Ricotta and chocolate crumble cake, Grandma’s recipe for a very fragrant crumble cake with a creamy, soft filling — a perfect dessert when the first cold days arrive and that keeps us company until late spring. The scent of ricotta, cinnamon and orange zest, mixed with the unmistakable aroma of buttery shortcrust pastry, brings me back to childhood, to the sweets I made with my grandmother and aunt; my grandmother was the wiz of crumble cakes! Grandma called the crumble a very easy tart! In fact, the crumble base is prepared in no time — 5 minutes and without resting the dough in the fridge; the large crumbs of shortcrust pastry and the creamy filling then create a truly wonderful textural combination!! In this recipe, thinking of my grandmother who was from Trentino and combining my Sicilian nature, I brought together northern cuisine and southern tradition and made the crumble with the same filling as the ricotta cannoli: a unique delight! Now it’s time to hurry to the kitchen and discover how to make the ricotta crumble with chocolate chips, but first roll up your sleeves — if you want to stay updated on all my recipes you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here).
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 12
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring
Ingredients to make the ricotta crumble with chocolate chips
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (00)
- 2/3 cup fine durum semolina (semola rimacinata)
- 2/3 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (level)
- to taste pine nuts
- to taste orange zest
- to taste powdered sugar
- 2 1/2 cups sheep's milk ricotta (well drained)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- to taste orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips
Tools
- Bowls
- Springform pan springform pan 9.5 in
- Oven
- Parchment paper
- Whisk
Steps to make the Ricotta and Chocolate Crumble Cake
In a bowl pour the two flours mixed together, add the cold butter cut into pieces and work it roughly.
Add the sugar, the eggs and mix quickly. Add the orange zest and the baking powder and continue to work roughly with your hand, until you see crumbs forming of different sizes. The dough is ready, don’t overwork it, otherwise the butter will melt and you’ll obtain a classic shortcrust pastry.
Take the ricotta — it must be well drained and preferably from the day before — put it in a bowl together with the sugar, the cinnamon, the orange zest and the vanilla extract, mix and
finish by adding the chocolate chips.
Line the base of a springform pan 8.7 in with parchment paper, pour a little more than half of the dough and press it slightly with your hand, raising the edges. Pour the ricotta cream onto the base of the crumble and level it.
Cover with the remaining dough, bake the crumble in a conventional oven preheated to 356°F for about 35–40 minutes, but adjust according to your oven because not all ovens are the same.
When the crumble is baked and golden, remove it from the oven and let it cool for at least 40 minutes and transfer it to a rack. Let it rest 5–6 hours before dusting with powdered sugar and serving.
The ricotta crumble can be stored for 2 days at room temperature if it’s not hot, covered with a cotton towel; otherwise keep it in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic wrap for up to 4 days.
The ricotta crumble can be stored for 2 days at room temperature if it’s not hot, covered with a cotton towel; otherwise keep it in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic wrap for up to 4 days.
Sheep’s milk ricotta is salty in our region; if yours isn’t, add a pinch of salt to the ricotta cream.
