Ricotta and Chocolate Cake – Torta di ricotta e cioccolata
There are many ricotta cake recipes, but when I’ve tried this one I fell in love with it so I’ve decided to publish it here. It’s a wonderful recipe that my friend Sara gave me.
Ingredients:
For the crust:
2-1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup cold butter sliced thinly
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
1 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. grappa
For the filling:
14 oz. fresh ricotta
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup un-sweetened chocolate chips
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl mix the ingredients for the crust with the exception of the butter.
2. Now cut the butter into thin slices and add it to the mixture working it in gently, but not so much that everything blends together. To have to butter cold enough you should put it in the freezer for 20 or 30 minutes before slicing it.
3. Take half the crust mixture and press it gently into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan that has been greased with butter and dusted with flour.
4. Now mix the ricotta and sugar with a fork.
5. Once mixed in well add the chocolate chips mix again and then spread it evenly on top of the crust.
6. Take the remainder of the crust and crumble it with your hands letting the pieces fall over the filling. You can press it down gently if you wish, however when it bakes the butter will melt and the crust will take a nice form.
7. Bake in a preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes at 320°. Serve it at room temperature.
Notes:
Grappa is a liquor that is made by distilling the residue of the grapes after they’ve been pressed to make wine. It’s available in better liquor stores. If you are uncomfortable with using grappa you can just skip it, but it sure gives a particular flavor to the crust.
Note that the cake isn’t completely enclosed in the crust like a pie, but instead it’s shaped like a crumble cake with crust also on the bottom and filling in the middle.
Recommended resources:
Hi Patty, thanks for posting this. I made it and it has become one of my firm favourites. I’ve since found a version on epicurious.com which I am going to try this week (it has some rum soaked raisins in it as well). I’ve actually decided that it will be my dessert contribution for Christmas lunch – given that the big rich fruit puddings are a little too much on a hot Christmas day in Australia. Cheers, Justine
Looks and sounds delicious! I’d love to give it a try, and was wondering if you could please point out the weight of the flour and sugar used for the crust.
Thank you for sharing the recipe!
@Justine: Thank you Justine! How did the epicurious cake turned out?
@ali: for the crust you need g. 300 flour and g. 150 sugar.
Hello Patty,
Thank you for your kind reply! That’s very helpful…
I’m really looking forward to making this cake.
Thanks again!
This reciepe is easy, quick and utterly devine!!!
Hope this is good! Just put it in the oven for an Italian themed dinner potluck. I didn’t have grappa so tried rum and semi-sweet chips to avoid a trip to the store. Thanks for the recipe!