I took that responsibility seriously. I cooked everything that anyone could possibly want on any given Easter Sunday. Brunch, lunch, soup to nuts and everything in between, you name it, I cooked it. I look back now and I have to shake my head in amusement at the things I pulled off. Such as the Easter morning I served brunch to family and friends on the beach--we lived in Southern California, going to the beach wasn't a big deal. I prepared boil-in bag omelets, and we hauled a camp stove, water and a dutch oven to the beach--with small children, their needs, coolers, chairs and stuff. We set up a canopy, started the stove, set out all the tasty things to add to our omelets as well as homemade cinnamon rolls, coffee cakes, juices, coffee, you name it, I had it, and we got down to the business of making brunch. Other than some wind and a bit of sand, it was a success. We all enjoyed it, we had a great time, the kids loved it, I swore I'd never do it again.
I've also had Easter dinners where I made ham, lamb, scalloped potatoes, potato salad, pilaf, spinach salad, macaroni salad, cole slaw, baked beans, roasted asparagus, fruit salad, pies, cakes, rolls and cheesecake. In my defense, I just wanted everyone to have something that I knew they would really like. Today, I'm older and wiser and I keep things much simpler. With culinary exhaustion there comes wisdom.
But simple doesn't have to be boring. As a chef, I always looked for the big payoff in flavor and weighed that against the time I had to pull it off. Cakes and pies are great; you can make a dazzling cake and everyone oohs and aahs over it and then you cut it. That's why individual desserts are such a standard today. But even they have to be special. And in my mind, there's not much more appealing than a brulee.
And here you're thinking how much trouble it is to make a custard, strain it, get it into ramekins placed in a pan and then make sure you don't splash boiling water on yourself, the hot oven or into the delicate custard as you fill the pan with water for a bath to coddle the custards. Not this time.
Ricotta cream is a lovely mixture of drained ricotta, sugar or honey, some flavoring and a nice bit of time spent hanging out in the fridge. No cooking. Not a bit of it. No water bath, no straining custard, no stress. And the best part of all is this can be done the day before.
I like to use whole milk ricotta, but if you're looking for ways to shave some calories, you can use the ricotta of your choice. The taste will be slightly different, but weigh that against the extra time spent on the tread mill and do what works best for you.
Layer a fine mesh sieve with a layer of paper towels, set it over a bowl and spoon your ricotta in. Let it drain for a couple of hours in the refrigerator, preferably overnight. Easy, right?
When the ricotta is drained, throw away the water that collected and place the drained cheese into a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients (I also love this recipe using honey and lemon or honey and lavender--mmmmm!), stir well and scoop into ramekins. Place a piece of plastic wrap on each ramekin, being sure to make contact with the ricotta. That keeps a skin from forming and ensures a nice creamy pudding under the lovely, burnt sugar topping.
When you're ready to serve, place the chilled puddings on a heat proof surface, such as a couple of stacked cookie sheets. Let them sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the dish itself to warm so it doesn't crack under the heat it takes to brulee--or burn--the sugar. Sprinkle with the sugar, and torch them. If you don't have a torch, place the tray under the broiler of your oven until the sugar melts and bubbles. I always garnish because, hey, it's special and it gives that big payoff return for little effort that I'm looking for.
If you don't want to play with broilers and torches on Easter Sunday, though I think flames always gives just the right amount of added danger to any family gathering, you can still garnish the un-bruleed top of this dessert with fresh fruit--strawberries macerated in a wonderful, sweet and syrupy balsamic vinegar comes to mind. Served with a crisp, biscotti or two and a cup of coffee and you have the perfect, light ending to your holiday feast.
However you want to serve Ricotta Cream, bruleed or simply garnished with fresh fruit, give this simple but spectacular dessert a try.
And now I'm thinking how nice a little stewed spring rhubarb compote would be the perfect topping for this dessert...
Ricotta Cream Brulee
- 1 cup drained whole milk ricotta for each 1/2 cup serving
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (being extra careful to only grate the skin and not the bitter pith below)
- 1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Additional sugar to brulee--2 tablespoons per serving
To brulee, remove chilled ramekins. If placing under a broiler, heat the broiler. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over each custard, carefully shaking to cover the entire surface. Place ramekins on cookie sheet and position under the broiler. Broil for approximately 2 minutes or until sugar is bubbling and browned. Remove from broiler and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Careful, the ramekins may be hot.
If using a torch, place ramekins on inverted cookie sheet. Turn on torch and carefully caramelize the sugar, being careful not to burn the sugar or melt the ricotta cream. Let the creams sit for 5 minutes before serving to give the sugar a chance to cool and harden.
Finish with a fresh strawberry garnish and enjoy!
Printable Recipe
