Budino di ricotta (Ricotta Pudding)

Frankdessert37 Comments

Budino di Ricotta (Ricotta Pudding)

This elegant but easy dessert is a kind of dressed up version of Angelina’s humble pizza dolce. The basic recipe for this ricotta ‘pudding’ calls for just ricotta, eggs and sugar, and it’s perfectly delicious at its simplest. But, if you like,  you can add various the fillings and toppings according to the season and your whim. Let your creativity run wild!

Ingredients

Enough to make 6 individual servings or one large pudding

  • 500g (1 lb.) ricotta cheese
  • 100g (3-1/2 oz.) caster sugar
  • 3 whole eggs plus one egg yolk
  • 1 heaping spoonful of flour (optional)

Optional fillings and flavorings:

  • A drizzle of rum, sambuca or other liqueur
  • Candied fruit
  • Chocolate chips
  • Almonds, peeled and crushed in mortar

Optional toppings:

  • Powdered sugar
  • Chocolate shavings
  • Ciliegie sciroppate (Cherries in brandy)
  • Strawberry coulis (see below)

Directions

If your ricotta is a bit lumpy or runny, let it drain for a good 20 minutes in a sieve and then press it through the sieve.

Separate the 3 eggs, adding the yolks to the ricotta and reserving the whites. Add the extra yolk to the ricotta along with the sugar and (if using) flour. Mix all these ingredients together until well amalgamated. If using, add one or more of the optional fillings and flavorings to the ricotta mixture, incorporating them very well.

Ricotta Mixture (Step 1) for Ricotta Pudding

Whip the egg whites until they are quite fluffy and stiff. The whites should retain its shape and stand up by themselves like this:

Whipped Egg Whites

Now add the whipped whites to the ricotta mixture. Fold the whites very gently into the mixture with a spatula, scooping the mixture from the bottom in a circular motion like so:

Ricotta Mixture (Step 2)

until you have a homogenous, fluffy mass like this:

Ricotta Mixture (Step 3)

Now grease the inside of a large mold (or individual molds—see Notes below) with butter and add cover them in breadcrumbs, shaking the mold around so that the breadcrumbs adhere and cover the inside surface completely. Turn the mold over and shake out any excess breadcrumbs.

Breaded Muffin Tray

Now add the ricotta mixtures to the mold, making sure not to overfill it, as the mixture will expand considerably as it cooks.

Filled Muffin Tray

Bake the mold in a moderate oven (180C/350F) until the mixture is set and browned at the edges, about 30 minutes for individual molds, 45-60 minutes for a single large mold.

Budini (fresh from the oven)

Let the pudding cool completely. Unmold it by flipping it over onto a baking tray, like so:

Trick

Serve your ricotta pudding, if you like, with one of the suggested toppings.

Notes

A lovely spring topping for this budino would be a strawberry purée, also known as a coulis. To make this purée, simply simmer together trimmed strawberries, sugar to taste and the juice of one lemon for about five minutes, until the berries are very soft.

Strawberry Coulis

Blend the strawberries until you have a perfectly smooth ‘sauce’.

Like many popular recipes, there are multiple variations you can try. The number of eggs varies enormously among recipes; Ada Boni, calls for only one egg and one extra yolk for this amount of ricotta, for example. Not all recipes call for whipping the eggs whites, which gives the pudding a firmer consistency. Not all recipes call for flour—Boni calls for a few spoonfuls of semolina flour, cooked with water into a thick paste. And, of course, the amount of sugar can vary according to your taste.

There are also different sizes and shapes of molds you can use for this recipe: A medium sized charlotte mold works well for a single budino, although you can use a loaf pan or bundt mold as well. For individual budini, you can use little ramekins; a muffin tray is quite convenient if you’re making a batch. Even easier, you can bake your ricotta pudding in a pie plate or ceramic ramekins and serve it without unmolding.

Budino di ricotta (Ricotta Pudding)

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 0 Enough to make 6 individual servings or one large pudding

Ingredients

  • 500 g 1 lb. ricotta cheese
  • 100 g 3-1/2 oz. caster sugar
  • 3 whole eggs plus one egg yolk
  • 1 heaping spoonful of flour optional

Optional fillings and flavorings:

  • A drizzle of rum sambuca or other liqueur
  • Candied fruit
  • Chocolate chips
  • Almonds peeled and crushed in mortar

Optional toppings:

  • Powdered sugar
  • Chocolate shavings
  • Ciliegie sciroppate Cherries in brandy
  • Strawberry coulis see below

Instructions

  • If your ricotta is a bit lumpy or runny, let it drain for a good 20 minutes in a sieve and then press it through the sieve.
  • Separate the 3 eggs, adding the yolks to the ricotta and reserving the whites. Add the extra yolk to the ricotta along with the sugar and (if using) flour. Mix all these ingredients together until well amalgamated. If using, add one or more of the optional fillings and flavorings to the ricotta mixture, incorporating them very well.
  • Whip the egg whites until they are quite fluffy and stiff. The whites should retain its shape and stand up by themselves like this:
  • Now add the whipped whites to the ricotta mixture. Fold the whites very gently into the mixture with a spatula, scooping the mixture from the bottom in a circular motion until you have a homogenous, fluffy mass.
  • Now grease the inside of a large mold (or individual molds—see Notes below) with butter and add cover them in breadcrumbs, shaking the mold around so that the breadcrumbs adhere and cover the inside surface completely. Turn the mold over and shake out any excess breadcrumbs.
  • Now add the ricotta mixtures to the mold, making sure not to overfill it, as the mixture will expand considerably as it cooks.
  • Bake the mold in a moderate oven (180C/350F) until the mixture is set and browned at the edges, about 30 minutes for individual molds, 45-60 minutes for a single large mold.
  • Let the pudding cool completely. Unmold it by flipping it over onto a baking tray, like so:
  • Serve your budino, if you like, with one of the suggested toppings.

37 Comments on “Budino di ricotta (Ricotta Pudding)”

    1. I suppose you could, though I haven’t tried it. Personally if you want to make this ahead, I’d do it in the morning of the same day so it retains its delicate texture.

  1. beautiful Frank, makes our southern egg custard look like plain jane …. and as always, your presentation is flawless. so like the strawberry coulis – perfect timing for spring

  2. Che buono, Frank! I make something similar based on a recipe from my mom, but I don’t whip the egg whites. Whipping those whites seems to me a key step for creating a nice light texture. Going to try it for sure. I’d love to try this with sheep’s milk ricotta, but it’s so hard to find around here! In the past I’ve found it at La Fromagerie, in Old Town, and at Cheesetique, in Delray, flown in from Italy. But it would be great to have a local source, wouldn’t it…

    1. Oh, but it’s so much more smooth and elegant than cheesecake. Feels like silk going into your mouth.

  3. Cher meraviglia! What a simple, yet elegant dessert. We are going to enjoy this one, and I do mean soon. The ricotta is in my refrigerator, and raspberry coulis is in my freezer.

  4. This is just soooo elegant. I made Angelina’s Pizza Dolce just last week. So will be making this budino as soon as I get some more ricotta. I think I will be using a raspberry topping or a poppy seed sauce. Or both. This is such a marvelous idea. Thank you for posting.

  5. Buono e semplice, in questo periodo in Italia la ricotta è molto buona. Sono curioso il ricotta cheese in cosa è diverso dalla ricotta? Gli ingredienti della ricotta sono solo: siero di latte e forse sale. Grazie buona settimana.

      1. Da un po’ di tempo in Italia hanno cominciato a vendere come ricotta dei prodotti in cui oltre al siero c’è panna o crema di latte. Per questo chiedevo per capire da dove viene questa nuova moda, che mi piace molto poco.

        1. In Italia ci sono molti tipi di ricotta tradizionale e in alcune aree si aggiunge della panna per renderla super-cremosa. Il siero che resta dalla produzione del formaggio, da solo formerebbe una ricotta molto asciutta. Nella maggior parte dei casi si aggiunge solo poco latte oltre all’enzima o aceto. In alcune regioni anche del sale. L’aggiunta di panna la rende ancora più cremosa e nel caso della ricotta di mucca, che è decisamente poco saporita rispetto a quella di pecora o mista, intensifica il gusto. Ce n’è per tutti….

        1. Insomma, il mio italiano è un po’ arrugginito, anzi *molto*! Ma una volta lo parlavo abbastanza bene. Non dimenticare che sono vissuto a Roma per dieci anni…

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