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!!:)
Looks delicious!! I've never made anything like this before so I'll have to give it a try..I love Italian desserts!
Nothing like making your guy happy and hitting a homerun! This looks and sounds incredible. I love Domenica's cookbook! Can't wait to make something else out of it.
Looks fantastic, I can only imagine how good it tastes! I think it's amazing that your father, and your husband left the country they each knew for the great unknown. So adventureous!
Hey girlie, so nice to wake up to this story and you know I am such a crostata convert since I made Domenica's. Love traditions and this crostata looks so fabulous. Thanks for the mention Bella!!
Oh that looks so amazing and delicious and I want one right now! I love ricotta in EVERYTHING!
Great recipe for that big tub of ricotta :] Love the little touches in the filling, the espresso and lemon.
I made a torta di ricotta a few months ago and didn't really like it. Upon seeing the differences in your recipe though I think I just had a bad recipe. I didn't have chocolate chips in mine and think that would have been a great addition. Yours looks so delicious that I will have to give it another go some time!
That crostata looks scrumptious! Especially on a frigid cold day like today!
Sounds and looks delicious. I love that you are playing with the italian foods so much, I am sure it makes your husband very proud!
I'm here, drinking my morning coffee... reading this beautiful piece. This story just brought a huge smile to my face.
I'm sure your husband is a very happy man, Lora.
I adore your lattice topping...so beautiful! Another delicious recipe...and extra special b/c it connects you to your Italian roots!
So delicious!!
My father left Sicily in his 20s to come to the US to marry my mom!!! (who left Sicily w her parents when she was 11). I always wonder how it must have been to start over in a new country like that. I love your post...and your dessert!
I swear, I need a baking lesson from you. I need to come to your house for a weekend for Cake Duchess school! I know nothing about pastry dough or anything other than baking a cake or cookies. I would love to make this!
This looks so rich and delicious!
This is a gorgeous cake, love the texture here, and the instructions Great job this is right up my alley, a firsth loves here in cakes!
My eyes lit up when I read the title, I was so excited. I love ricotta cheesecake and I was thinking, this has got to be ever better because you get that layer of pastry on top of the custard!
Both of my parents came to the US without any family or friends here, they had to learn to adapt all by themselves. We always went back to France every summer though to visit relatives, so I am very grateful for that.
I love Italian desserts for their simplicity and great flavor. I have never made a crostata, but this sounds like something I would like:)
I came to the U.S. in my 20s to live with my American husband and I am still experiencing cultural shock:) I spoke English, but it was still hard. Only when you are that young can you do something that adventurous:)I would not dare do it now!
Oh yum! This sounds amazing!
And you make me smile! So very much! This is one of my favorite posts of yours...I loved hearing you talk about your family. And yes, both your sweet husband and father were so very brave! I love this dessert, and I love the connections it has to your husband's family. Thank you for sharing, Lora. Stay safe and warm tonight!
Oh Lora honey! That looks divine. What a beautiful tribute to your hubs heritage. I'd call my MIL but she'd tell me I'm the better baker. Now if I'd only known his Gramma Gioia, then I could've had the family recipes. Sigh. Such a beautiful creation you have there. Think I'll just steal your family recipes. 😉
Beautiful!!! I can only imagine how it tasted!
Nicely done!!!