Apricot And Pistachio Ricotta Cake Food

LUKE MANGAN'S APRICOT RICOTTA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven for 180°C Grease a 20cm cake tin with butter and sprinkle over some raw sugar, tipping out the excess.
• Beat the caster sugar and egg yolks until pale. Fold through the ricotta, orange rind and juice, flour and apricots. Whisk or beat the egg whites to soft peaks and fold into the mixture.
• Pour into the cake tin, sprinkle with flaked almonds and bake for 1 hour. Let the cake cool in the tin for about 10 minutes before turning out.
• To serve: Dust with icing sugar and serve with crème fraiche.

APRICOTS WITH HONEY-GINGER RICOTTA AND PISTACHIO NUTS

Steps:

• Slice the apricots in half, carefully remove the pits, and set aside. Combine the ricotta cheese with the ginger and 2 teaspoons of the honey in a mixing bowl.
• Place the apricot halves on a serving platter and top each with a spoonful of the honey-ginger-ricotta mixture. Sprinkle the pistachios on top, and drizzle with the remaining teaspoon honey. Serve immediately.

PISTACHIO-RICOTTA CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 325˚. Spread the whole and chopped pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet (keep them separate) and bake until toasted, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
• Set aside the chopped pistachios in a small bowl. Pulse the toasted whole pistachios in a food processor along with the shortbread cookies and granulated sugar until finely ground. Add the melted butter and pulse until the mixture looks like wet sand. Press the mixture into the bottom of an 8-inch round springform pan. Bake until set around the edges and no longer puffed, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack; let cool 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Beat the eggs and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the ricotta, pistachio paste, lemon zest, vanilla and almond extracts and salt and continue beating until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the green food coloring and beat until combined.
• Pour the filling over the crust. Bake until the cheesecake is puffed and the edges are set but the center still jiggles slightly, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Transfer the cheesecake to a rack and let cool to room temperature, 2 to 3 hours. Run a thin knife around the edge of the cheesecake to loosen, then remove the springform ring. Serve at room temperature or cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight. Dust with confectioners' sugar and sprinkle with the toasted chopped pistachios before serving.

APRICOT & RICOTTA TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to fan 140C/conventional 160C/gas 3. Tip all the ingredients for the base, except for the egg, into a food processor and blend until like breadcrumbs. Add the egg and blend again to make a paste. Scrape onto the base of a greased 24cm loose-bottomed springform tin, spread with a spatula then bake for 25 minutes until risen and just set.
• Meanwhile beat the ricotta in a bowl with the eggs, soured cream, sugar and vanilla, then when the base has had its 25 minutes, take it out of the oven. Quickly scatter the apricots over the base and pour the cheese mixture on top. Return to the oven for 50 minutes more until the mixture has set and is starting to turn golden round the edges.
• Run a knife round the cake to release it from the sides of the tin then cool and chill. You can make this a day ahead.
• Transport the tin covered with cling film or foil, then turn out and dust with icing sugar when you get there.

APRICOT TART WITH PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lay 1 sheet phyllo on a parchment-lined 12-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon butter and brush to coat the entire phyllo sheet.
• Top with another sheet and butter as above. Repeat with 7 more sheets, for a total of 9, buttering as you go. The final, top layer should also be buttered. (The rest of the phyllo can be wrapped and frozen for future use.)
• Dot the top sheet with jam by the teaspoon, then, using a spatula, spread the jam to cover the entire sheet, leaving a 2-inch border.
• Sprinkle a layer of half the chopped pistachios over the jam. Place the apricot wedges, skin-side down, in even rows across the surface, then sprinkle again with remaining pistachios.
• Carefully fold over the edges on all sides of the tart to make a 10-by-16-inch rectangle. Brush folded sides with butter. Sprinkle sugar generously over apricots and folded edges.
• Bake until pastry is golden and apricots begin to color, about 1 hour. Cool for 15 minutes, then cut into squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

APRICOT AND PISTACHIO RICOTTA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 10-inch springform pan with the pat of butter.
• In a food processor (or in a large mixing bowl if you choose to do this by hand), combine the remaining butter and the 1 cup sugar and process until creamy. Add the eggs one by one, the ricotta, and the vanilla extract and mix between each addition.
• In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the flour mixture and orange zest to the egg mixture. Mix until just combined; the batter will be thick. Fold in half of the pistachios (reserve the other half for topping) and pour the batter into the prepared pan, levelling the surface with a spatula.
• Arrange the apricots skin side down over the batter in a regular pattern. It's ok to crowd them a little; they will shrink as they bake. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar and the remaining pistachios.
• Bake for 1 hour, until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let rest for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the pan to loosen the cake, unclasp the sides of the pan, and let cool completely before serving. The cake tastes best fresh out of the oven, but it will keep for 2 days at room temperature, wrapped tightly in foil.