Ricotta Pie With Amarena Cherries Recipes

RICOTTA PIE WITH AMARENA CHERRIES

Steps:

• Crust:
• Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 325°F. Generously butter pan and set aside. Pulse almonds, flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until almonds are finely ground and mixture is combined. Add egg yolks and pulse to incorporate. Add 3 Tbsp. butter to mixture and pulse until dough is the consistency of wet sand.
• Press crust into the bottom and 3/4" up the sides of prepared pan using a straight-sided measuring cup. Chill until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Bake crust until evenly golden brown and set, 12-14 minutes. (If it slumps during cooking, you can always press it back into place with the measuring cup while it's still warm.) Transfer pan to a wire rack and let crust cool.
• Filling and assembly:
• Keep oven at 325°F. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese in a medium bowl until no lumps remain, about 1 minute. Add ricotta and sour cream and beat until well incorporated. Add egg yolks and egg one at a time, beating well between each addition. With the motor running, gradually add sugar and salt and beat until filling is creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add almond extract, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and orange zest and mix just to incorporate.
• Set pan with prepared crust on a large sheet of foil and fold up foil tightly around sides of pan (you can turn 2 small sheets of foil into 1 large sheet by folding their edges together several times, then opening up like a book). Repeat with several more pieces of foil to create a waterproof seal around the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Set inside a large roasting pan or baking dish and pour filling into crust (it will go above the crust).
• Set roasting pan on oven rack and carefully pour in very hot water to come about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake ricotta pie until the top is set and dry to touch but the filling still wobbles underneath (it will firm as it cools), 65-75 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill until cool and firm, 3-4 hours.
• Slice ricotta pie and serve topped with amarena cherries.
• Do Ahead
• Crust can be baked 1 day ahead. Store tightly covered at room temperature. Ricotta pie can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.

NO-BAKE RICOTTA ESPRESSO CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• For the crust: Combine the graham crackers and sugar in a food processor and pulse to process. Drizzle in 5 tablespoons of the butter and pulse to combine. The mixture should clump together slightly when pressed in your fingers. If not, add the remaining tablespoon of butter and toss again. Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan. Freeze to firm the crust, about 15 minutes.
• For the filling: Pour the cream into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over. Let sit to bloom the gelatin, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and add the sugar and espresso powder. Warm over very low heat, whisking constantly just to dissolve the gelatin; do not let the mixture simmer or boil. Remove from the heat, whisk until completely smooth and let cool, about 5 minutes.
• Beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the ricotta and beat just until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure even mixing. Add the cooled cream mixture and vanilla and beat again until just smooth. Scrape the mixture into the crust and smooth the top. Cover the cheesecake and chill until set, at least 3 hours.
• For the topping: Add the cherries and syrup to a small saucepan and warm over low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Serve slices of the cheesecake topped with the warm cherry syrup.

HONEY RICOTTA WITH CHERRIES

Steps:

• Whole wheat crackers, for serving
• Combine the cheese, cherries, sour cream and honey in a bowl. Fold the ingredients together so as not to discolor the ricotta from the cherries. Season with salt.
• Place the mixture in a serving container and top with the chopped almonds. Serve with whole wheat crackers.

RICOTTA PIE (OLD ITALIAN RECIPE)

Steps:

• Beat the 12 eggs, 2 cups sugar and vanilla extract together in a large bowl. Stir in the ricotta cheese and the chocolate chips, if using (see Cook's Note). Set aside.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, and 1 cup sugar together. Cut in 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in 4 beaten eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Divide dough into 4 balls, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease two deep-dish pie plates.
• Roll out 2 of the balls to fit into the pie pans. Do not make the crust too thick, as it will expand during cooking. Do not flute the edges of the dough. Roll out the other 2 balls of dough and cut each into 8 narrow strips for the top of the crust. (Alternately, you can use cookie cutters and place the cutouts on the top of the pies.)
• Pour the ricotta filling evenly into the pie crusts. Top each pie with 8 narrow strips of dough or cookie cut-outs. Brush top of pie with milk for shine, if desired. Place foil on the edge of crust.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes; remove foil. Rotate pies on the rack so they will bake evenly. Continue to bake until a knife inserted in the center of each pie comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes more. Cool completely on wire racks. Refrigerate until serving.

CHERRIES WITH CHOCOLATE IN RICOTTA

Steps:

• Whip ricotta with kirsch and powdered sugar to lighten. Fold in chocolate and cherries. Add more kirsch and sugar if needed. (If time allows, chill at least 15 minutes.) Divide among 4 shallow serving bowls. Dust lightly with cocoa, and garnish with almonds.

DOUBLE-CRUSTED RICOTTA PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment; spray parchment. Mix together ricotta, confectioners' sugar, yolks, salt, zest, cherries, and anise in a bowl.
• Let dough sit at room temperature 15 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out smaller disk of dough 1/8 inch thick; using pan as guide, cut out an 8-inch round. Chill until firm. Meanwhile, roll out larger disk to an 11-inch round, about 1/4 inch thick; fit into bottom and up sides of pan, pressing and patching dough as needed.
• Spread filling over dough. Fold sides of dough over filling. Brush beaten egg over folded sides. Top with 8-inch disk; brush with beaten egg and sprinkle evenly with pistachios and granulated sugar. Chill 30 minutes. Bake on a baking sheet until golden, about 1 hour (tent with foil if browning too quickly). Let cool completely on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cut into wedges; serve with sauce.

AMARENA CHERRY & ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Mix together the butter, sugar, flour, a pinch of salt and the egg in a food processor to make a dough, then wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 mins. The dough should be cold but still easy to work with by the time you roll it out.
• Meanwhile, make the frangipane filling. Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat, then set aside to cool slightly. Beat the sugar with the eggs and lemon zest in a bowl until creamy. Pour in the melted butter while continuing to beat, then add the ground almonds (or almond flour) and fold into the mixture. Heat oven to 175C/155C fan/gas 3½.
• Line a buttered tart tin or ring mould (approximately 23cm) with the rolled-out pastry dough, then trim any overhanging edges. Spread the frangipane evenly into the tin and arrange the cherries on top with some of their syrup, so the top of the tart is covered in a thin layer.
• Put the tart in the oven and bake for about 40-45 mins until golden brown, puffed and firm to the touch. Leave to cool on a rack. Dust with some icing sugar, if you like, before serving in slices.

RICOTTA CHEESE PIE I

Steps:

• Dissolve cornstarch in 1/2 cup milk.
• Combine cornstarch and milk with ricotta, remaining 1 cup milk, eggs, vanilla, and sugar. Mix until well blended. Pour filling into unbaked pie shell.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, or until a knife inserted into center comes out clean. Sprinkle top with cinnamon, and cool.