Ricotta and sour cherry tart

06/27/2025

With the arrival of summer and of visciole – small wild cherries with a bold and slightly tart flavor – it's the perfect time to prepare one of the most iconic desserts of Roman pastry-making: crostata di ricotta e visciole (Ricotta and sour cherry tart). A perfect combination of the creamy sweetness of ricotta and the fruity intensity of these seasonal cherries, which reach their peak between June and July.

Born in the heart of Rome's Jewish Ghetto at the end of the 18th century, this tart is a product of ingenuity and resilience. A papal edict at the time prohibited Jews from selling dairy products to Christians. So, the bakers in the ghetto began preparing “covered” sweets, hiding the forbidden ingredients inside a shell of shortcrust pastry to conceal them from the papal guards. From that necessity was born a delight that today stands as a symbol of Jewish-Roman tradition.

Cesarina Cristiana holding a tray with Ricotta and sour cherry tart

The ricotta and sour cherry tart is simple to make yet surprisingly rich in flavor: the crumbly shortcrust pastry encloses a creamy filling of well-drained ricotta, sweetened just right, and a generous layer of fragrant sour cherry jam. If you can’t take a stroll through the streets of Rome and stop by the ghetto to taste it fresh, you can bring a piece of the Capital into your kitchen with the recipe from our Cesarina Cristiana from Rome. A perfect dessert to serve at the end of a meal, perhaps accompanied by a small glass of sweet wine, to celebrate summer with a delicious bite that also carries history and tradition.

Ricotta and sour cherry tart

A delicious fusion of creamy ricotta and the bold flavor of sour cherries

DifficultyMedium

Cooking time35m

€

CostMedium

Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry:
3 eggs
350 g all-purpose flour
120 g granulated sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
120 g butter, softened at room temperature
A pinch of salt
For the syruped sour cherries:
250 g sour cherries (or amarene)
125 g granulated sugar
For the tart filling:
230 g syruped sour cherries (or 320 g sour cherry preserves)
400 g ricotta (I use goat ricotta, which is naturally lactose-free)
70 g sugar
A small shot of rum (about an espresso cup size)

Method

For the syruped sour cherries:

Wash and dry the sour cherries well, remove the stems and pits, and place them in a large container.
Sprinkle all the sugar over the cherries and cover with a cloth.
Let rest for 12 hours.
After 12 hours, drain the cherries, collecting the liquid in a saucepan. Bring the liquid to a boil.
Pour it over the cherries that you’ve returned to the container, and cover again with a cloth.
Repeat this process for 2 more days.
On the third day, place the cherries in a jar, completely cover them with the still-hot syrup, seal tightly, and store upside down in a cool, dark place for 20 days.

For the tart:

First, drain the ricotta well. Place it in a bowl, add the sugar and rum, and mix everything with a fork until it becomes creamy.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to rest.
For the shortcrust pastry, place all ingredients in a stand mixer and mix for 3 minutes using the paddle attachment.
Transfer the dough to a surface, shape into a ball, wrap in plastic, and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Once rested, roll out 3/4 of the dough with a rolling pin into a sheet about 3 mm thick, and place it in a buttered and floured tart pan. Prick the bottom with a fork.
Take the ricotta from the fridge and add the cherries with 2 tablespoons of their syrup. Mix well and spread the mixture evenly over the base.
If using preserves instead of syruped cherries, microwave the jar (without the lid) for about 40 seconds to soften it.
First spread the ricotta, then the jam, on the tart base.
Roll out the remaining dough to about 4–5 mm thick, cut into strips, and lay them over the filling in a crisscross pattern.
Bake in a ventilated oven at 180°C (356°F) for 30–35 minutes.