By Chef Loretta Paganini, www.lpscinc.com
Ingredients
For pasta frolla:
2 ½ c flour
2/3 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tsp. lemon juice
3 drops vanilla extract
8 tbsp butter, unsalted
For Crema di Ricotta:
2 c whole-milk ricotta
½ c sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ c chocolate chips
¼ c diced candied citron
Strawberry Sauce (process until smooth):
2 c frozen strawberries
1 lemon – juice and zest
½ c sugar
Instructions
- For pasta frolla, sift flour, sugar, and baking powder into a large mixing bowl, then make a well in the center. Incorporate butter, lightly whisk together eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Pour eggs into center of well in flour mixture. Gradually incorporate eggs into flour using a pastry cutter, until mixture is dry and crumbly. Add lemon juice until a soft, wet dough is formed.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, lightly flour your hands, and knead just enough to form a smooth dough. Use a pastry scraper to help lift and knead dough, adding a little more flour if dough sticks to floured surface.
- Drain ricotta and place in a bowl. Add sugar, vanilla, chocolate chips and citron to ricotta and mix well.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9″ cake pan, then set aside. Roll out three-quarters of the dough on a lightly floured surface into a round about 12″ in diameter and 1/4″ thick. Gently fold dough over rolling pin, then fit it into bottom of cake pan, with 2″-3″ of the dough coming up the side of the pan. Spoon in filling, spreading it evenly over dough. Fold pastry edges in over edge of ricotta filling. Roll out remaining dough to a thickness of about 1/4″. Cut into 1/2″-wide strips. Decorate top of cake with strips in a lattice pattern. Bake on a baking sheet in the middle of the oven until golden, 45-55 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a cake rack for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
- Serve with strawberry sauce.
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