms into dough, remove from the mixer and roll into a ball. Let rest.
- Beat with 3 egg yolks with 1/3 cup of sugar until light.
- Add 2 tbsp flour and the milk and cook in a double boiler over simmering water until the mixture thickens.
- Melt the chocolate with cherry brandy in the microwave (do not overcook).
- Stir into the egg mixture and let cool completely.
- Put the ricotta mixture through a sieve (strainer).
- Gradually stir into the cool custard.
- Add the cinnamon and lemon rind. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a pie dish with cooking spray.
- Roll out the dough into a circle about 3/4" inches thick. Cut out a circle just larger than the dish.
- Place into the pie dish. Press the dough against the sides of the pie dish.
- Fill the dish with the ricotta mixture.
- Roll out the dough and top the pie. Crimp the edges.
- Brush the top with the egg white.
- Bake for 40 minutes.
- Let cool before serving.
- Serve and enjoy!
Eggs & Flour in Mixer
Dough rolled into a ball.
Dough Ball
Dough rolled out and added to the pie dish.
Dough in Pie Shell
Making the Custard.
Custard
Chocolate added.
Chocolate added to Custard
Ricotta mixture added to the pie crust.
Ricotta filling added to Pie Crust
Pie crust top added.
Pie Crust Top added
Plated.
Serve and enjoy!
I’ve never heard of Ricotta Pie, but wow, yours is beautiful! Such a pretty presentation, and it sounds to die for.
Never saw a chocolate ricotta pie before! I love ricotta in sweets because it is not that cloyingly sweet that blasts your taste buds. Can’t wait to try this!
Thx Jennifer. This was my first time trying ricotta and I thought of it the same way you did. Sweet but not too much.
Peter, simply delicious. A beautiful pie.
Thx Marie.
This is simply lovely!
Thx so much Michelle.
What a beautiful pie, Peter! Wish I had a slice right now.
Thx Sarah.