Makes 8 to 10 Servings
Ingredients
Pasta Frola (crust) Ingredients:
- 2 cups all- purpose flour (unbleached), plus additional for kneading
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 stick butter (4 ounces), chilled, cut into 8 pieces
- 2 large egg yolks
Ricotta Filling Ingredients:
- 1 ½ pounds whole-milk ricotta
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon anisette
- 3 tablespoons citron or mixed candied fruit
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Directions
To make the crust, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl and mix. Add the butter and work it into the flour mixture, like pie dough (this can be done by hand or in food processor), until there are pea-sized pieces of butter. Stir in the egg yolks. The mixture will come together into a ball. Briefly knead the dough, cut in half, and shape into two disks. Wrap the pieces of dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or as long as overnight. q(you’ll only be using one of the disks for the cheesecake bottom crust. You can freeze the second for later use, or cut a little lattice top for cheesecake.)
Sprinkle flour on the table to prevent sticking. Using a rolling pin extend the dough until it is ¼ inch thick all around. In order to fill a 9-inch pan with the dough, one method is to use a 10-inch pan to cut the dough, like a cookie cutter. Once cut, lift the dough and fill the pan using your fingers to spread evenly and press the dough against the side of the pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
To make the filling, rub the ricotta through a sieve or pulse until smooth in a food processor. Place the ricotta in a 3-quart bowl and stir in the sugar, then the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla, anisette, citron or candied fruit, and cinnamon. Pour the mixture over the crust in the pan. The mixture should just come to the top of the crust. (It’s okay if it goes over a little.) Place the lattice pieces on top now if you are opting for that.
Bake at 350° F until the filling is set and the crust is baked through, about 60 minutes. Cool before unmolding.