Strawberry and Ricotta Tarts {crostate di fragole e ricotta}

I adore baking with strawberries. I think I went a little overboard these last few weeks and baked quite a few desserts with strawberries. There were juicy and plump strawberries tempting me wherever I went.  Not that anyone was complaining. 

Strawberries had me creative and baking overtime. I made cakes and pies. Tarts and scones. I haven’t found the time to catch up my blog with all the wonderful recipes. What started my strawberry baking ideas was the June issue of La Cucina Italiana. It has a whole section dedicated to Italian desserts made with fresh strawberries. There is a stunning Trionfo di Fragole, Biscotti alle Fragole, Pudding di Riso with a strawberry sauce and this gorgeous Crostata di Fragole e Ricotta.

I started to get busy baking and the first thing I made was this and it was huge success. The custard like filling made with ricotta and eggs is heavenly as a base for the delicate strawberries. The tart is buttery and delicate. Like most Italian desserts, it’s not overly sweet.

A perfect summer strawberry tart I will be making over and over again. I chose to make my tart in mini tart pans. You could make it one regular tart pan. I love the idea of everyone getting their own individual dessert (and they’re so adorable!). It is a perfect dessert showcasing the season’s fresh strawberries.

Strawberry and Ricotta Tart {crostata di fragole e ricotta}

source: La Cucina Italiana

Ingredients

Crust:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
3 tablespoons sugar
Pinch fine sea salt
1 stick ( 1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces, plus more for greasing pans

Filling:
1 1/4 cups fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar 
1/2 teaspoon orange flower water
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
3/4 pound strawberries, sliced
Confectioners sugar for dusting

 (9 1/2-inch) tart pan with removable bottom

Instructions

Crust directions: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and rub mixture between fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Make a well in center, add 2 tablespoons water and mix together to form a dough. Knead dough 3 to 4 times, flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour or overnight.

Butter a 9 1/2-inch tart pan. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 12-inch round. Fit dough into tart pan, pressing into edges; chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 400º with rack in middle. Line tart pan with parchment paper, leaving at least 1-inch overhang. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges are pale golden, about 10 minutes. Remove parchment and weights; continue to bake until bottom of crust is pale golden and edges are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes more. Cool shell completely on wire rack.

Filling directions: Reduce oven temperature to 350º. In a large bowl, whisk cheese until smooth. Add egg yolks, sugar, orange flower water and lemon zest; whisk together to combine.

Spread filling into cooled tart shell; bake, rotating once halfway through, until just set in center and a cake tester inserted in center of tart comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Arrange strawberries in concentric circles atop tart; dust edge of crust with confectioners sugar. Remove tart from pan.

some other beautiful strawberry tarts you should check out:

Creative Culinary’s Strawberry Mascarpone Tart 
Bell’Alimento Strawberry and Ricotta Tart (this is how it looks made as 9 inch tart size)
Ask Chef Dennis Strawberry and Ricotta Tart  (this is another one as 9 inch tart)
Life’s a Feast Strawberry Mascarpone Cream Tart

Buon appetito! Enjoy this fabulous luscious Italian dessert that is a taste of Italy.