Sweet Ricotta and Pear Crostata

This Sweet Ricotta and Pear Crostata is an amazing italian dessert that can be made for special occasions. A delicious recipe that it looks so pretty on the tables.

The Sweet ricotta and pear crostata can be served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or just with a sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar.

What is crostata?

Crostata is a very popular and delicious italian pie made with a crumbly crust and normally filled with jam. Almost every single house has it’s own recipe, sometimes very simple with just a few ingredients and sometimes in a more elaborated way that might include making their own homemade jam.

I am not too fond into crostata, but my husband is, so from time to time I like to make his favourite tart which happens to be sweet ricotta crostata.

Crostata can be made is so many ways (look at this Ricotta Crostata), sometimes using only that type of cheese and sometimes adding also other ingredients like chocolate, nuts or fruit. For me, ricotta cheese and pear are the best combination ever so that’s why I decided to make this amazing sweet ricotta crostata with pears.

The result was an amazing tart with flaky texture and a creamy filling of sweet ricotta. We liked it so much that I wanted to share the recipe with you here in our blog.

The ingredients

For the dough (you can also check our guide to make Pasta Frolla)

• FLOUR – All purpose flour. If you want the crostata to have a smooth texture, sift the flour!
• BUTTER – It has to be cold from the fridge. I suggest to weight it and cut it in pieces, then place it back in the fridge until is time to use it.
• ICING SUGAR – A.K.A. Confectioner’s sugar, will add the crostata a more smoother texture.
• EGGS – A medium one, usually weight about 52-54 gr.
• LEMON ZEST – For a nice aroma and flavour. You can also replace it with orange zest.
• SALT – Just a pinch. Salt is needed to enhance the flavours in pie doughs.

For the sweet ricotta filling:

• RICOTTA – Ricotta cheese gives a nice creamy texture to this crostata. Try to use whole milk ricotta if you want to keep that creaminess.
• SUGAR – Regular white sugar, you can also add other sweeteners such as honey, stevia, etc.
• EGGS – Eggs will give firmness to the filling.
• MILK – I used whole milk, but other types of milk works too.
• VANILLA – For a small aroma and flavour. Replace it with your favourite aroma extract, like orange, lemon, etc.

For the pears:

• PEARS – Any pears will do fine, I used Concorde.
• SUGAR – To cook the pears and get a light syrup.

For serving (optional):

• SUGAR – Some confectioner’s sugar for sprinkling right before serving.
• NUTS – I used pistachios because that was I had, but any nuts would be good. Try almonds finely sliced or crushed hazelnuts.
• SYRUP – I used the one from the pears cooking, watch the video to know more.

Ricotta and Pear Crostata Recipe

Put the flour on a worktop, make a well and add the icing sugar and the butter. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and with a spatula begin to “cut” the ingredients until you get a sandy mixture.

Make a well in the middle and add the lemon zest. Crack the egg and start to integrate the ingredients together with the spatula and then with your hands.

Work the dough quickly to avoid heating it. Knead for about 2-3 minutes, just enough time to make a smooth dough. Make a ball, wrap with cling film and place it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

this recipe

Prepare the pears

Peel the pear and cut it in half, discard the seeds and then cut it into thin slices. Place a pan over medium heat, add 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) of water and the sugar stirring until is dissolved.

Add the pears and cook for about 10 to 12 minutes or until the pears are tender but not falling apart. Place the pears in a colander and let them cool completely.

Leave the pan with the cooking water on the heat until the liquid is reduced and a syrup is formed, you can use this syrup if you like to pour over the crostata when you’ll serve it.

Blind bake the crust

Sprinkle with flour the worktop, roll the dough in a 1/8″ thick sheet and large enough to cover a pie pan of about 9″ (23cm).

Transfer the dough to the pie pan and trim any extra dough and pinch the bottom with a fork to make small holes.

Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the dough, add ceramic balls for baking, if you don’t have those use dried beans. We’re going to blind bake so a sort of weight is needed.

Bake at 350F° (175°C) for 15 minutes. Take the crostata out of the oven, remove the paper and the weights and let it cool.

Make the sweet ricotta filling

Place the ricotta in a medium bowl, add the sugar, the egg and the vanilla. Pour the milk and mix until you get a thick cream.

Pour half of the mixture into the crostata, then arrange the slices of pears in four crossed rows (as shown in the video).

Pour the other half of the mixture trying not to cover completely the pears.

Bake

Bake at 350F°C (175 °C) for about 20-25 minutes or until the filling looks and feels slightly firm, it does not matter if the center feels a little soft, it will firm up after cooling down.

Put the crostata on a cooling rack for 20 minutes then transfer to a plate and let it cool completely before serving.

How to serve

You can serve this sweet ricotta crostata sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar and some crushed nuts like pistachios, hazelnuts or almonds. You can also use the pear syrup and pour it over each slice when served, or even better: Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Watch how to make it

This recipe was originally published in Spanish on April 7, 2011. Then has been republished on October 16, 2020 to update the content with new photos and videos and improve the recipe aswell.