Have you had enough chocolate desserts? Whilst Easter is one of the holidays that is typically dominated by chocolate in many Western countries, why not switch it up this year with a decadently creamy Italian Pie? Subtly flavoured with lemon, Ricotta Pie is a delicious dessert to finish your Easter dinner with!
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Why You Will Love This Italian Ricotta Pie?
- It’s a delicious pie all year round, not only Easter Time. Try it at your next dinner party!
- This Italian Easter Pie is for you if you have had enough chocolate for Easter!
- A great dessert for Cheesecake lovers: think creamy ricotta filling in a pie crust.
- It’s a great family recipe. The lemon flavour in this pie is very subtle, and the ricotta cheese filling isn’t overly sweet either!
- This Lemon Ricotta Cheese Pie can be made using a shop-bought pie crust or tart case if you don’t have time to make your own shortcrust pastry.
- It keeps well for a few days in the fridge, so you can make it in advance.
But if you like ricotta in a savoury setting better, try another Italian Easter Classic – Torta Pasqualina (Spinach & Ricotta Pie).
Equipment Needed
- Food processor: we use and love Kenwood food processor, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry. You can make the pastry without a food processor.
- Rolling pin: we highly recommend using a stainless steel rolling pin.
- Baking parchment: our vote goes to Bacofoil Baking parchment.
- Baking beans: or other baking weights.
- 20 cm loose-bottom tart tin (springform pan) or a pie dish.
- Wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
- A large bowl that is sturdy enough to beat the ricotta filling in with an electric mixer.
- Handheld Mixer: we use a Kenwood Mixer.
Ingredients
There are two main elements to this Lemon Ricotta Pie. Sweet shortcrust pastry and ricotta filling. If you want to make it more of an effortless Easter pie, you can use shop-bought shortcrust pastry, or even use a blind-baked tart case.
For Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
- plain flour: also known as all-purpose flour.
- icing sugar: also known as powdered sugar, or confectioner’s sugar.
- butter: fridge-cold unsalted butter.
- egg yolk: use a yolk from a large egg.
- water: is used to moisten the pastry so that you can bring it into a ball. You may replace it with fresh lemon juice.
** Note that typically, pasta frolla is used for Ricotta Pie in Italy (both make a type of sweet crust but the main difference is that it uses whole eggs instead of egg yolks), but we find that sweet shortcrust pastry is more delicate, melt-in-the-mouth and complements the creamy filling better.
For Ricotta Filling Ingredients
- ricotta: for best results use whole milk ricotta cheese (full-fat).
- caster sugar: can be replaced with white granulated sugar.
- egg yolks: from two large eggs.
- heavy cream: also known as double cream in the UK.
- cornflour: also known as cornstarch.
- lemon zest.
Step-by-Step Method
Start by making the sweet shortcrust pastry. Then make the ricotta pie filling and bake. The pie will need to cool down and chill before slicing too.
Step 1: Make Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
Place flour and icing sugar in a food processor. Add the cold cubed butter to the dry ingredients and blitz it all into a mixture that resembles fine sand. Then add the egg yolk and pulse. Add 1-3 tablespoon of water and pulse again until the mixture starts clumping together.
***If you don’t have a food processor, place the flour and icing sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter cubes and using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until it resembled fine sand. Add the lightly beaten egg yolk and rub it in. Then add just about water to be able to bring the pastry together.***
Knead the pastry just enough to during it into a ball. Flatten it out, wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Once chilled, roll the pastry out onto a large sheet of parchment paper, dusted with flour. You should have a circle of thin pastry that will cover the base and up the sides of your tart pan. We used a 20cm loose-bottom tart tin.
Pick up the sheet with rolled-out pastry and inverse it onto the tart tin. Unpeel the parchment paper and carefully push the pastry into the edges of the base and up the fluted sides.
Using a sharp knife, trim the overhanging excess dough to be flush with the time of the tart tin. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork.
Place the lined tart tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C Fan. Once the pastry has frozen, take it out of the freezer, place a large sheet of baking paper on top and fill it with baking beans to weigh the pastry down.
Blind bake it in the oven for 10 minutes. Then remove the baking beans and the baking paper and return the tart case in the oven for another 10 minutes until light golden brown.
Take the tart case out of the oven and leave to cool down slightly.
Step 2: Make Ricotta Pie Filling
Drain your ricotta, if it has liquid around it. Place it in a large mixing bowl, alongside caster sugar and beat it for 1-2 minutes. Add the cream and cornflour and beat again for 1 minute. Then add the egg yolks and beat on low speed just enough to incorporate. Avoid creating too many air bubbles in the mixture.
Finally, stir the lemon zest into the ricotta mixture.
Pour the ricotta pie filling into the baked tart case.
Step 3: Bake & Chill
Bake this Easter Pie at 180 C Fan for 18-20 minutes. The filling should be just set.
Take the ricotta pie out of the oven and leave it to cool down to room temperature. Chill it in the fridge before slicing for at least 2 hours.
Decorate just before serving if you wish (see how to make candied lemon slices in the section below).
Tips & Tricks For Success
- Keep everything cold: It’s essential to keep all of your ingredients cold when making shortcrust pastry. Use chilled butter and water, and work quickly to keep the dough from warming up too much. This helps to keep the dough from becoming tough and ensures that the butter stays solid, creating those flaky layers we all love.
- Don’t overwork the dough: Once you’ve brought the dough together, stop working it as soon as possible. Overworking the dough can lead to tough, dense pastry. Instead, shape the dough into a disc, wrap it in clingfilm, and chill it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. This resting time allows the gluten in the flour to relax, which makes the pastry easier to roll out and less likely to shrink or crack during baking.
- Choose the right ricotta: The quality of your ricotta cheese will have a big impact on the final result of your pie filling. Look for a high-quality, whole-milk ricotta cheese that is creamy, smooth, and not too grainy. Avoid using low-fat or skim ricotta, which can result in a watery and bland filling.
- Mix in complementary flavours: Ricotta cheese has a mild flavour that can benefit from the addition of complementary ingredients. For a sweet ricotta pie filling, we typically add lemon zest, but try adding vanilla extract or almond extract for a boost of flavour. You can also add dried fruit or chopped nuts for texture and interest.
Decorating Lemon Ricotta Pie
We love making candied lemon slices to decorate Ricotta Pie with. To make them, you will need:
- 100g caster sugar
- 110ml water
- 1 large lemon, cut into thin slices.
Place sugar and water in a large pan over low-medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Place the lemon slices in the syrup in a single layer. Reduce the heat and simmer for 40-50 minutes, turning the lemon slices once or twice in the process. Remove the lemon from the syrup, shaking off as much syrup as you can, and place them on a sheet of baking parchment to firm up in a dry place.
Top your Italian Easter pie with lemon slices and decorate with small sprigs of mint.
Alternatively, you can use some fresh or freeze-dried raspberries, blueberries or orange zest. All of these flavours pair very well with lemon.
Other Italian Desserts
Italian recipes never disappoint when it comes to desserts. If you’ve had enough of this sweet ricotta pie, try some other delicious treats:
- Strawberry Tiramisu
- Sourdough Panettone
- Vanilla Panna Cotta With Strawberry Topping
- Goats Cheese Panna Cotta with Spiced Plums
- Spiced Chai Panna Cotta with Cranberry Jelly
Other Delicious Easter Recipes
Fancy making a whole lot more sweet treats for the Easter Celebrations?
Recipe Card
Lemon Ricotta Pie (Italian Easter Pie)
Equipment
- Food Processor optional
Ingredients
For Sweet Shortcrust Pastry:
- 150 g flour
- 50 g icing sugar
- 75 g butter
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoon water
For Ricotta Filling:
- 250 g ricotta
- 60 g caster sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 50 g double heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon cornflour corn starch
- 1 lemon zest only
Instructions
- Start by making the sweet shortcrust pastry. Place flour and icing sugar in a food processor. Add cold cubed butter and blitz it all into a mixture that resembles fine sand. Add the egg yolk and pulse. Add 1-3 tablespoon of water and pulse again until the mixture starts clumping together.
- ***If you don't have a food processor, place the flour and icing sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter cubes and using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until it resembled fine sand. Add the lightly beaten egg yolk and rub it in. Then add just about water to be able to bring the pastry together.***
- Knead the pastry just enough to during it into a ball. Flatten it out, wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Once chilled, roll the pastry out onto a large sheet of parchment paper, dusted with flour. You should have a circle of thin pastry that will cover the base and up the sides of your tart tin. We used a 20cm loose-bottom tart tin.
- Pick up the sheet with rolled-out pastry and inverse it onto the tart tin. Unpeel the parchment paper and carefully push the pastry into the edges of the base and up the fluted sides.
- Using a sharp knife, trim the overhanging pastry to be flush with the time of the tart tin. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork.
- Place the lined tart tin in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Once the pastry has frozen, take it out of the freezer, place a large sheet of baking paper on top and fill it with baking beans to weigh the pastry down.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Then remove the baking beans and the baking paper and return the tart case in the oven for another 10 minutes.
- Take the tart case out of the oven and leave to cool down slightly.
Filling:
- Drain your ricotta, if it has liquid around it. Place it in a large mixing bowl, alongside caster sugar and beat it for 1-2 minutes. Add the cream and cornflour and beat again for 1 minutes. Then add the egg yolks and beat just enough to incorporate.
- Finally stir in the lemon zest.
- Pour the ricotta pie filling into the baked tart case. Bake it at 180° C Fan for 18-20 minutes. The filling should be just set.
- Take the ricotta pie out of the oven leave it cool down to room temperature. Chill it in the fridge before slicing for at least 2 hours.
- Decorate just before serving if you wish (see how to make candied lemon slices in the notes).
Notes
- 100g caster sugar
- 110ml water
- 1 large lemon, cut into thin slices.
Nutrition
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