Strawberry Orange Ricotta Cake With Pistachios Food

ITALIAN ORANGE RICOTTA CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush the top, bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan with the melted butter.
• Whisk together the ricotta, honey and orange zest in a small bowl until combined.
• Combine the almond flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
• In a standing mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one; lower the mixer speed and stir in the flour mixture until just combined.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread so that it meets the edges of the pan. Evenly top the outside edge and the middle of cake with tablespoon-sized scoops of the ricotta.
• Bake 30-35 minutes. The cake should be golden and the batter around the ricotta lightly firm to the touch. Cool 10 minutes, then release the pan sides and cool the cake completely.
• Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

STRAWBERRIES WITH RICOTTA CREAM AND PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Place the ricotta in a small strainer set over a bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes to drain the excess liquid.
• Transfer the drained ricotta to a food processor or blender, add the brown sugar and orange liqueur, and process until smooth. (The ricotta mixture can be made up to 8 hours in advance, covered and kept refrigerated.)
• Divide the strawberries among 4 dessert bowls and top each with a 1/4 cup of the ricotta mixture and sprinkle with the pistachios.

STRAWBERRY & PISTACHIO OLIVE OIL CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Oil and line the base of a 23cm cake tin. Put 200g of the pistachios in a blender, and whizz until it looks like ground almonds.
• Whisk the sugar and eggs together with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy - this should take about 5 mins. Add the olive oil, continually whisking, then fold in the ground pistachios, cornmeal or polenta and baking powder with a pinch of salt. Fold in the strawberries, then scrape into the tin. Roughly chop the remaining pistachios and scatter over the top.
• Bake for 50-55 mins until golden and risen. Leave to cool in the tin to room temperature before transferring to a cake stand or plate. Dust with icing sugar and serve with crème fraîche or yogurt and extra strawberries.

RICOTTA POUND CAKE WITH STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan with butter. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
• Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, ricotta, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla, orange zest, and Amaretto until combined. Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 45 to 50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Using a mesh sieve, dust the cooled cake with powdered sugar.
• Meanwhile, place the strawberries (or orange supremes) in a small bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Let sit until the juices have pooled around the strawberries.
• To serve, slice the cake and serve with a spoonful of strawberries and their juices over the top of the cake.

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.

STRAWBERRY-ORANGE RICOTTA CAKE WITH PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line bottom of two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides with parchment paper. Using on/off turns, finely chop 1 cup pistachios with flour in processor. Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks with 1/3 cup sugar in large bowl until thick, about 4 minutes. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining 1/3 cup sugar, continuing to beat until whites are stiff and glossy. Fold half of whites into yolk mixture, then gently fold in half of pistachio mixture. Fold in remaining pistachio mixture, then remaining whites.
• Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool cakes completely in pans on rack.
• Run knife around edge of each pan to loosen cakes. Invert cakes onto 9-inch-diameter cardboard rounds. Tap sharply on work surface, if necessary, to release cakes from pans. Peel off parchment.
• For candied orange peel and syrup:
• Stir 1/3 cup water and sugar in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add orange peel; simmer until translucent, about 12 minutes. Cool. Strain syrup into bowl; add orange juice and Grand Marnier and reserve. Finely chop orange peel.
• For frosting and filling:
• Blend ricotta cheese and powdered sugar in processor until very smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to large bowl. Beat whipping cream and vanilla in medium bowl until firm peaks form. Fold cream mixture into ricotta mixture in 2 additions. Transfer 2 cups ricotta mixture to small bowl and reserve for frosting. Stir chopped chocolate and chopped orange peel into remaining ricotta mixture for filling. If necessary, chill frosting and filling until firm enough to spread.
• Place 1 cake layer on platter; brush with half of reserved orange syrup. Spread chocolate-ricotta filling evenly over. Top with second cake layer. Brush remaining orange syrup over. Spread ricotta frosting over top and sides of cake. Chill until frosting firms slightly, about 2 hours. Gently press toasted pistachios onto frosting around sides of cake. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome; keep chilled.)
• Overlap strawberry slices in concentric circles atop cake. Stir jam in small saucepan over medium-low heat until melted. Brush melted jam over strawberries. (Can be made 1 hour ahead. Chill.)