The ricotta and morello cherry tart is one of the signature desserts of Roman-Jewish cuisine, an ancient recipe with a uniquely timeless goodness.
A shell of soft, fragrant shortcrust pastry encloses a creamy, indulgent double filling: morello cherry jam and ricotta cream.
The history of this traditional Roman dessert goes back over three hundred years, when Jewish pastry chefs were forbidden from selling dairy products to Christians. For this reason, the idea arose to completely cover the dessert, thus hiding the ricotta filling.
Today the ricotta and morello cherry tart is known and loved around the world.
The original recipe was never written down: every family keeps its own version.
This is my grandmother’s recipe, the one I still make today for my family.
Follow me through the recipe for the Roman tart filled with ricotta and morello cherries — I’m sure you’ll love it at the first bite!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: Pan 9.5 in
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 3 cups 00 flour (all-purpose flour)
- 7 tbsp butter
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 lemon zest (grated)
- 2 cups Roman ricotta
- 6.3 oz sugar
- 1 egg
- 7 oz morello cherry jam
Steps
In a bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder. Make a well in the center and add the sugar, the eggs, the butter and the grated lemon zest.
Knead starting from the center until you obtain a homogeneous ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for one hour.In the meantime, prepare the ricotta cream: work the ricotta with the sugar until creamy, then add the egg and mix well. You should obtain a smooth, soft and creamy filling.
Take the shortcrust pastry back out, divide it into two parts and roll out the first on a sheet of baking paper. Invert the disk into a low-edged tart pan that has been buttered and floured. Remove the excess dough and prick the base with a fork.
Pour the morello cherry jam, spreading it evenly on the bottom, then cover with the ricotta cream, leveling it well.
Roll out the second portion of dough and use it to cover the tart. Seal the edges well and prick the surface.Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 338-356°F for 45-50 minutes, or in an air fryer at 320°F for about 35 minutes.
If the surface tends to brown too much, cover with a sheet of baking paper.
Once baked, let the ricotta and morello cherry tart cool completely, then dust with powdered sugar before serving.
… Vane’s tips
Morello cherry jam can be found at the supermarket; if you can’t find it you can use sour cherry (amarena) jam instead.
