Ricotta crostata
Crostata di ricotta is the Roman tart baked for generations in homes and pasticcerie: pasta frolla shortcrust filled with ricotta beaten with sugar, eggs, orange zest and chocolate, under a lattice of pastry. Baked, the filling is creamy but firm — not as wet as a curd cheesecake, not as heavy as a New York one. Success rests on well-drained ricotta; shop tubs often sit in whey that must be poured off, or the tart will not set in the middle.
Your own work in that: 35 min.
- Shortcrust 20 min
- Chilling the pastry 60 min
- Filling 15 min
- Baking 60 min
- Cooling 90 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneMake the pastry
Chop the flour and cold butter together into crumbs, then add the sugar, salt, lemon zest, egg and yolk. Bring together quickly, only until it holds — the less you work it, the shorter the pastry.
Ingredients: 300 g plain flour · 150 g cold butter · 100 g sugar · 1 pcs egg · 1 pcs egg yolk · 1 tsp grated lemon zest · 1 pinch salt
Chill the pastry
Divide into two pieces (two thirds and one third), flatten into discs, wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
Ingredients: 300 g plain flour · 150 g cold butter · 100 g sugar · 1 pcs egg · 1 pcs egg yolk · 1 tsp grated lemon zest · 1 pinch salt
Drain the ricotta
Tip the ricotta into a muslin-lined sieve and let the whey drain for 30 minutes — while the pastry chills. If it is very wet, press it lightly; 700 g will leave you about 600 g.
Ingredients: 700 g ricotta, well drained · 150 g sugar · 3 pcs eggs · 1 tbsp grated orange zest · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 80 g dark chocolate, chopped · 50 g candied orange peel
Make the filling
Beat the ricotta with the sugar until smooth, add the eggs one at a time, then the orange zest and vanilla. Do not whip at high speed — an aerated filling cracks.
Ingredients: 700 g ricotta, well drained · 150 g sugar · 3 pcs eggs · 1 tbsp grated orange zest · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 80 g dark chocolate, chopped · 50 g candied orange peel
Smooth, but not aerated.Line the tin
Heat the oven to 180°C. Roll out the larger piece and line the base and sides of a 26 cm tin, making a 3 cm rim. Prick the base with a fork.
Ingredients: 300 g plain flour · 150 g cold butter · 100 g sugar · 1 pcs egg · 1 pcs egg yolk · 1 tsp grated lemon zest · 1 pinch salt
A 3 cm rim — there is a lot of filling.Fill and lattice
Fold the chocolate and candied peel into the filling, spread it in the case and level. Cut the remaining pastry into 1.5 cm strips and lay a lattice over the top.
Ingredients: 700 g ricotta, well drained · 150 g sugar · 3 pcs eggs · 1 tbsp grated orange zest · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 80 g dark chocolate, chopped · 50 g candied orange peel
The lattice is the crostata's signature.Bake
Bake at 180°C for 55–60 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the filling is set at the edges with a slight wobble in the middle.
Ingredients: 300 g plain flour · 150 g cold butter · 100 g sugar · 1 pcs egg · 1 pcs egg yolk · 1 tsp grated lemon zest · 1 pinch salt
Cool
Cool in the tin 30 minutes, then unmould and cool completely on a rack, at least an hour. Crostata is cut cold only — warm, it falls apart.
Ingredients: 300 g plain flour · 150 g cold butter · 100 g sugar · 1 pcs egg · 1 pcs egg yolk · 1 tsp grated lemon zest · 1 pinch salt
Before you start
Sheep's ricotta
Rome uses sheep’s milk ricotta, sharper and slightly salty; Italian delis stock it. Cow’s ricotta, the supermarket kind, is milder — add a pinch of salt to the filling then.
Without chocolate
The classic is also made plain, with just vanilla and lemon, or with sour cherries in syrup instead of chocolate. A serving is then about 390 kcal.
Storage
A tart with ricotta and eggs must be refrigerated. It keeps 3 days; take it out 20 minutes before serving so the filling turns creamy again.
