Ricotta and Pear

Ricotta e pera dalla Costiera Amalfitana

Combining creamy ricotta, sweet pears and light fluffy nutty biscuit what could be better than a traditional ricotta and pear cake? A tradition of the Amalfi Coast this sweet delight was made famous by one of Italy’s top pastry chefs Sal de Riso – we visit his café regularly and his creations are heavenly.

I decided to recreate this recipe, and although I am not Sal de Riso, I must say the end result was pretty tasty…

For the base you will need:

Nut flour – 200g (traditionally this would by hazelnut but I used almond)
Sugar – 200g
Butter – 200g
Flour – 60g
Eggs – 2
Unsweetened cacao powder – 1 tablespoon

For the filling:

Ricotta – 300g (I used a mix of half bufalo and half sheep’s ricotta)
Fresh cream – 250ml
Pears – 3
Lemon juice – one half yields
Icing sugar – 75gr (I used brown icing sugar, but ordinary is fine)

The method:

In a mixing bowl combine 100g of nut flour and 100g of sugar.
Add 1 egg, 100g of softened butter, 30g of flour and half of the cacao powder. Mix well to obtain a smooth mixture.
Line a sprinform cake pan with grease proof paper and pour in the mixture, using a spatula tp ensure an even coverage over the bottom of the pan.
Bake for 15 minutes at 180°C.
Remove the biscuit base and leave to cool, then repeat the same process for the second circle.
Peel and core the pears before chopping them into small pieces.
Place the chopped pears in a pan before covering with sugar, lemon juice and a splash of water. Cook them over a low heat until they are soft and slightly golden.
Beat the ricotta together with the icing sugar in a mixing bowl
Whip the cream
Mix the cream and the ricotta folding from top to bottom. Now you are ready to build your cake!
Line your springform pan with clingfilm.
Carefully place the first biscuit disc in the bottom and then pour the pears over it. They should not have too much liquid, if they are watery rather than syrupy cook them a little further or drain off some of the excess fluid.
Pour in the ricotta and cream mix and level with a spatula.
Place the second disc carefully on top and seal with further clingfilm.
Leave to set in the fridge for at least 5 hours. You can decorate before serving if you want, either by adding a simple dusting of icing sugar (like lazybones here did) or by adding caramel or melted chocolate.