Catholic Recipe: Torta di Ricotta (Italian Easter Cheese Cake)

DIRECTIONS

Beat butter until creamy in large bowl of mixer at medium speed. Add 1/4 cup sugar; blend. Add 2 eggs, vanilla; mix well. Sift together flour, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt. Combine with butter mixture mixing at low speed.

Divide pastry into 3 parts. Roll out 1 part pastry on floured wax paper to 11-inch circle; invert into 8-inch layer cake pan. Peel off paper. Press pastry to bottom and up along sides of pan so it extends 1/4 inch above edge to make low fluted edge on rim of pan. Roll out 2nd part pastry as above and put into second 8-inch layer pan. Roll out 3rd part pastry; cut in 12 strips 1/4 inch wide. Refrigerate overnight.

Mix cheese, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, remaining eggs. Add citron, grated chocolate. Pour into pastry-lined pans. Crisscross 6 pastry strips over top of each. Bake 45-50 minutes at 350°. Cool. Refrigerate until served.

Yield, 2 cakes