Ricotta pear cake (Torta ricotta e pere) recipe for today takes us back to beautiful Italy; a dish that originates from Campania region, specifically from the Amalfi coast. If you happen to visit that stunning part of the world you should treat yourself to this easy and delicious cake. The ingredients of Ricotta pear cake (Torta ricotta e pere) are emblematic of the people from the region: humble like the pears and strong like hazelnut.
I am not sure about you but my Facebook page is filled with countdown pictures getting us ready for Christmas. I love this time of year, but the excess of it once used to overwhelm me and make me upset.
Now I just find it funny.
We will be spending our Christmas break abroad, and for that reason we put up our Christmas tree last weekend already. We can still enjoy the cozy feel of our flat for a few weeks before heading off to visit family.
We had just finished watching the news and the Black Friday images of people fighting to get the latest TVs. To us, the clips were just hilarious, and we felt blessed we were at home, with our heating back on. We were slightly tipsy, of course!
The mulled wine helped unleashing our creativity, I think, and the final result was great. Our living room looks like the Christmas Grotto of a department store now.
You must excuse us this week, as we have prepared another dessert recipe. We had some pears at home that were screaming to be eaten, and that’s what we did.
Enjoy the cake!
Ingredients
- Walnut or hazelnut: 100 g (3.5 oz)
- Flour: 50 g (1/3 cup)
- Sugar: 100 g (1/2 cup)
- Butter: 75 g (2.65 oz), small squares
- Egg white: 4
- Pear: 500 g (18 oz), peeled, 2-cm (0.8 inch) pieces
- Vanilla pod: 1 or vanilla extract: 2 tsp
- Cream cheese: 50 g (1.8 oz)
- Golden caster sugar: 125 g (3/5 cup)
- Ricotta: 250 g (8.8 oz)
- Whip cream: 100 ml (2/5 cup)
- Icing sugar for dusting
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F), then toast the walnuts/hazelnuts for 10 minutes and set aside to cool
- Meanwhile, grease 20 cm (7.9 inch) round tin with butter and line its base with baking paper
- Finely blend the nuts (in food processor), transfer to a mixing bowl, then add the flour, sugar, butter and beat till combined using a spatula
- Whisk the egg whites till soft peaks formed then carefully fold into the mixture using a spatula. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 25 minutes. Take out and leave for 5 mins, then remove the tin, baking paper and let the cake cool in a wire rack
- Meanwhile, add the pears, 75 g (1/3 cup) golden caster sugar into a pan. Split lengthways the vanilla pod to take out the vanilla seeds and add all into the pan. Alternatively use vanilla extract Cover the pan and cook over a medium heat for 15 mins. Then pour into a sieve and let cool, reseve the syrup
- Whisk the remaining sugar, cream cheese, ricotta and whip cream till combined, then add the cooled pears into and fold to combine
- Slice horizontally the cake into two even halves, place the first half on a even plate, pour and spread evenly the ricotta pear cream over, top with the other half and dust with icing sugar
- Store the cake in a freezer about 4 hours. 30 mins before serving, take the cake out of the freezer. Slice the cake into 8-10 pieces and top with the reserved syrup
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