Ingredients

  • 1 5/8 cups flour
  • 5 1/4 tablespoons butter cold, cubed
  • 6 3/4 tablespoons sugar
  • salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 medium egg beaten
  • 7/8 cup sugar
  • 9/16 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 vanilla extract splash
  • 5 tablespoons cornstarch divided
  • 1 1/4 cups milk
  • 2 cups ricotta cheese
  • 3 eggs separated
  • 4 3/4 tablespoons dark chocolate chunked
  • 3/4 cup raisins rehydrated by soaking in Marsala wine, optional

Method

  • In a large bowl, add the flour, butter, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Pick up handfuls of dough and rub it through your fingers until you get a sand-like texture.
  • Mix in the beaten egg and knead the dough until it is no longer sticky. You may need to add tablespoons of flour at a time to get to that consistency.
  • Make a ball with the dough, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, in a pot add the sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and 20 gr. of cornstarch. Stir until there are no more lumps.
  • Add in the milk and stir on medium heat until it starts to boil. Allow the mixture to boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
  • Once cool, mix in the ricotta and the egg yolks.
  • Separately, whisk the egg whites with the other 20 gr. of cornstarch until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold into the ricotta mixture.
  • Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
  • Roll out the crust and transfer it into a greased pie pan. It you have holes in the dough, just fill them in with excess pieces.
  • Sprinkle the chocolate and rehydrated raisins (optional) on top of the crust.
  • Pour the ricotta mixture on top of the dough and bake for 30 minutes until the center it firm. If it seems like it is browning too quickly, cover it with aluminum foil.