In this post, you’ll get the Sicilian baked ricotta cheesecake recipe: an Easter ricotta pie with cinnamon, vanilla and orange zest.

The Sicilian baked ricotta cheesecake recipe, Crostata di ricotta is perfect for the Easter breakfast, that, in Italy, is huge! Next to the usual cappuccino, cookies, and brioches, Italian families fill the table with:

sweet breads (Lombardia’s Colomba, Tuscany’s Pan di Ramerino and the Venetian Fugazza, between others),
savory breads (Rome’s pizza pasquale, Perugia’s cheese cake, Napoli’s Casatiello, and many more),
boiled eggs,
regional cheeses and meters-long salami,
and of course a few desserts. Like this delicious Easter ricotta pie from Sicily.

Sicilian baked ricotta cheesecake

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Servings 6

Author Claudia Rinaldi | Gourmet Project

Ingredients

for the pasta frolla

10.6 oz 0 flour 300 gr
5.3 oz butter 150 gr - fridge-cold
1 tablespoon honey
5.3 oz confectionary sugar 150 gr
3 egg yolks
1 pinch salt
1 vanilla bean

for the filling

21 oz ricotta 600 gr - sheep ricotta if possible
5.6 oz sugar 160 gr
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 pinch salt
1 orange zest
2.5 oz chocolate chips 70 gr
a few drops of milk
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon confectionary sugar
a 9-inch cake or pie mold

Instructions

pasta frolla

Place the butter (cut in pieces), sugar and honey in the stand mixer and mix (low/medium speed – kneading hook on).
Beat the egg yolks and salt in a cup, and pour them into the mixer bowl. Mix a few seconds.
Carve the vanilla bean and add the beans and the lemon zest to the bowl. Again, mix a few seconds.
Sift the flour twice and add it to the bowl.
Combine the ingredients for a few seconds, just the time to get a dough that won’t stick to your hands.
Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate it for 2 hours.

filling

Place the ricotta in a bowl and work it with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Add the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla essence, salt, chocolate chips and the orange zest, and mix well.

assembling

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Roll out the dough and cut out a 10-inch disc. If you roll it out over a piece of parchment paper it will be easier to transfer it to the mold.
Cut out 0,5-1 inch strips from the remaining dough.
Place the disc on the mold and prick the bottom with a fork.
Pour in the ricotta cream and spread it well. Lay the dough strips over the ricotta cream in a cross-hatch pattern.
Brush the surface with a mixture of beaten egg and milk and bake for 40 minutes.
Bring the crostata to room temperature, sprinkle it with confectionary sugar and serve in cute dishes!