Ricotta is not a cheese, but a dairy product. In Lazio, many desserts are made with this ingredient, but I adapted this one from Artusi’s legendary recipe book, increasing the amount of ricotta to enhance its flavor rather than the eggs and using almond flour instead of pounding it myself.
Now almost obsolete, it’s one of those desserts that must be made at home because they’re no longer available in restaurants or pastry shops.
Ricotta Pudding
- Preparation time: 20 minutes + baking
- Ingredients for 6 servings
- Difficulty: Average difficult recipe
- Ingredients
- 500 grams of ricotta cheese (300 grams in the original recipe)
- 100 grams of sugar
- 100 grams of almond flour
- 5 eggs
- Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
- Butter and breadcrumbs to taste
- Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).
- Sift the ricotta. Add the almond flour and grated lemon zest.
- Add the beaten eggs and sugar to the ricotta mixture.
- Pour the batter into a buttered and floured pan, dusted with breadcrumbs.
- Bake for about an hour. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.
- Remove the pudding from the oven and refrigerate for at least four hours.
Tips to ensure the success of the dish:
- The ricotta must be sheep’s milk.
- If the batter darkens too much, cover it with aluminum foil, but not touching it.
- Baking times are approximate, as each oven bakes differently.
- The pudding should be removed from the pan as soon as it’s at room temperature and before refrigerating. Otherwise, removing it without breaking it will be Mission Impossible.
