Ricotta tart for Easter

Recipes seem to be slipping away from me this week: first, cheese gougères, and just now the ricotta tart I love to make for Easter. I referred to it in this blog on an earlier Easter -- but that time I just gave a link to the New York Times, where my recipe originated. I clicked, but it took awhile for the recipe to pop up, so I wondered if there's a shelf-life to old NYT recipes. Luckily, this one is still alive online. But I copied it just in case, and here it is. I'm also going to print it out. 

I make half this recipe, for one cheesecake. I'm going to make ours on Saturday.

RICOTTA TART

Adapted from Pepolino restaurant

Time: 2 1/2 hours plus cooling

1 3/4 cups sugar

11 ounces (2 3/4 sticks) slightly softened unsalted butter, in pieces

2 egg yolks

4 cups cake flour, approximately

2 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese

5 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups heavy cream

Confectioners' sugar.

1. Combine 3/4 cup sugar, the butter and egg yolks in a food processor or a large mixing bowl. Process or beat until smooth. Add flour about 1 cup at a time, pulsing until blended if using a food processor, or mixing by hand until a soft, smooth dough can be gathered in a ball. Divide in two, flatten each portion into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 40 minutes.

2. Heat oven to 500 degrees. Roll out one disk on a lightly floured board to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Fit dough into a 9-inch springform pan or a 9-inch round cake pan 1 1/2 inches deep with a removable bottom. In springform pan, dough should come up 2 inches on sides; with cake pan, dough should be even with top edge. Repeat with second pan. If you do not have two pans, second tart can be made after first has finished baking.

3. In a large bowl or in an electric mixer on low speed, beat together ricotta, remaining sugar, whole eggs, vanilla and cream until well blended and smooth. Ladle filling into prepared pans.

4. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 300 degrees and continue baking for one hour and 10 minutes, until top is puffed and golden -- some cracking is to be expected -- and a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Transfer to a rack and cool 10 minutes. Remove outer ring from pan and cool tart to room temperature. Filling will sink as it cools. Tart can be refrigerated. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Yield: 2 tarts, 16 servings.