Italian Ricotta Pie (Easter Ricotta Cheesecake)

This Italian ricotta pie is the kind of dessert that earns a permanent spot in your rotation — not just for Easter. A buttery pasta frolla crust holds a creamy, lightly sweet ricotta filling studded with candied citron and mini chocolate chips. It’s lighter than cheesecake, far more unique, and the kind of thing people ask you to bring again.

This post contains a sponsored mention of Galbani®. All opinions are my own.

An Italian Easter Tradition (Worth Making Any Day)

My Aunt Rosemarie is Italian by heritage and lived in Italy for years, and she’s the one who taught me that in Italy, Easter isn’t Easter without ricotta cheese. It shows up everywhere on the holiday table — from savory Pizza Rustica (a double-crusted pie packed with ricotta, eggs, meats and cheese) to cannoli to this classic dessert.

Ricotta pie itself is a lightly sweetened, cheesecake-like dessert studded with mini chocolate chips and candied citrus peel (citron) — lighter in texture than a traditional cheesecake, and a real showstopper whenever you serve it. Galbani® Double Cream Ricotta is what makes the filling this rich; I wouldn’t make it with anything else.

When my Aunt tasted this version, she said it brought her right back to Italy — exactly how she remembered it. Once you taste it, you’ll understand why this pie has stuck around in Italian families for generations, Easter or not.

As with most cheesecakes, this one starts with the crust… but rather than the typical American graham cracker variety, it uses a lightly sweetened shortcrust known as pasta frolla.

Pasta frolla (a.k.a Pate Sucrée) is a lightly sweetened, egg-enriched pastry. It can be a bit fragile to work with, but it makes a delightfully flaky, buttery pastry that’s perfect for nestling the rich ricotta filling in.

Making pasta frolla in a food processor

1. Combine the flour, milk powder (if using), and salt in the food processor and pulse to combine.
2. Add cold butter and pulse several times (8-12) until it resembles coarse sand.
3. Mix the egg yolk with the extracts and water and pour into the food processor.
4. Pulse until the dough starts to clump together.
5. Roll the dough into a ball and flatten into a disc.
6. Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 3 days.

I like to make this pastry in the food processor. It’s faster and less of a workout, but if you don’t have one, you can also make it by hand. 

Making pastry by hand

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
2. Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the dry ingredients.
3. Use a pastry blender or two sharp knives to cut the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse sand.
4. Add the wet ingredients, and mix with your hands, until it comes together in a ball.
5. Pat into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate.

The dough needs to rest and chill before you roll it out. (It’s easiest to work with this dough when its chilled but not ice cold.) I will warn you, that pasta frolla is a fragile pastry, so to avoid any hassles here’s a few pointers.

Tips for working with pasta frolla

• Instead of flouring a workspace, roll out the dough between two large pieces of parchment paper. The benefit is that the parchment doesn’t stick to the pasta frolla and you’ll be able to pick up the crust and put it in the refrigerator to chill, whenever it starts to get too warm to work with.
• Place the dough between the parchment and use your rolling pin to roll from top to bottom and side to side. After two or three passes, gently lift the parchment and place it back down on the dough, so you’re not fighting it.
• Turn the dough 90º after every three or four passes so you’re rolling it into a circle. You want about a 13″ to 14″ pastry disc.
• If/when the dough starts to stick to the parchment, transfer the whole thing (parchment and all) to the refrigerator for 5-10 minute to chill. 
• When it come out of the fridge gently peel the parchment back from the pastry just to loosen it and set it back on top of the dough.

How to get the pastry dough into the springform pan

I freely admit that pastry isn’t my thing. I’ve had more than my share of mishaps, especially when trying to transfer a fragile dough to a pie plate or pan. Here’s my tricks for making it work:

1. To transfer the dough to the pan, remove the top parchment, and, with your hand beneath the bottom parchment, flip it, dough-side down, into the springform pan. 
2. Press the dough (through the parchment) firmly to the bottom, sides and corners of the pan, then gently peel back the paper.

You can count on having a few holes or tears in the dough and likely one side of the pastry is hanging off, while the other side doesn’t have quite enough. Don’t fret.

Just cut off any excess or hanging pasta frolla pastry with a sharp knife and use it to patch any tears and fill in the gaps where the dough is missing.

Transfer the springform pan to the refrigerator to chill while you make the ricotta filling.

What is candied citrus peel?

Candied citrus peel (citron) can come from lemons, oranges, limes even grapefruit and it’s literally the candied peel of the fruit (no flesh). You can find citron sold at the store, but it’s even better when made from scratch. 

I think of it like this — the stuff from the store is strictly used as an “ingredient” in something else. 

If it’s made from scratch — it’s a snack, a garnish, a treat (as evidenced by my husband who grazed his way through half of my stock and my Aunt Rosemarie who happily nibbled them with a pre-dinner cocktail.)

You can skip the chocolate chips and candied citrus if you want, but they are really delicious in this ricotta pie (especially if you make your own citron).

Where the pastry might be a little persnickety… the filling is anything but. This egg and ricotta filling is so simple to assemble, you could have your kids do it for you — except they’d likely pilfer half of the chocolate chips and candied citrus.

Making ricotta filling for Italian pie

1. Whisk together the double cream ricotta, flour, sugar, eggs, vanilla and lemon zest until smooth.
2. Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped citron.

The batter for this Italian ricotta pie is ultra-rich and creamy, thanks to the Galbani ricotta. It makes such a difference in this dessert, it’s worth seeking out. 

Many ricotta cheese brands require straining to remove excess liquid.

I found that wasn’t the case with Galbani double cream ricotta. In fact, I did strain it, but after several hours in a mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter, it only yielded about 2 teaspoons of “excess liquid”. 

Not enough to make a difference in the outcome of this classic Italian dessert, so be sure to look for Galbani double cream ricotta to save yourself the straining step.

Baking the ricotta pie

There are a few things to pay attention to when baking this dessert.

• First, make sure your oven rack is positioned at the lowest spot in the oven and preheat the oven before baking.
• After you put the pie in the oven — there’s NO PEEKING.
• Bake for one hour, then turn the oven off and let it continue to sit in the oven (again NO PEEKING) for another half an hour.
• Remove the ricotta pie and cool to room temperature.

FAQ’s

Aunt Rosemarie’s verdict

I knew the real test would be Aunt Rosemarie. When she tried a slice, she didn’t just approve — she said it tasted exactly like the version she remembered from her years living in Italy, candied citron and all.

The rest of the family agreed. Not a crumb was left on anyone’s plate, which is saying something since we’d already worked through a filling dinner of Rosemarie’s pasta bolognese first.

More cheesecakes you might like:

• Cheesecake Brownies
• Guava Cheesecake
• Mini Cheesecake Bites (Easy Bite-Size Cheesecake Recipe)

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