The cake with ricotta cream, pears, and chocolate is a delicious dessert made with a base of Easter dove cake. It can be prepared as an alternative dessert for the Easter lunch table or to use up leftover dove cake; moreover, it’s a recipe that does not require any cooking. This dessert has an extraordinary aroma and flavor thanks to the candied fruits and spices. It’s very easy, beautiful to serve on the holiday table or for Sunday lunch.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Economical
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: No-Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Easter, Spring
Ingredients
- 1 Easter dove cake
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped candied fruits (optional)
- 500 g cow's milk ricotta
- 4 Abate pears
- 1 packet vanillin
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 tablespoon liquor of choice
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 200 g fresh whipping cream
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 150 g chopped dark chocolate (or chocolate chips)
Steps
Let’s start with the pears. Wash them, peel them, dice them and put them in a bowl, drizzling with the juice of half a lemon or half an orange.
Meanwhile, whip the cream. When the cream (well chilled from the fridge) begins to firm up, add the ricotta (drained of any whey), sugar, chopped candied fruits, pinch of salt, cinnamon, liquor, and vanillin, and continue whipping until you get a very firm and fluffy mixture (about 2 minutes in total).
Assemble our dove cake with ricotta, pears, and chocolate. Cut the so-called “head” and “tail” of the dove cake and set them aside (you can use either the entire cake or half of it; in these cases, double or halve the ingredient quantities). Slice the central part of the dove cake into finger-thick slices.
Line the bottom of a mold (30 cm round, 10 x 10 inches square, or 16 x 12 inches rectangular pan) with some of the slices of dove cake, filling any gaps with the crumbs.
Spread half of the pears over the surface, then half of the ricotta and cream mixture, half of the chocolate shavings. Make a second layer of dove cake slices, pressing them into the cream below, and finish with the remaining pears, cream, and finally chocolate shavings.
Our cake with ricotta, pears, and chocolate is ready. Cover it and put it in the fridge for a few hours to absorb flavors.
An extra idea. We can add an extra touch by caramelizing the pear cubes. In a large non-stick pan, melt a knob of butter over low heat. Once melted, add the pear cubes, the grated zest of half a lemon (without the bitter white part), liquor, and cinnamon, increase the heat and sauté, stirring often, for about ten minutes.
After 10 minutes, drain the pears (without turning off the heat), remove the lemon zest, and let them cool on a plate. Reduce the remaining cooking liquid in the pan by half and use it to accompany our dessert or to garnish ice creams, etc…
