Ricotta Pudding: the recipe for a fresh and butter-free dessert

Ricotta pudding is a soft and delicate dessert, very simple to prepare. The consistency is very reminiscent of that of oven-baked cheesecake, but with a decidedly lighter and lighter result. The ricotta pudding is in fact without cream and without butter, you will just need a few simple ingredients. The recipe is inspired by that of the famous Pellegrino Artusi in its most classic version, but you can also prepare many variations based on your personal tastes.

You can enrich the ricotta pudding with chocolate chips, dark or white, with orange candied fruit or by adding vanilla flavor to the ingredients. Alternatively, you can serve the pudding accompanied by a berry cream. If you are ready to go, here's how to prepare the ricotta pudding according to the traditional recipe.

How to make Ricotta Pudding

Shell the almonds and let them soften in hot water. Crush them finely and add the egg white. You can use a mixer, or a traditional mortar.

Now add the ricotta cheese, sugar, grated lemon zest and mix. Blend the remaining eggs and add them to the mixture.

Pour the mixture into a lightly buttered pudding mold sprinkled with breadcrumbs. As an alternative to butter you can use seed oil.

Bake at 170° degrees C for about 1 hour, or until it is completely dry inside. Let the pudding cool completely, turn upside down, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve cold.

Tips

If you have purchased fresh ricotta cheese, the advice is to let it rest in the refrigerator for a few hours before using it. In this way it will lose part of the serum and it will be drier. It is important to always choose good quality ricotta cheese.

For an even tastier touch, you can add a sprinkling of cinnamon, a few drops of rum to the mixture, or, if you love the taste of citrus fruits, mix the lemon zest with half the orange zest. Before grating the citrus peel, leave them to soak with water and baking soda for about half an hour and rinse under running water.

For the accompaniment, prepare a tasty berry cream by mixing blackberries, blueberries and raspberries in a saucepan with water. Bring to the boil and cook for about ten minutes. Strain the juice to eliminate the seeds of the fruit. In a bowl, dissolve the cornstarch with milk, add the sugar and juice you have obtained. Bring everything to a boil and cook to the density you want.

How to store Ricotta Pudding

To preserve the ricotta pudding, do just as a classic cheesecake: avoid storing the cheese for too long. Keep the ricotta pudding in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days at most, tightly closed in an airtight container.

Alternatively, you can also freeze the ricotta pudding but, if necessary, remember to let it thaw directly in the refrigerator.