Italian Ricotta Pie is a sweet pie that is traditionally served at Easter. This is a great dessert to make in advance and is delicious served cold or at room temperature.
1smalllemon, zested and juiced(1 tablespoon juice, 1 teaspoon zest)
1teaspoonvanilla
powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
Pie Crust
To make the crust for the ricotta pie, start by pulsing together in a large food processor fitted with the blade attachment the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Then, add in the eggs and cold cubed butter. Pulse just until the mixture is well combined. (If the dough is too crumbly, you can add in a splash of water).
Pour the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and form into a disk shape. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Ricotta Filling
To make the filling for the pie, in a large bowl combine the drained ricotta, eggs, sugar, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla. Use an electric mixer to beat together the ingredients until they are well combined and smooth, about 1-2 minutes; set aside.
Assembly
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place oven rack near the center of the oven.
Once the dough has chilled, cut off about two-thirds of the dough. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to make an 12-inch circular shape. Place the dough in a 9-inch tart pan or pie pan. Use excess dough to fill in any holes in the dough.
Pour the ricotta filling into the pie crust.
Roll the remaining piece of dough into a 10-inch circular shape. You can either place the entire piece of dough on top of the pie or cut the dough into strips and make a lattice design on top of the pie.
Place a baking sheet underneath the pie and bake on center rack for about 45 minutes. You'll know the ricotta pie is done with the center of the pie registers 160 degrees on a food thermometer.
Remove the pie from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
The sweet dough for this recipe, also known as "pasta frolla," can be made up to two days in advance. Just cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
In a pinch, you can substitute store-bought pie crust.
You can top this pie with a large piece of rolled out pie dough or do a more intricate lattice design. Note that the lattice make sink slightly when placed on the filling but tends to puff back up when baked.
Ricotta Pie tastes best served at room temperature or chilled. You can make this pie up to two days in advance, just cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and some fresh fruit on the side.