Creamy Sicilian Ricotta Pie (VIDEO)
This easy Sicilian Ricotta pie with a hint of lemon is one of the creamiest, most delicious Pie you will ever make! Classic Italian Ricotta Pie is traditionally associated with Easter, but it might just be your favorite Pie all year round!
Servings: 8
Calories: 521kcal
Ingredients
Pie crust (Pastra Frolla)
- 200 g Pastry flour All purpose flour works too
- 60 g Powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon Baking powder
- 100 g Unsalted butter very cold cut into cubes
- 50 g Egg approx. 1 egg
Ricotta filling
- 500 g Ricotta creamy ricotta cheese. drain if watery
- 85 g Granulated sugar
- 3 Egg yolk room temperature
- 100 g Heavy Cream 36% fat content, room temperature
- 10 g Corn starch
- 2 lemon zest zest of 2 lemons
Whipped mascarpone
- 100 g mascarpone high fat content, cold
- 50 g Heavy Cream 36% fat content, cold
- 20 g Powdered sugar sifted
- 1 lemon zest zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
Ricotta filling
- If your ricotta is rather wet, make sure you drain it first then whip room temp ricotta with the help of an Electric hand mixer for 1-2 minutes.
- Add sugar and whip for a further minute, then add corn starch and whip until combined.
- Add room temp egg yolks one by one while continue whipping, then whip in room temp cream
- Finally, fold in lemon zest and set the mixture aside
Pie crust
- Sift together the dry ingredients; flour, icing sugar, baking powder, salt
- Add very cold butter cubes and rub the mixture between your hands until it becomes a sand like consistency
- Add egg into the mixture and mix with your hands just until the dough comes together
- Knead with the palm of your hand for a minute or two (do not over knead and do not use mixer) just until the dough becomes smooth
- After the dough chilled in the freezer for 15 minutes, remove silicone baking mat.
- Trim the rolled out dough into 27 cm / 10-11 inches in diameter then carefully place the dough into a Pie dish 9 inch / 23 cm
- Fold the extra dough under the crust then flute with your fingers. Chill pie dough again in the freezer for 30minutes.
- Pre-heat oven to 170 C / 338 F.
- After 30 minutes, line pie crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights (rice can work completely fine too). Blind bake pie crust for 20 minutes
- Remove pie weight, continue baking the Pie crust for another 20 minutes or until crust is well baked, golden brown both on the bottom and side as well. Let the crust rest for 15 minutes on room temp.
- Make sure only pour the filling in, if the crust is properly baked
- Once Ricotta filling in, cover the edge of the pie crust all around with aluminium foil, so it won´t be browning too much.
- Bake the Pie for about further 45 min. The side of the filling should be set and the middle of the filling might be still a bit wobbly, while the crust should be golden brown. Focus on the these, not the time itself
- Do not over bake your Pie as it can cause the filling to dry out and start developing cracks on top. Also too high oven temp can cause the same.
- Let the Pie rest for 3 hours on room temperature before cutting. The Pie will further sets as it cools
Decoration
- Whip mascarpone, very cold heavy cream and icing sugar with an Electric hand mixer. until smooth and fluffy, about one or two minutes. Once it has reached the right consistency, do not over beat as it can become runny
- Move whipped mascarpone into a piping bag fitted with your favourite nozzle tip and apply decoration all around the Pie then dust with more lemon zest
- Serve immediately or store the Pie in fridge for 2-3 days
Video
Notes
INGREDIENT NOTES:
- Measure your ingredients with a Digital scale for accuracy
- Use high-quality 82% fat content European style very cold unsalted butter
- Drain your ricotta cheese to avoid watery, greasy pie
- Make sure you read my Expert tips section above to maximize your success. A short recipe alone is not able to cover all the necessary details and science behind baking
- While assembling and kneading the dough, work as quickly as possible without 1. overworking the dough 2. making the dough too warm. Kneading literally should not take more than a minute or two
- The temperature while working with this dough is super important. Too warm? The pastry dough will tear. Too cold? The pastry dough will break. Aim for the in-between, a cold enough dough that is comfortable to work with. Use your fridge or freezer to chill the dough if it gets too warm
- I strongly advise using a Digital oven thermometer to be able to measure your exact oven temperature
Nutrition
Calories: 521kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 193mg | Sodium: 94mg | Potassium: 193mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 1176IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 193mg | Iron: 1mg