We have been enjoying strawberry season here for weeks!I had to bake these Strawberry and Ricotta Tarts-crostate di ricotta e fragole a couple of times as soon as I was baking with ripe spring berries!!
I adore baking with strawberries. I think I went a little overboard these last few weeks and baked quite a few desserts with strawberries. There were juicy and plump strawberries tempting me wherever I went. Not that anyone was complaining.
Strawberries had me creative and baking overtime. I made cakes and pies. Tarts and scones. I haven’t found the time to catch up my blog with all the wonderful recipes. What started my strawberry baking ideas was an older issue of La Cucina Italiana. I really miss getting my La Cucina Italiana every month. The older June issue I have has a whole section dedicated to Italian desserts made with fresh strawberries. There is a stunning Trionfo di Fragole, Biscotti alle Fragole, Pudding di Riso with a strawberry sauce and this gorgeous Crostata di Fragole e Ricotta.
I started to get busy baking and the first thing I made was this and it was huge success. The custard like filling made with ricotta and eggs is heavenly as a base for the delicate strawberries. The tart is buttery and delicate. Like many Italian desserts, it’s not overly sweet.
My mind has been on Italy for a while. The time has come for us to return to our second home and I seriously am so excited to get back. Even though it’s only been a year since we’ve been there, it seems like so much longer! I’m thrilled to get back to Calabria to see my husband’s nonna. Nonna Antonia is almost 90 and she was not very happy that we didn’t make it down to Calabria last year to visit with her. She did give us a couple of guilt trips mentioning in Calabrese that she may not be around much longer and who knows what plans God has for her and se Dio vuole (if God wants), we will see her on our next trip. This year we will also make it again to my beloved Sicily and my dad’s hometown. I can’t wait to see some of my aunts and uncles and cousins. Needless to say, I can’t wait to enjoy the food! Stay tuned for some posts while I’m there and also follow along on Instagram where I hope to keep up as much as I can when there is working Wi-Fi!! I haven’t been that busy on social media as I normally am for the blog.
You can still find me pinning delicious food and gorgeous Italy and catch some silly snap chat stuff. But for the most part, I’ve been spending whatever free time I have on getting fit again. It’s so important to get your cardio every day. I’m sad to say I’ve seriously slacked for the last couple of years. My goal has been at least 30 (or 45) minutes 4-5 days a week of walking, jogging, sprinting, lunges (and other exercises). Some weeks it’s only been 3 days, and I’m ok with that. I’ve taken my routine more seriously not just to prep for going to Italy, but to get back on track to where I used to be with exercise. I find myself feeling better about myself and even more relaxed. What do you do for exercise and how do you stick to your goals? I know it’s hard to think about exercise staring at a tart filled with ricotta. 😀
some notes on this recipe:
A perfect summer strawberry tart I will be making over and over again. I chose to make my tart in mini tart pans. You could make it one regular tart pan. I love the idea of everyone getting their own individual dessert (and they’re so adorable!). It is a perfect dessert showcasing the season’s fresh strawberries. You could also make the tart with raspberries or blueberries (or a combo of all the fresh berries you find).
A perfect summer strawberry tart I will be making over and over again. I chose to make my tart in mini tart pans. You could make it one regular tart pan. I love the idea of everyone getting their own individual dessert (and they’re so adorable!). It is a perfect dessert showcasing the season’s fresh strawberries. You could also make the tart with raspberries or blueberries (or a combo of all the fresh berries you find).
If you are dreaming of something creamy and luscious, make this strawberry panna cotta!!
I also have an amazing compilation of strawberry ideas here you can peruse!
Some of my other crostata to keep you busy baking:
Recipe from La Cucina Italiana
Strawberry and Ricotta Tarts are so easy to put together and so elegant. This is the perfect way to enjoy the season's juicy and vibrant strawberries!
Servings: 4 mini tarts
Ingredients
CRUST
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 1 stick 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces, plus more for greasing pans
FILLING
- 1 1/4 cups fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon orange flower water I used 1 teaspoon Limoncello
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 3/4 pound strawberries sliced
- Confectioners sugar for dusting
Instructions
CRUST
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and rub mixture between fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Make a well in center, add 2 tablespoons water and mix together to form a dough. Knead dough 3 to 4 times, flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Butter 4 mini tart pans or a 9 1/2-inch tart pan. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 12-inch round. Cut out four portions to fit the small tart pans. Fit dough into tart pan, pressing into edges (repeat with the other 3 tarts); chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat oven to 400º with rack in middle. Line tart pan with parchment paper, leaving at least 1-inch overhang. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges are pale golden, about 10 minutes. Remove parchment and weights; continue to bake until bottom of crust is pale golden and edges are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes more. Cool shell completely on wire rack.
FILLING
- Reduce oven temperature to 350º. In a large bowl, whisk cheese until smooth. Add egg yolks, sugar, orange flower water and lemon zest; whisk together to combine.
- Spread filling into cooled tart shell; bake, rotating once halfway through, until just set in center and a cake tester inserted in center of tart comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.
- Arrange strawberries in concentric circles atop tart; dust edge of crust with confectioners sugar. Remove tart from pan.
Instagram and got to review them here in your post. You know I have such a thing for Italy and every time you go I feel a bit more inspired. I am aching to to go, but I’m waiting for the right opportunity as I want to be able to “live” it once we get there. In the meantime, I’ll just keep visiting Italy vicariously through you.
Hi Emma-thanks so much. I hope you make it there one day very soon! XO
What a beautiful recipe, am attempting to find a use for the lonesome tub of Ricotta sitting in my fridge?
I notice you state fresh Ricotta, would it be acceptable to replace it with store bought smooth Ricotta?
Happy baking!
You could definitely use smooth ricotta that is store bought…strain it with a cheese cloth if you find it to be very runny. The Galbani brand is usually not that runny and works well in recipes like this!