Savory Ricotta Pudding Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9-inch baking dish. Whisk together the eggs, egg yolk and ricotta in a mixing bowl. Whisk in the cream, milk, 1 teaspoon thyme, salt and pepper. The mixture will be a little lumpy.
• Pour into the baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the chile and remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme. Cover the dish with foil and place it in a roasting pan. Add enough tepid water to come halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Bake until the custard is just set, about 1 1/2 hours.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Brush the bottom of a springform pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Cook and stir bread crumbs and 1 tablespoon olive oil together in a skillet over medium heat until breadcrumbs are light golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir 1 tablespoon Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into breadcrumbs; cook and stir until golden brown and toasted, about 1 minute more. Spread breadcrumbs out into the bottom of the prepared springform pan.
• Beat eggs in a bowl with a whisk until pale yellow, thick, and frothy. Add basil, parsley, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg; stir to combine.
• Whisk ricotta cheese and 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into egg mixture. Drop cheese mixture by spoonfuls into the prepared springform pan and spread it evenly over breadcrumbs. Gently tap the pan against a work surface to settle the cheese layer. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over the top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until set, 20 to 25 minutes. Run a paring knife around the side to release tart from springform pan. Cool in the pan until cool enough to handle; remove springform pan ring.
• Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler. Line a baking sheet with a wire rack.
• Place tart on prepared baking sheet and bake in the preheated broiler until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

Steps:

• For the puddings: Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter 10 nonstick muffin cups and line the bottom of each cup with a disk of parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a blender, combine the ricotta cheese, mascarpone cheese, eggs, heavy cream, maple syrup, sugar, and salt. Using a paring knife, split the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds into the blender. (Reserve the seeded vanilla pod for the sauce.) Blend the mixture until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until puffed and lightly browned. Remove the muffin cups from the oven to a wire rack and cool for 30 minutes (puddings will deflate during cooling). Refrigerate the puddings, in the muffin cups, for 2 hours. Using a thin, flexible spatula, carefully remove the puddings from the muffin cups and discard the parchment paper from the bottom of the puddings.
• For the sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine the reserved vanilla pod, cranberries, water, orange juice, orange zest and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and gently simmer until the mixture has thickened and the liquid has reduced by half, about 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod and sweeten with extra sugar, to taste, if necessary.
• To serve: Arrange the puddings on small dessert plates and spoon the sauce over the top.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F with racks in middle and lower third.
• Butter a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie plate with some of butter, then spread bread crumbs in plate to coat.
• Blend ricotta, eggs, cinnamon, salt, and 3 tablespoons sugar in a blender until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour batter into pie plate and sprinkle with nuts. Bake in middle of oven until puffed, golden, and just set, about 25 minutes. Cool pudding on a rack.
• While pudding bakes, toss grapes with remaining butter, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, and vinegar in a small shallow baking pan and let macerate.
• Increase oven temperature to 425°F.
• Roast grapes in lower third of oven, shaking pan occasionally, until tender but not falling apart, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool grapes until just warm and serve alongside pudding.

Steps:

• In a small saucepan on the stovetop, or in a bowl in the microwave, warm the milk until lukewarm, but not hot (about 110 degrees). Add yeast and pinch of sugar, and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes until slightly foamy.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, a food processor, or using a large bowl and a wooden spoon, mix the flour and salt. Beat or process in the yeast mixture and eggs until the dough comes together in a soft mass, about 2 minutes. It's OK if a little flour remains on the bottom of the bowl.
• Add half the butter and beat until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Beat in the rest of the butter and continue to beat until dough is stretchy, another 5 to 7 minutes. At this point, all the flour should be worked into the dough. If not, add a teaspoon or two of water, and beat for another minute or so.
• Butter a clean bowl. Form the dough into a ball and roll it around in the bowl so all sides are buttered. Cover the bowl with a plate or dish towel, and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place, like the inside of a turned-off oven with the oven light on, until it puffs and rises, anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 hours. It may not double in bulk, but it should rise.
• Press the dough down with your hands to expel the air, cover the bowl again and refrigerate overnight. (In a pinch, you could chill the dough for 4 hours, but it won't develop as much flavor.)
• Prepare the filling: In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients until smooth. Taste and add more salt and black pepper, if needed. (If you used ham or olives, you probably won't need more salt.) Filling can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead and refrigerated.
• Butter a 9-inch loaf pan, then line with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches of overhang for pulling the babka out later.
• Put the dough on a floured surface and roll it into a 9-by-17-inch rectangle. Spread the filling evenly onto the dough, going all the way to the edge. Starting with a long side, roll into a tightly coiled log. Bring one end of the log to meet the other, then twist the dough, pinching together the ends to seal.
• Place dough into the prepared pan. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until puffy. (It won't quite double.)
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush the top of the babka with more softened butter and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until the top is deeply golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes. The babka should sound hollow if you tap it on the bottom once it's unmolded. An instant-read thermometer inserted in the center will read 185 degrees. Transfer to a wire rack. Babka is best served still a little warm.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 325°F. Spray a 2-quart soufflé dish or an 8- or 9-inch cheesecake pan with oil, and dust with 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese. Combine the remaining ingredients, including the remaining Par-mesan, in a bowl, and mix until well blended. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out with a bit of set batter clinging to it, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool to warm room temperature, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Cover with a serving plate, invert and shake slightly to release the pudding, and remove the baking pan. Slice to serve.From Homemade In A Hurry. Text copyright © 2006 by Andrew Schloss. Cover photograph copyright © 2006 by Noel Barnhurst. All rights reserved. First published by Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, California.