Crostata Ricotta e Visciole, Ricotta and Cherry Tart

Crostata Ricotta e Visciole is a classic Roman tart made with buttery pasta frolla (pastry) and a creamy and good ricotta and sour cherry jam filling. This crostata is so simple to make and is solid served for breakfast with a cappuccino or for dessert.

Crostata Ricotta e Visciole is probably the most famous dessert in Rome. It dates back to the 1800s and originated in a part of Rome called the Jewish Ghetto.

There's one historic bakery in particular where it's said to originate, and whose recipe still remains secret, Pasticceria Boccione.

It's made with a simple buttery pasta frolla (pastry dough); we added lemon zest and a pinch of cinnamon, which are common modern additions, but you can leave them out if you want to stick to tradition.

Visciole are wild sour cherries and are what give this crostata its distinct flavour. It can be difficult to find visciole preserves, and you'll more than likely need to order it online, but you can use any sour or even sweet cherry jam you can find instead. It may not give you the authentic flavour but it will taste good nevertheless!

We love to have a little slice of this crostata for breakfast with our morning cappuccino or for dessert in the evening. It's so good and not overly sweet.

Ingredient notes

• Pasta frolla – we used our regular pasta frolla recipe with a pinch of cinnamon added.
• Ricotta – sheep milk ricotta is traditionally used but we used cow's milk ricotta as that's easier to find. drain it well.
• Cherry jam – if you can find visciole or sour cherry jam, use that but if not you can use a sweet cherry jam instead.

Visual walk-through of the recipe

Step 1 – to make the pasta frolla, blitz everything in a food processor until a rough dough forms (photos 1 and 2) then tip onto a clean work surface and knead into a smooth ball. Flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour (photo 3).

Step 2 – to make the ricotta filling, add the ricotta, sugar, egg and lemon zest to a bowl and whisk until smooth and creamy, then set aside (photos 4 and 5).

Step 3 – Cut a piece of dough that is slightly more than half for the base. Sprinkle your work surface and rolling pin lightly with flour then roll the dough out to 1/4 inch (1/2cm) thick. If you find that the pastry is breaking knead it briefly to warm it up then roll it out again. Use more flour to stop it sticking.

Step 4 – Drape the pastry over your tart tin and tuck it into the edges. Roll the rolling pin over the top to remove the excess pastry (photo 6).

Step 5 – Spread the cherry jam all over the base of the pastry them dollop over the ricotta and spread it out into an even layer (photos 7 and 8).

Recipe tips and variations

• Drain the ricotta well – usually when we're baking with ricotta, we like to drain it overnight in the fridge, but in a pinch, give it 1-2 hours.
• Chill before baking – after assembling the crostata, let it chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so the butter in the pastry can firm up again before baking.
• Cherry jam alternative – if you can't find cherry jam, whether it's sour or sweet, then use any jam you love.

Our pastry keeps breaking, what do we do?

If you pastry breaks as you're trying to roll it out you can either patch it back in (you won't notice once baked) or knead it all back into a ball for a few seconds to warm the butter up a little more and roll it out again which should make it much more pliable.

More Italian crostata recipes to try

Italian Desserts

Crostata di Frutta (Italian Fruit Tart)

Italian Desserts

Apple Crostata with Apricot Jam

Italian Desserts

Torta della Nonna: Italian Custard Tart

Italian Desserts

Rich Chocolate Tart with Hazelnuts

Ingredients

Makes 12 servings

For the pasta frolla

• 250 g (2 cups) Italian 00 flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 80 g (1/2 cup) sugar
• 1 large egg
• 120 g (8.5 tablespoons) cold butter (cubed)
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• Zest of half a lemon
• 1 pinch salt

For the filling

• 500 g (2 cups) ricotta ((well drained))
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Zest of half a lemon
• 340 g (1 cup) cherry jam ((preferably sour cherry))
• 1 large egg

Topping

• 1 beaten egg (for brushing on top)
• powdered sugar (icing sugar) (for dusting on top)

Equipment

• Food processor
• Rolling pin
• loose bottom non-stick tart pan

Method

1. Put all the pasta frolla ingredients into a food processor and blitz until a rough dough has formed. Tip it out onto a clean work surface and knead it together into a smooth ball. Flatten it out into a round disc and then cover in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour (can also be prepped 1-2 days in advance).

2. Put the drained ricotta in a bowl with the egg, sugar and lemon zest and whisk together until smooth and creamy, set aside.

3. Remove the pastry from the fridge and cut slightly more than half for the base.

4. Lightly sprinkle your work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch (1/2cm) thick and large enough to fit your tart tin. If your pastry is breaking, knead it for a few seconds to warm it up then start rolling it out again.

5. Lift the pastry up with the help of your rolling pin and drape it over the tart tin. Carefully tuck it into the sides then roll your rolling pin over the top to cut off the excess.

6. Next, spread the cherry jam all over the base of the tart. Dollop the ricotta on top then spread it out into an even layer.

7. Roll your remaining piece of pastry out and lay it carefully over the top of the crostata. Roll your rolling pin over the top the seal the edges then place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

8. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F)

9. Brush the top of the crostata with beaten egg then bake it in the oven for 45-50 minutes. Remove and let it cool completely before serving. We like to dust our with powdered sugar on top!

Kitchen notes

• Prep ahead you can assemble the crostata and keep it stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours. We wouldn't leave it any longer than this, as the pastry will absorb too much moisture.
• Leftovers you can store leftover crostata in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.