-TO MAKE THE DOUGH-
2 1/2 c All-purpose flour
3/4 c Sugar
1/4 ts Salt
1/4 lb Unsalted butter; at room
-temperature
2 lg Eggs; lightly beaten
1 tb Or more ice water
Flour for rolling the dough
FOR THE FILLING
1 Carton; (15 ounces) whole
; milk ricotta cheese
1 pk Farmer’s cheese; (7.5
-ounces)
1/2 c Sugar
2 tb Flour
1 Egg; lightly beaten
1/4 c Romana Sambuca Liqueur
1/2 c Pine nuts; preferably
-toasted*
1/4 c Finely diced candied orange
-peel or other
; dried fruit
1 c Dried cherries; cranberries
-or
; golden raisins
Egg wash: 1 egg yolk beaten
-with 1
; tablespoon of milk
2 tb Confectioners& sugar for
-garnish
*To toast the pine nuts, set them in a 400? F. oven for about 10 minutes.
Keep an eye on them; they turn from golden to burned in seconds.
You’ll need a round cake pan, preferably with a loose bottom, 9 inches in
diameter and 11/2 inches deep.
TO MAKE THE DOUGH: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour,
sugar, salt and process until blended. Add the butter and process until
broken into the flour. Add the eggs and ice water to the flour and process,
by pulsing several times, until the dough comes together. If the dough
seems dry, add another teaspoon or so of ice water. Turn the dough onto a
board and gather it into a ball. Flatten the dough slightly, wrap it in
waxed paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375? F.
Flour a pastry board and rolling pin. Remove 2/3’s of the dough and roll it
into a circle about 1/4-inch thick and 11 inches in diameter. Line the cake
pan with the dough, pressing it into the bottom and up the sides of the
pan. If it breaks apart, don’t worry, just press it back into shape. Roll
the remaining 1/3 of dough into a circle about 3/8 -inch thick and 10
inches in diameter. Divide this circle into 10 strips, each about 1/2-inch
wide; this will be for the lattice top.
FOR THE FILLING: In a food processor, combine the ricotta and farmer’s
cheese, sugar, flour, egg and Sambuca and process until smooth. Transfer
the filling to a mixing bowl and fold in the pine nuts, candied orange peel
and cherries, or golden raisins and transfer this to the dough-lined cake
pan.
Lay 5 strips of dough across the ricotta filling and set the other 5 strips
across them, at a 45? angle, to form a lattice. With a pastry brush, paint
the lattice top and edges with the egg wash.
Set the cake pan on a baking pan and bake for 1 hour or until the filling
has set and the crust is golden. Remove the cake and cool it thoroughly on
a rack before unmolding. Right before serving, shake the confectioners’
sugar through a sieve to completely coat the top.
Yields
1 servings