Planning a trip to Italy ? Book a call with us !

Savoring Italy logo

menu icon
subscribe
search icon

Published: · Modified: by Savoring Italy

Crostata alla Ricotta and Chocolate Chips


I love my American desserts, but once in a while, I need to bake a dessert that is molto Italiano…very Italian! It's not just me that needs it…it's mostly my husband.

 
You see, he misses his mamma. And all her fabulous crostatas and tortas. So do I. I really, really DO! I charmed my husband when I met him with my pancakes! Yes, my pancakes. Every Sunday when he would call his mamma to say hello we would have just finished eating breakfast. It was usually pancakes, as it still is today. She was expecting him to say, "I just had homemade lasagne." Mamma was a little worried for her son's well being and his diet. Since then,  I have progressed to making a dessert his mamma makes.
 
The other day I had a ginormous ricotta container of Ricotta from Costco just hanging around in my refrigerator. I was going to make a different dessert with it. My sweet hubby said, "Chiama la mia mamma." Call my mom. He wanted me to call mamma in Italy to get her ricotta filling recipe for the crostata  I had made the day before. I was planning on a different filling for the crostata. But I also was feeling nostalgic for a dessert she makes us when we visit in the summer.

My husband left his mamma in Italy when he was in his 20's. My father left his mamma in Sicily when we was in his 20's. They both came here to follow the big American dream. That is one of the few things my husband and father have in common. I often think about how I admire these two men in my life for leaving their country and not knowing a word of English. How brave they were to embark on a life changing adventure.
 
Would I be able to do the same? I did live in different countries in my childhood and in my college years, but I knew the language. It was scary for me, but not as scary as say moving to Japan or India.  I sometimes think: Could I move abroad to a country where I did not know the culture or the language? Could you? Have you? I'd love to hear about it. 

We do get to visit sweet mamma every summer. I know, it's incredible. We enjoy every moment of the time together, as for the rest of the year, we are separated by a vast distance. My mother-n-law spoils us rotten with her amazing food. Teresa makes all her cheeses and salami. Her crostata alla ricotta is filled with her amazing homemade ricotta. I really like her spicy ricotta. 

This dough is light and flaky. Buttery and tender when you put your fork in. The creamy ricotta filling has a lovely touch of tartness from the lemon zest and just the perfect amount of chocolate and a delicious hint of espresso! We had it for dessert. We had some more for breakfast and in the afternoon with an espresso. We shared some with our neighbors. My son declared, "I love your cheesecake mommy!" My hubby told me, "Non mi piacciono tanto i dolci con il peanut butter." He explained, he's just not that into my peanut butter desserts. But this...this makes his heart go pitter-patter.
 

Pasta Frolla (Sweet Pastry Dough)
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for the work surface
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup confectioner's sugar (I use granulated sugar)
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks

Put the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse briefly to combine the ingredients. Distribute the butter around the bowl and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Add the egg and egg yolks and process until the dough just begins to come together.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gather it together. Knead it briefly and shape it into a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1hour, until well chilled.

To make the tart shell:

Cut the dough disk into 2 portions, one slightly larger than the other. Rewrap the smaller portion and set aside. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the larger portion into a 13-inch round about ⅛-inch thick or slightly thicker. Carefully wrap the dough around the rolling pin and drape it over an 11-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Gently press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim the overhang to about ½ inch and fold it in, pressing it against the inside rim to reinforce the sides of the tart shell. Use the rolling pin or the flat of your hand to press around the perimeter of the pan to cut off any excess dough. Put the lined tart pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
 
Roll out the remaining piece of dough to ⅛-inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut out decorative shapes (stars, moons, or whatever you like) to adorn the top of the tart. Or use a sharp paring knife to cut out a lemon shape about 4 inches long and 3 inches wide, and a pair of oval leaves. Score the leaves lightly with the blade of the knife to resemble the ribs. Place the dough cut-outs on a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate until the tart shell has finished baking.
 
Set the cut-out stars in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned.

Transfer the cut-outs to a rack to cool.

* I made instead an overlapped lattice design. It is ok if it breaks a little and your pieces are uneven when you place on the top of the ricotta filling. It will expand while it's baking and connect and you won't know the difference. 

Ricotta Chocolate Chip Filling
2 lbs ricotta
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground espresso
zest of one lemon
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, mix the ricotta with the two egg yolks and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until nice and fluffy. Fold the egg whites, espresso, lemon zest, and vanilla into the ricotta mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Poor the filling gently into the crostata. Flatten it out with a spoon or a spatula. Set the crostata in the oven and bake at 325 for about 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is just set. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature on a rack. Carefully
remove the fluted ring from around the crostata and transfer the crostata to a decorative serving plate. Dust the tart with confectioners' sugar. Arrange the cookie
cut-outs as you please on top of the tart and serve.

 
Do Ahead: The pastry dough may be made up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated
or up to 1 month in advance and frozen. Bring the dough to room temperature or
slightly cooler before rolling it out.
 
Here is the dough all rolled out and ready to be put into the tarte pan.


Roll the dough over your rolling pin.

Now you carefully unroll it into the tarte pan.


Trim the excess dough. I used the dough from that to make the lattice design.

Here is the ricotta filling while I'm folding in the egg yolks.


Now the egg whites and lemon zest get folded in.

Gorgeous and ready to be poured into the crostata.

The lattice is ready to be placed on top of the filling.

Here is the bella crostata ready to be baked. Mmm!

Thank you for stopping by today! I know there are more snow storms arriving tonight. Please stay safe and warm.

I LOVE hearing from you and reading your comments. They make me SMILE!!:)

More Baking

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. jackie carlomusto says

    Ciao, This is my first time on your site and I love it!! Your recipes are just like my Nonna's, which I lost in a flood, but now have a chance to recoupe thank's to you!!! I found you looking for a recipe for Easter Bread, and I can't wait to try it this weekend!! Gratzi, Gratzi, Gratzi!!!!

    Reply

  2. jackie carlomusto says

    CIAO, I am a new follower, I happened apon your site looking for a recipe for Easter bread. The way you show how each step should look is a big help, grazie. I have been looking for a good cassetta recipe but can not seem to find one, unfotunitly my Nonna's recipe's were lost in a flood'd celler and I had not memorized them all. Hopefully you have one as your recipes are as clos to her's as they come. If you have one for wine cookies too , give it up, she never had one!! LOL everything was done by eye, she had a special glass the homeade wine went in for the mesurement, she just threw it all together and each time they were perfect and delecious, topped with granulated sugar these little twists of hard cookie were the perfect after dinner treat with a cup of perked coffee that she always did on top of the stove, and we always got to share in even as children. Of course we had mostly milk, but we were never left out of the after dinner treat.Oh how I long for those days now!!! Thank's again, and I look forword to new recipies, that take me back to my childhood, back to Italy, back to my Nonna.

    Reply

  3. Kim Grey says

    This pie looks to-die-for! Your memories of Italy and family stories are so touching. I'm a new follower. I love your blog!

    Reply

  4. Chris says

    I made your crostata today. It was amazing - and SO not like the desserts you get in an Italian bakery. This crostata was 1000 times better. The filling is so light, yet creamy. The chocolate and lemon are a perfect marriage - one doesn't overwhelm the other. I omitted the espresso powder because hubby doesn't like coffee. The crust was tender, also with a hint of lemon.

    I can imagine this crust in the summer filled with blueberries, or perhaps with half the ricotta filling (sans chips and espresso) and a layer of raspberry jam, or even a lemon curd with perhaps a light meringue. The possibilites are endless!!! Thank you so much for sharing!

    Being more of a cook than a baker, I found the dough a bit tricky to work with, but managed to get it rolled out. I think letting it warm up a bit (but not too much) after taking it out of the fridge helps.

    As far as a story - my grandmother had an interesting one - she came from Estonia with my grandfather when she was 22. She was a beautiful young woman, and had gotten offers to become a movie star in Estonia. She turned them down for love and a new life with my grandfather in America.

    Reply

  5. Koci says

    That crostata sounds sooo wonderful. How cool that you all get to visit Italy each summer! I bet your husband's mom is happy to spoil you guys with all that yummy food. 😀

    Reply

  6. Amy says

    Beautiful crostada! I bet it was even more delicious than it looks :)! Congrats on the top 9!

    Reply

  7. Sue says

    Your CROSTATA looks AMAZING! How fun that you get to visit Italy every year and be spoiled:) Your dad and husband have a lot of courage to come to a foreign country to start a new life. My parents were both the first in their families to be born in the U.S, and I have always lived here.
    My daughter-in-law bravely left the Philippines to attend college in Hawaii and eventually met my son in school:) We love her! The rest of her family is still there and she(and my son, and grandson) finally went to visit last year. Her mom and dad had come to visit, but she hadn't seen her siblings for seven years!

    Reply

  8. whatsfordinneracrossstatelines says

    Be still my heart, I have to make this for my mom, she will be so happy. My grandparents did the same thing, and I can only imagine how hard it was. This is an amazing trip down memory lane. Hope your week is going well.
    -Gina-

    Reply

  9. Brown Cookie Blog says

    Expert pie crust rolling I must say!! I love how the lattice interweaved with the ricotta cheese! Our family moved to Thailand and Shanghai in a culture so foreign to us. It was a great learning experience! You could totally do it!!

    Reply

  10. Lisa @ Tarte du Jour says

    What a handsome father you have! Your crostata di ricotta looks amazing...right up my alley. I've spent extended time in France but never really lived there. That is the place I'd like to hang my hat for awhile!

    Reply

  12. threemealsaday says

    This is going on my growing list of things to make. Great blog and congrats on the foodbuzz top 9.

    Reply

  13. Georgia (The Comfort of Cooking) says

    Oh Lora, this crostata is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing your mouthwatering photos and this wonderful authentic recipe. I bet your family is so proud of this beautiful creation of yours! Thanks for stopping by my blog and pointing me to yours - I'm so glad to have found you, I love your site! 🙂 - Georgia

    Reply

  14. Tabitha says

    Looks good! I wonder, do your chocolate chips sink to the base or are they evenly distributed? Its hard to tell from the angle of the slice.

    Is the espresso, lemon, and chocolate combination traditional? It strikes me as an unusual flavor combination. How do you think it would be with an alternate citrus substituted?

    Reply

  15. Nina | salt says

    Fantastic post and the crostata looks divine! Thanks for sharing and congrats on the Top 9! Cheers!

    Reply

  16. Susan says

    Lora, what a beautiful tribute to your husband's and Dad's voyage to the US ... and a nice tribute to your MIL back in Italy. She's lucky her boy found the right woman! The crostata is beautiful and I bet it was a wonderful food memory for the whole family! Nice work!

    Reply

  17. Cheryl Beverage Barnes says

    I love that your Dad an husband have their "American story" in common. What a great photo of your Dad, too! great recipe, great blog!

    Reply

  18. Kate @ Diethood.com says

    Your crostata looks fantastic! I've never had one with ricotta and chocolate chips, but this is definitely going into the 'must try' pile. Thank you for sharing and congrats on Top 9!!!

    I can sorta relate to your dad. I came to the States when I was 11, but I was with my parents. Still, it was soooo hard. I didn't know the language, the culture, the norms...it was brutal the first 3 years...all I wanted to do was hop on a plane and go back HOME! Now I'm good. 🙂

    Reply

  19. Chef Dennis says

    hi Lora
    simply fantastico!! I love ricotta torta's, I'm sure your mother in law would be proud of this delicious creation....my wife and I talk about spending part of the year in Italy, and I of course love Paris, right now its just a dream!
    Congrats on your top 9 today!
    Dennis

    Reply

  20. Kimberly(Unrivaledkitch) says

    Lora this is really so beautiful. I love the story and the whole process of the entry.

    People who come to America to find something better do really astound me because i don't think i could ever leave all the people i love behind. I do feel like its quite adventurous to go elsewhere but over all i know this is my home.

    I love Italian culture, I'd like to travel to italy soon. they are such a strong/ beautiful group of individuals. thanks so much for sharing!

    congrats top 9

    Kimberly

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *