Sweet Ricotta Baked Apples Recipes

BAKED APPLES WITH RICOTTA CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Carefully, cut off the top of each apple. With a small knife or a potato peeler, cut out the core scooping out all the seeds. If needed, cut small pieces from the bottom of the apples to level them out. Pierce the apples with a fork in a few places to prevent them from bursting during baking.
• In a mixing bowl, add ¼ cup of honey, lemon juice, and water. Mix to combine.
• Place the apples in a square baking dish. Pour the honey mixture over the apples. Place the apple tops on the apples. Place the anise star, whole cloves and cinnamon sticks on the bottom of the dish.
• Bake the apples until a paring knife easily slips into the centers for about 40 to 45 minutes. Baking time will depend on the apple variety so check the apples every once in a while to make sure they don't over-bake.
• In the meantime, place the ricotta cheese and 1 tablespoon of honey into a small bowl and mix.
• Once the apples are done, remove them from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes. When cool enough to handle, transfer the apples onto plates. Open the lids and fill the center of each apple with ricotta cheese, about ¼ cup of ricotta cheese per apple. Sprinkle the apples with allspice and drizzle with pan juices, about 1 tablespoon per apple.
• Place the apple tops back on the apples and serve.

SWEET RICOTTA PASTRIES

Steps:

• Make filling:
• Bring milk and zest to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan, then remove from heat. Whisk together yolk, sugar, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Whisk in milk, then transfer mixture to saucepan.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, and boil 1 minute. Stir in vanilla, then transfer to a clean bowl and chill custard, its surface covered with parchment paper (to prevent a skin from forming), until cold, at least 1 hour. Discard zest.
• Pulse ricotta in a food processor until smooth. Whisk into custard. Stir in orange-flower water and citron. Chill until ready to use.
• Prepare pastry while custard chills:
• Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in cleaned food processor until combined. Add butter and zest and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Add yolks and water and pulse until just incorporated and dough begins to form large clumps.
• Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together, using a pastry or bench scraper if you have one, and form into a ball.
• Generously butter muffin cups and top of pan. Press 2 tablespoon dough over bottom and up side of each muffin cup in an even layer with well-floured fingers. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, roll out remaining dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a 9-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) and transfer to a baking sheet, discarding top sheet of paper. Cut 12 (1/2-inch-wide) strips, then cut in half crosswise to make 24 strips total. Chill until ready to use.
• Assemble and Bake pastries:
• Spoon a scant 2 tablespoons filling into each muffin cup and smooth, then crisscross 2 strips on top of filling, trimming to fit. Brush pastry cross with egg wash. Bake until filling is puffed and starting to crack and edges are golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Invert a rack on top of pan, then flip pan and remove. Turn pastries right side up and cool completely.

SWEET RICOTTA BAKED APPLES

Steps:

• Core and halve 2 apples, top with these ingredients, and bake at 350 degrees until tender, 30 minutes. If apples get too brown, tent with foil.

BAKED APPLES WITH SPICED RICOTTA AND MAPLE SYRUP

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Peel about 1 inch of skin from tops of apples; cut a sliver off the bottom so apples will stand. Place them in a 9-inch glass pie plate. Cut 1 tablespoon of butter into 4 pieces; fill each apple core with a piece of butter, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1/8 teaspoon ginger, and 1 cinnamon stick. Place remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons syrup in bottom of pie plate.
• Bake apples, basting several times with pan juices, until they are golden and tender, about 35 minutes (the skin may split). Transfer apples to a serving dish; let baking juices stand to thicken, about 15 minutes.
• Puree ricotta, confectioners' sugar, remaining 1/2 teaspoon ginger, cinnamon, and cream in a food processor. Serve 2 heaping tablespoons of ricotta cream with each apple, and drizzle with the warm syrup.

SWEET BAKED RICOTTA WITH GLAZED PEACHES

Steps:

• To bake the ricotta:
• Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F).
• In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta and the eggs.
• Split the vanilla bean and scrape in the seeds.
• Sift in the icing sugar and mix thoroughly. Spoon the ricotta mixture into the loaf tin and cover with aluminum foil.
• Place the tin into a slightly larger baking pan and pour in enough water to come about half-way up the side of the loaf tin. Carefully place the baking pan in the oven. Bake the ricotta for 40 minutes, or until firm.
• When the ricotta is ready, remove the loaf tin from the water bath and remove the foil. Let the ricotta cool, then cover it with plastic wrap (cling film) and refrigerate. When it is thoroughly cold you can turn it out of the tin and slice it as required.
• It will have more flavour if you allow it to warm to room temperature before serving it.
• To glaze the peaches:
• Preheat the griller (broiler) to hot.
• Halve the peaches and remove the skins if desired (if using frozen peaches, defrost). Sprinkle with the extra icing sugar and place under the griller (broiler) until the sugar is caramelised, about 2-5 minutes.
• To serve, arrange ricotta slices and two peach halves on each plate.

STUFFED APPLES BAKED IN BRANDY, TOPPED WITH SWEET RICOTTA CREAM

Steps:

• Ricotta Cream:.
• In a small bowl add the ricotta cheese, cinnamon, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and liqueur; mix well until well blended and smooth. Refrigerate.
• Baked Apples:.
• Place rack in the center position of oven.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Wash apples well; core. Peel off the skin around the top, leaving two-thirds of the apple unpeeled.
• Hollow out about a 1 1/2-inch wide by 2 1/2-inch deep cavity in the center of each apple (a grapefruit spoon works well for this). Score the apples with the tip of a knife to prevent them from bursting while baking.
• Place the apples in a 9-inch oven-proof glass pie dish.
• Mix together the dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and butter in a small bowl. Blend well.
• Evenly fill the apples with the cranberry/walnut filling.
• Pour the 3/4 cup of apple brandy around the apples. If necessary, add water so that the liquid comes about 1-inch up the sides of the apples.
• Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of apple brandy evenly over the filling in the apples.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the apples are tender.
• Serve warm, topped with a generous dollop of the sweet ricotta cream and a sprinkling of lemon zest.