Sour cherry and ricotta tart

This lovely crostata with its golden-crown pastry crust is soft and creamy in the middle, with a hint of licorice from a dash of Sambuca.

Credit: Bonacini's Italy

• serves

  8

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Pastry

• 2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
• 115 g (½ cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• ⅔ cup sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk

Filling

• 2 cups (250 g) fresh ricotta
• ⅓ cup (75 g) sugar
• 2 eggs
• Splash of Sambuca
• 1 cup sour cherry jam

 Egg wash

• 1 egg
• 1 tsp (5 ml) milk
• Icing sugar, for garnish
• Preserved sour cherries to serve, optional

Chilling time: 1 hour

Instructions

1. For the pastry, add flour and butter to a large bowl. Using your fingers, work the butter into the flour until it resembles a breadcrumb mixture. Add sugar, salt and zest and stir together well. In a separate small bowl, beat together eggs and egg yolk. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, stir in until combined, then work into a smooth dough. Divide into 2 and shape into discs, then chill, covered in plastic wrap, for 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease a 24 cm (10 inch) round tart pan.

3. For the filling, add ricotta, sugar, eggs and sambuca to a bowl and mix until well combined.

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one pastry disc until 3 mm thick. Put into the greased tart pan, cutting off the excess dough. Prick all over the bottom of the dough in the tart pan with a fork. Add the sour cherry jam to the tart pan, using a spatula to spread into a smooth, even layer. Now add the ricotta mixture to the tart pan, using a spatula to spread into a smooth, even layer over the sour cherry jam.

5. Roll out the second disk of dough on a lightly flour surfaced until 3 mm thick. Cut into even strips, then lay them across the top of the tart, putting half the strips one way, and half the other, weaving them over and under one another to create a lattice design.

6. Beat the egg and milk together in a small bowl, then brush over the pastry. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until pastry is lightly golden brown. Remove from oven, let cool, then dust with icing sugar. Serve with sour cherries. Buon appetito!

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.