Ricotta Sweet Cakes With Cherries Poached In Port

Background

For this recipe I usually use the Greek sweet red “dessert” wine called mavrodaphne from Patra to poach the cherries. If you do not have any port you can use any other sweet red wine such as port.

For the Ricotta sweet cakes I also add a couple of tablespoons of Greek mastic liqueur. I sometimes use figs for this recipe and during the winter months I substitute the cherries with quince. You can also serve the poached cherries with yogurt, spiked with honey and cinnamon, instead of the sweet ricotta cakes.

Ingredients


Ricotta sweet cakes

1.5-2 cups fresh ricotta
½ cup dry roasted almonds
¼ cup currants
2 tablespoons honey
2-3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1-2 tablespoons semolina


Poached Figs

½ kg cherries
¼ cup castor sugar
1 cup port
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint to garnish
1 teaspoon of cinnamon to garnish


Method

Place almonds in mortar and pestle and grind until a rough mill. Do not pound into powder form.

Place ricotta cheese in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients for the ricotta cakes, gently mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Place cherries in a saucepan, with port, cinnamon stick and cloves and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer on low for approximately 20 minutes.

Place ricotta cake mixture in little non-stick baking trays to form four portions any shape you like. Place baking tray in oven and bake on 180 for approximately 15-20 minutes until tops are a light golden brown.

When cooked take out of the oven and set aside for 2-3 minutes and allow to cool.

Arrange on individual plates each ricotta sweet cake and some of the poached cherries. Garnish with mint and cinnamon and drizzle some of the poaching liquid around the plate to decorate.

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