Roman Cheesecake
Source of Recipe
Burt Wolf's Origins, Rome
List of Ingredients
DOUGH:
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon ice water
FILLING:
15 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
8 ounces farmer cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup Sambuca liqueur
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup finely diced candied orange peel
1 cup dried cherries or cranberries
egg wash (1 yolk beat with 1 tbl water)Recipe
You'll need a round cake pan, preferably with a loose bottom, 9 inches in diameter and 1 1/2 inches deep. TO MAKE THE DOUGH: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt and process until blended. Add the butter and process until broken into the flour. Add the eggs and ice water to the flour and process, by pulsing several times, until the dough comes together. If the dough seems dry, add another teaspoon or so of ice water. Turn the dough onto a board and gather it into a ball. Flatten the dough slightly, wrap it in waxed paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Flour a pastry board and rolling pin. Remove 2/3's of the dough and roll it into a circle about 1/4-inch thick and 11 inches in diameter. Line the cake pan with the dough, pressing it into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. If it breaks apart, don't worry, just press it back into shape. Roll the remaining 1/3 of dough into a circle about 3/8 -inch thick and 10 inches in diameter. Divide this circle into 10 strips, each about 1/2-inch wide; this will be for the lattice top.
FOR THE FILLING: In a food processor, combine the ricotta and farmer's cheese, sugar, flour, egg and Sambuca and process until smooth. Transfer the filling to a mixing bowl and fold in the pine nuts, candied orange peel and cherries, or golden raisins and transfer this to the dough-lined cake pan. Lay 5 strips of dough across the ricotta filling and set the other 5 strips across them, at a 45 degree angle, to form a lattice.
With a pastry brush, paint the lattice top and edges with the egg wash. Set the cake pan on a baking pan and bake for 1 hour or until the filling has set and the crust is golden. Remove the cake and cool it thoroughly on a rack before unmolding. Right before serving, shake the confectioners' sugar through a sieve to completely coat the top.
NOTES: To toast the pine nuts, set them in a 400ºF oven for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them; they turn from golden to burned in seconds.
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