Home Dessert

Orange blossom baked ricotta with roasted cherries

Topped with roasted cherries, vanilla bean, orange peel and a sprinkle of pistachios, this orange blossom baked ricotta tastes just as sweet as it looks.
orange blossom baked ricotta with roasted cherries
6
50M
40M
1H 30M

Ingredients

Roasted cherries

Method

1.Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease a deep 20cm round cake pan. Line base and side with baking paper.
2.Split vanilla bean in half, then scrape seeds into a large bowl. Reserve pod for roasted cherries. Add ricotta, sifted icing sugar, egg and orange blossom water. Stir to combine. Pour mixture into prepared pan; smooth surface.
3.Place pan in a medium ovenproof dish. Pour enough boiling water into the dish to come halfway up the side of the pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until firm. Remove pan from baking dish. Allow to cool.
4.Increase oven temperature to 180°C. Make the roasted cherries: using a vegetable peeler, peel 1-2 long continuous strips of zest from orange. Squeeze juice from orange; you need 1/3 cup. Halve and seed cherries. Place zest, orange juice and cherries in a medium baking dish with syrup and reserved vanilla bean. Roast for 10 minutes or until cherries are just tender. Stir in liqueur and lemon juice to taste.
5.Turn baked ricotta onto a serving plate. Top with roasted cherries and sprinkle with pistachios.

We used Grand Marnier, an orange-flavoured liqueur based on brandy. The baked ricotta can be made a day ahead. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. While fresh is best, if cherries are out of season, use frozen pitted cherries instead.

Note

Related stories