Simple ricotta tart, the grandmother’s recipe for a delicious homemade dessert: a fragrant shortcrust pastry shell that contains a fresh and delicate ricotta cream, scented with orange and cinnamon. Shortcrust pastry and a tasty, aromatic ricotta cream give us a dessert with an irresistible aroma and texture, which you can also enrich with many chocolate chips if you wish. Here’s how to make a simple, homey dessert perfect to enjoy after lunch, for an afternoon snack or for breakfast! So if you have guests about to sit at your table or children asking for a tasty snack or breakfast, this is the perfect dessert that will make them happy!

Let’s go to the kitchen to discover how to make the ricotta tart, but first as always I remind you that if you want to stay updated on all my other recipes, you can follow my Facebook page and my Instagram profile.

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Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Very economical
Rest time: 30 Minutes
Preparation time: 15 Minutes
Portions: 6
Cooking methods: Stovetop
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring

Ingredients to make the simple ricotta tart, grandmother’s recipe

2 cups (250 g) 00 flour (all-purpose flour)
1 egg yolk
2/3 cup (150 g) butter (cold)
1 pinch salt
1 packet vanillin powder (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
to taste lemon zest (organic)
1/3 cup (50 g) powdered sugar (icing sugar)
1 2/3 cups (400 g) ricotta (better if sheep's milk, well drained for at least 24 hours)
1/3 cup (80 g) granulated sugar
to taste ground cinnamon
to taste orange zest (or lemon)
1 packet vanillin powder (0.3 g)

Tools

Pan
Oven
Bowl
Rolling pin
Parchment paper
Plastic wrap
Refrigerator

Preparation

Prepare the shortcrust pastry by pouring the flour, sugar, the egg yolk, cold butter, lemon zest and salt into the blender bowl. Work for a few seconds to obtain a coarse mixture. Empty the bowl onto a work surface and quickly knead to obtain a homogeneous mass.
Avoid warming the dough, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 10 minutes (if it’s too warm you’ll have to wait 30 minutes). If you don’t have a food processor, pour the flour on the counter, work the butter into it, make a well, add the rest of the ingredients and work until you get a uniform dough, then let it rest in the fridge for at least 10 minutes, 30 if it’s very warm.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface to a thickness of one centimeter (about 3/8 inch), then move it into the removable-bottom pan and line it. Prick generously with the tines of a fork so it won’t puff up much from the base during baking.
Roughly beat the ricotta with the sugar, cinnamon, vanillin powder and orange zest (or extract), mix everything well with a fork and pour the mixture over the pastry base.
Level and decorate the tart with the classic strips. Bake in a preheated oven at 356°F for 45 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven, let cool and carefully transfer from the pan to a serving plate, serve generously dusted with powdered sugar.