Dessert Italian

Ricotta and sour cherry tart

Name: Ricotta and sour cherry tart (crostata di ricotta e visciole) recipe
Yield: 8
Cuisine: /italian
Ingredients: 1 egg yolk; 20.00 ml milk; Icing sugar, for dusting; 300g plain flour; 150g cold butter, chopped; 150g caster sugar; 2 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk; Finely grated zest of 1 lemon; 300g sour cherry jam; 400g sheep’s milk ricotta; 80g caster sugar; 2 eggs; 20.00 ml sambuca

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P99 Crostata di ricotta e visciole (Ricotta and sour cherry tart)

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by delicious. team

delicious. team

May 16, 2023

"A sweet, simple pleasure, this ricotta and black cherry (or sour cherry) tart has its origins in Rome’s Jewish ghetto, but is now a crowd-pleaser on trattoria menus across the city. One of the best places to try it in Rome is at Pasticceria il Boccione, the famous Jewish bakery in Via del Portico d’Ottavia. Theirs is said to be the original recipe, dating back to the 18th century." Recipe by Maria Pasquale.

1 egg yolk
1 tbs milk
Icing sugar, for dusting

Pastry

2 cups (300g) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
150g cold butter, chopped
150g caster sugar
2 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Filling

300g sour cherry jam
400g sheep’s milk ricotta
80g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tbs sambuca

Method

1.

To make the pastry, add all ingredients to a food processor and mix until a dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead a little and form into a flat disc, adding a little extra flour if the dough is sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2.

Preheat oven to 190°C/170°C fan-forced. Roll out the pastry and use it to line a 24cm tart tin, reserving leftover dough. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork, but don’t trim the pastry edge just yet.
3.

For the filling, spoon the cherry jam into the tart tin, smoothing it evenly over the pastry. In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, sugar, eggs and sambuca until well combined. Gently spoon the ricotta mixture on top of the jam.
4.

Roll out the reserved pastry, cut it into even strips, and lay them in a criss-cross fashion on top of the filling. Press pastry ends into pastry border, then use a sharp knife to trim away all overlapping pastry.
5.

Lightly beat together the egg yolk and milk, then brush it over the pastry strips and border with a pastry brush. Bake for 50 minutes, or until the pastry is lightly golden and the ricotta has set. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and dust with icing sugar before serving.