Roccia Ricotta Pie

This is a family recipe from the Roccias! I'd like to thank Lilly's Pop Michael for allowing me to post this gem of a pie on my blog. I can always count on him to impress me in the kitchen. Great for those Italian family get-togethers, or at Eastertime!

Oven at 325 degrees.

• 2 lbs whole milk ricotta - drained
• 1 lb marscapone cheese
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 pint heavy cream
• zest of one lemon
• zest of one orange
• 1 TB cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 TB vanilla

In a large mixer, whip the cream first, set aside. In another mixer bowl, mix eggs and sugar. Add the zest, spices, and ricotta/marscapone. Beat until well blended, fold in the whipped cream.

Fight urge to scarf down all the batter.

Pour into a springform pan, treated with shortening and dusted with flour. Bake for about 1 hr and 15 mins. If is it still very jiggly when you move the pan, leave in for a few more minutes. If the starts to brown before it's done, cover with aluminum foil.

Note: This was delicious! I still had batter left, so I put the rest in a small casserole pan. The pic above is from that batch. This is a crustless pie and fabulous as is, but I think next time I might do a biscotti crust to mix things up a bit:

• 8 oz vanilla biscotti
• 6 TB melted butter
• 1 TB lemon zest

Grind the biscotti in a food processor. Add the butter and zest, process until crumbs are moistened. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom of the pan (avoid the sides). Bake until crust is golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool before adding ricotta mixture.




And what more traditional than a family pie? Having the recipe written in the chef's handwriting: