Ricotta cheese Pudding (Rome)

Desserts

Ingredients

Ricotta or good quality cottage cheese - 1 1/2 pounds

Seedless white raisins - 4 tsps

Diced mixed candied peel - 5 tbsps

Rum - 1/4 cup

Eggs - 4

Buter abd fine dry breadcrumbs for baking dish

All purpose flour - 4 tsps

Confectioners sugar -  5 tbsps

Ground cinnamon - pinch

Grated rind to 1/2 lemon

Vanilla  sugar

Soak the white raisins and peel in the rum. Separate 5 eggs. Grease a deep round baking dish generously with butter and coat it with fine breadcrumbs. Beat 3 egg yolks and 1 whole egg until smooth. Beat the egg whites until stiff..

Rub the ricotta through a fine sieve. Put into a bowl, add the eggs, flour, sugar, the beaten egg yolks, the white raisins, rum, candied peel, cinnamon and lemon rind. Add more sugar to taste if preferred. Mix thoroughly, then fold in the egg whites. Pour into the prepared dish, filling it not more than half-full; otherwise, when the pudding rises, it will spill over the sides. Bake in a moderate oven (375F) for about 1 hour.

When the top is a pale golden color, turn off the heat and let the pudding cool in the oven; this prevents it from sinking in the middle. Turn out and serve cold, sprinkled with vanilla sugar.

Serves 6