Anarotourta - Ricotta and phyllo cake

Anarotourta - Ricotta and phyllo cake

An easy to assemble dessert with a fragrant ricotta mixture in between crunched phyllo sheets. This sweet is really great to prepare ahead of time. The phyllo and ricotta may be stored separately and then just assembled as guests arrive to keep the phyllo crispy.

Ingredients

Ricotta filling
600 mL thickened cream, heavy cream
1.5 kg ricotta
100 -150 g caster sugar, ½ – 3/4 cup or
200 g wild thyme honey, over ¾ cup
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp rosewater or 1 ½ tsp vanilla bean paste

Phyllo sheets
10 phyllo sheets
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tbs icing sugar

Toppings
¼ cup walnuts, coarsely ground
honey

Preparation

For more details and explanations you may vist the blog post. http://myfamilysfooddiary.com/anarotourta-ricotta-and-phyllo-cake/

Ricotta filling
  1. Whisk the thickened cream until soft peaks are formed, then set aside. Beat the rest of the ricotta ingredients together, in a separate bowl, until they are evenly mixed. Fold in the thickened cream until a uniform mixture is formed. Read my blog notes above for the type of ricotta I used vs the thickened cream.

  2. Place the ricotta mixture in the fridge for about an hour, so it can get cold and have some time for the flavours to develop.

Phyllo sheets
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. You do not need to thaw the phyllo sheets before you use them.
  2. Take out 10 phyllo sheets set them aside covered with a damp towel. Return the rest of the sheets in the packet. Ensure you seal them well before placing the packet back in the fridge.
  3. Place a single phyllo sheet on a baking tray and put it in the oven until it is golden brown. Be mindful you don't burn the phyllo as this does not take long. Keep repeating the process with the rest of the phyllo sheets and set the aside on a cooling rack.

  4. Once the baked phyllo sheets are cool, crush them coarsely in a bowl and sprinkle them with the icing sugar and cinnamon. Mix them until all the phyllo pieces are equally coated.

  5. To assemble place half of the crushed sheets on the bottom of a deep dish (mine is about 20x25x4cm). Add the ricotta mixture on top, smoothing it out evenly in the dish. Continue by spreading the rest of the phyllo sheets on top of the ricotta. Before serving it top with crushed walnuts and a drizzle of honey.

  6. If you wish to make the anarotourta ahead of time you can easily do all the steps from the day before except from the assembly. Simply keep the crushed phyllo in a sealed container in a dry place e.g. pantry and the ricotta filling in the fridge. If the ricotta is a bit too firm to spread the next day you can add a small splash of milk to mix it before spreading.