• Baked ricotta tarts

    Delicate Baked ricotta tarts. Even consider making your own homemade ricotta, it’s so worth it!

    PREP TIME 1 hour 10 minutes | COOK TIME 35 minutes | Makes 18

     

    INGREDIENTS

    PASTRY

    • 55 g blanched whole almonds, roasted
    • ¼ cup sesame seeds, roasted
    • 1 ¼ cups (185 g) plain flour
    • 125 g chilled butter, coarsely chopped
    • ¼ cup caster sugar
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 1 tsp vanilla essence
    • 1 tbsp chilled water

    RICOTTA FILLING 

    • 1 ¼ cups ricotta
    • ¼ cup caster sugar
    • 1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
    • 1 egg 
    • 1 egg yolk

     

    TO SERVE

    • ½ cup fine-cut orange marmalade
    • 1 orange, rind removed and cut into thin strips

     

    METHOD

    PASTRY

    ADD almonds and seeds to a food processor and blend until finely chopped. Add flour, butter and sugar, process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. 

    ADD egg yolk, vanilla and the water. Blend until the mixture just forms a dough. 

    COVER dough in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

    PREHEAT oven to 180℃. 

    GREASE 18 small fluted tins (6.5cm top and 3.5cm deep). Place on a baking tray.

    ROLL pastry out onto a floured surface to 3mm thick. Using an 8cm round cutter, cut 18 circles of pastry and line the tins carefully, pressing into the base and sides and trimming any excess. Freeze for 10 minutes. Gather excess dough into a ball and re-roll, cut into 1cm thin strips.

    RICOTTA FILLING 

    ADD ricotta, sugar, orange zest, egg and egg yolk to a bowl. Beat until smooth. 

    SPOON ricotta filling into the tart shells and decorate with thin pastry strips.

    BAKE tarts for 35 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

    COOL tarts in tins for 5 minutes, then remove from tins and set on a wire rack to cool completely.

    TO SERVE

    TOP with orange marmalade and strips of rind.

     

    FOOD TEAM TIP: If you don’t have 18 tins, use as many as you have, refrigerating the circles of pastry until ready to use. You can also use a muffin tray. This pastry is very forgiving, if it cracks when lining the tart tins, simply press it back together.

     

    Baked ricotta tarts

    Serves: Makes 18
    Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes Cooking Time: 35 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

    Ingredients

    • Pastry
    • 55 g blanched whole almonds, roasted
    • ¼ cup sesame seeds, roasted
    • 1 ¼ cups (185 g) plain flour
    • 125 g chilled butter, coarsely chopped
    • ¼ cup caster sugar
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 1 tsp vanilla essence
    • 1 tbsp chilled water
    • Ricotta filling
    • 1 ¼ cups ricotta
    • ¼ cup caster sugar
    • 1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
    • 1 egg 
    • 1 egg yolk
    • To serve
    • ½ cup fine-cut orange marmalade
    • 1 orange, rind removed and cut into thin strips

    Instructions

    For the pastry

    1

    Add almonds and seeds to a food processor and blend until finely chopped. Add flour, butter and sugar, process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. 

    2

    Add egg yolk, vanilla and the water. Blend until the mixture just forms a dough. 

    3

    Cover dough in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

    4

    Preheat oven to 180℃. 

    5

    Grease 18 small fluted tins (6.5cm top and 3.5cm deep). Place on a baking tray.

    6

    Roll pastry out onto a floured surface to 3mm thick. Using an 8cm round cutter, cut 18 circles of pastry and line the tins carefully, pressing into the base and sides and trimming any excess. Freeze for 10 minutes. Gather excess dough into a ball and re-roll, cut into 1cm thin strips.

    For the ricotta filling

    7

    Add ricotta, sugar, orange zest, egg and egg yolk to a bowl. Beat until smooth. 

    8

    Spoon ricotta filling into the tart shells and decorate with thin pastry strips.

    9

    Bake tarts for 35 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

    10

    Cool tarts in tins for 5 minutes, then remove from tins and set on a wire rack to cool completely.

    To serve

    11

    Top with orange marmalade and strips of rind.

     

    Made these Baked ricotta tarts? Tag us @foodandhomesa #cookingwithFH on Instagram!

     

    ALSO SEE: Homemade ricotta with honey pepper and farm style bread

    Home-Made Ricotta with Honey, Pepper and Farm-Style Bread

    Feature image: Aremedia