Chocolate Ricotta Pudding with Strawberry Sauce

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Show: Everyday ItalianEpisode: Gooey Good Food

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (54)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(54)

Cook Time:
30 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
6 servings

Times:

Prep: 30 min
Inactive Prep: 3 hr 0 min
Cook: 30 min
Total:: 4 hr 0 min

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Ingredients

Sauce:

2 cups fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar

Pudding:

Butter, for greasing cups
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
1 1/2 pounds fresh whole milk ricotta cheese, drained for 2 hours to remove any excess liquid
1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

To make the sauce: Blend the strawberries and sugar in a food processor until smooth. Strain the puree through a fine mesh strainer. Cover and refrigerate. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

To make the pudding: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Lightly butter 6 (6-ounce) custard cups. Arrange the cups in a large roasting pan. Melt the chocolate in a medium bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Set the melted chocolate aside. Blend the ricotta, 1/4 cup of sugar, egg yolks, orange zest, almond extract, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor until very smooth. Blend in the melted chocolate. Transfer the ricotta mixture to a large bowl.

Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites in another large bowl with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar. Continue beating until semi-firm peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the ricotta mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cups. Fill the pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the custard cups. Bake until the pudding puffs slightly but the centers are still creamy, about 25 minutes (the pudding will become thick and creamy when cold). Allow puddings to cool slightly before removing from water bath. Remove the custard cups from the bath. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours.

Run a knife around the sides of the puddings to loosen. Invert the puddings onto plates. Drizzle the strawberry sauce around the puddings and serve.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Chocolate Ricotta Pudding with Strawberry Sauce
Anonymous 05-15-2008
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delicious
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Excellent, it has a really nice depth of flavor. Just make sure to let it set long enough, and make sure to use the FRESH... ricotta the recipe calls for, which gives the pudding a creamy texture. The complaints about graininess come from having used the prepackaged stuff.Read more
recipe Chocolate Ricotta Pudding with Strawberry Sauce
Anonymous 01-08-2008
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This is delicious!!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I was a bit skeptical after reading all the other reviews. This is delicious...especially for chocolate lovers. It is very... rich. I altered the recipe slightly. I used vanilla extract instead of almond. I used 4 oz. of bittersweet and 2 oz of semi-sweet. The rest of the recipe is the same. I used my blender instead of a food processor (don't own one). I did have to blend it for a while to get it to a smooth consistancy. I used Sargento deli-style whole milk ricotta. I did drain it for 2 hours but not much liquid came off. It was pretty solid to begin with. Just thought I'd share my thoughts. (Also, I didn't make the strawberry sauce to go with it...which would probably sweeten it up a bit).Read more
recipe Chocolate Ricotta Pudding with Strawberry Sauce
Monyetta New York City, NY 07-13-2007
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Just a Little Reminder
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

You know... when I saw Giada making this dessert... I thought, why ricotta cheese and this can't be good. But then I... remembered that the best cheesecake I'd ever had in NYC was at a restaurant named SAL Anthony's in Little Italy only a few months ago. I said to myself. Oh, this dessert is going to be great! So, I am geeked to try it myself! And the fresh strawberries... OH! Heaven!Read more
recipe Chocolate Ricotta Pudding with Strawberry Sauce
Anonymous 05-10-2007
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Nice enough taste; grainy texture
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

Like many posters, mine came out grainy. Maybe if I'd used fresh (vs. packaged) ricotta, or drained it less/not at all...?... This is the first Giada recipe I've made that was a bummer.Read more
recipe Chocolate Ricotta Pudding with Strawberry Sauce
Christi Springfield, VA 05-06-2007
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Execellent Flavor and Presentation
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Yet again, another hit!
recipe Chocolate Ricotta Pudding with Strawberry Sauce
Alisa Jayne New Smyrna Beach, FL 02-03-2007
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Very good...worth the time?
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

This was exremely rich, tasted very good. It took a lot of time to put together though. I don't mind speding the time if it... is over the top great. I didn't think this was.Read more