EASTER SWEET RICOTTA PIES 🐣🐥
Sweet ricotta pies are delightful Maltese pastries filled with a mixture of sweet ricotta, chocolate, nuts, and topped with whipped cream and a cherry. These treats are specifically made and enjoyed as a dessert or snack during Easter 😋

RECIPE:
Serves - 20 Small Pies
Ingredients 🛒
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry:
500g/17.6oz Plain Flour
225g/8oz Butter, cold and diced
75g/2.6oz Icing Sugar
2 Egg Yolks, cold
8 Tbsp Milk, cold
1 Tsp Orange Zest
1 Tsp Lemon Zest
Beaten egg for Egg wash

Ricotta Filling:
500g/17.6oz Ricotta
2 Eggs
100g/3.5oz Dark Chocolate (not baking), finely chopped
50g/1.76oz Roasted Hazelnuts, chopped
2 Tbsp Caster Sugar
100ml Double Cream/Heavy Cream

Cream Topping:
170ml Remaining Double Cream/Heavy Cream
1 Tbsp Icing Sugar
½ Tsp Vanilla Essence
Mixed Cherries, halved

Method:
Sweet Pastry -
Sift the flour and icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the butter and bring to crumbs.
Add the orange and lemon zest and just mix through.
Mix the egg yolks and milk together. With the mixer running slowly pour into the flour to form the dough.
Shape the dough into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap in clingfilm, then chill for 30 minutes.
On a floured surface roll out the dough (THIN) and using a 10cm circular cutter, cut out discs.

Ricotta Filling -
Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
In a large bowl, add the ricotta, cream, eggs and sugar. Stir together then add the remaining ingredients.
Put 2 teaspoons of the ricotta filling in the middle of each disc. Lift up the pastry around the filling and pinch into pleats all the way round. (You are trying to get an open funnel surface.)
Pipe more ricotta filling to fill the neck of the funnel but not all the way to the very top as the filling will rise and expand.
Brush the pastry with egg wash and place into a butter greased muffin tin or foil cups, (this will help to keep their shape).
Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until they are a golden colour. When ready, leave to cool completely before topping with cream and cherries.

Cream Topping -
Whisk the remaining cream until soft peaks form. Sift in icing sugar and add the vanilla essence and continue whisking until firm.
Spoon the cream into a piping bag with a star nozzle and refrigerate until ready to use.
Pipe the cream over the top of the pies before serving and place a cherry on top.

Enjoy! 😊