1 tart pan (10 inch/25cm) with a removable base or 10 inch pie plate (25cm)
Ingredients
Crust
1 ¾cupsall purpose plain flour((224 grams))
½teaspoonbaking powder
pinch of salt
4ozunsalted cold butter((113 grams) )
¾cupsuperfine white (castor) sugar((150 grams) )
1egg
2egg yolks
Filling
2cupswhole milk ricotta cheese((500 grams) drained if watery)
2eggs
¾cupsuperfine white (castor) sugar((150 grams))
½cupheavy cream((120 mls) )
zest of one lemon
¼teaspoonground cinnamon
1tablespoondark rum((15 mls) )
1teaspoonvanilla extract((5 mls) )
For serving
powdered sugar, berries or fruit sauce
Instructions
To make the crust
Chop the cold butter into small pieces then place in a food processor with the all purpose plain flour, baking powder and salt. Pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the sugar and egg and egg yolks then process until the mixture just starts to come together on the sides of the bowl. Remove and wrap in plastic wrap and chill for an hour.
Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC and butter and flour a 10 inch/25cm tart pan with a removable base.
For the filling
In a food processor, place all the filling ingredients and process to 1-2 minutes until well combined and smooth. Refrigerate until the crust is ready.
To assemble and bake the ricotta pie
Divide the dough in two pieces - ⅔ and ⅓. Rewrap and return the smaller piece to the fridge.
Using the larger piece, press it down to flatten and form a rough circle. Dust the pastry lightly with flour.
Roll out it between two sheets of non-stick parchment paper until large enough to fit the tart pan. If the pastry is sticking, dust with a little more flour.
Remove the top sheet of parchment paper and roll the pastry gently around the rolling pin. Lift and unroll into the pan. Pull up the pastry around the sides and encourage it to fall into the corners. Remove the parchment paper. Patch tears with excess pastry. Trim the edges level to the top of the pan.
Pour the filling into the base. Spread and level the filling.
With the scraps and the reserved dough, you’ll make a lattice pattern for the top. Add scraps of pastry to the leftover piece. Roll out between two sheets of parchment paper as before. Remove the top sheet of parchment paper the cut into strips
Pour onto crust then tap down lightly a couple of times to remove any air pockets in the filling.
Place the tart pan on a cookie sheet for easier transferring to the the oven.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes until golden brown. The middle will still be a little jiggly but that’s fine. The inside needs to be 160ºF/70ºC when ready.
Allow to cool then refrigerate before serving. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
Tips for Success
Use a 10 inch /25cm pie/flan pan with a removable base that has at least 1 1/4 inch (3cm) high sides. Alternatively use an 11 inch pie/flan pan with lower sides though the cooking time may vary and ratio of filling to crust will be different.
Pie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months
To make the pie dough without a food processor - simply chop the cold butter into small pieces (or coarsely grated) and rub into the all purpose plain flour, baking powder and salt with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs then mix in the sugar, egg and egg yolks to form a dough.
Chill the dough thoroughly. This is a soft dough, if it becomes warm it will be difficult to handle, return it in the fridge for 30 minutes.