Brownies with Ricotta and White Chocolate Raspberry Filling
I love the power of the Internet. Last month I came a cross a recipe by way of an American in Paris who was vacationing in Sicily. There he met a woman from Estonia, who baked a cheesecake she had learned to make on a previous trip to Tuscany. The cake in question was an Italian Ricotta Cheesecake or ‘Torta Della Noona’. It sounded delicious and it was as you can see by the final results here. The original recipe was on a blog called Nami-Nami. I thought about writing a post about it but there was really no need to. It was perfect just the way it was written. The recipe called for sheep’s milk ricotta, which isn’t exactly on every grocery store shelf. Bellwether Farms in Sonoma however makes a delightful sheep milk ricotta that you can find at Cowgirl Creamery or Whole Foods. It was this leftover cheese from the Torta Della Noona that inspired me to make some brownies. There was no way I was going to waste the 6 ounces of sheep’s milk ricotta I had left over from the torta.
Brownies are about my favorite sweet treat. I like them moist and chewy. I have made them before with a cream cheese filling, but never ricotta. I am not really sure what inspired me to add the raspberry filling but I really liked it in there. As you can see by the picture below, it starts out looking like a mess but ends up very appealing in the end. I have made them again since with cows milk ricotta and they are just as good. I really enjoyed this recipe. I am sure it is going to be in my regular rotation from now on.
Ready for the oven
- ½ cup of butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup flour
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 oz. fresh ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ white chocolate chips
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon flour
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
- Combine butter and sugar together in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and blend well. Mix all the dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture a little at a time while mixing at a low speed. Blend together thoroughly and set aside.
- Prepare the filling by placing the cheese in a small mixing bowl. Melt the butter and white chocolate chip together is a bowl inside the microwave for about 40 seconds. Stir to blend thoroughly. Add this mixture to the cheese, along with the sugar, eggs, flour, and vanilla and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth. Microwave the raspberry jelly for about 30 seconds.
- Pour half of the brownie mixture into a lightly oiled 8 x 8 pan and spread evenly. Pour the filling mixture over the brownie mixture. It should not be even, you want it to be in ‘globs’. Pour the heated jam over the filling in a random pattern. Spoon the rest of the brownie mixture over the top. At this point it is going to look like quite a mess, but that is ok. Drag a knife though to incorporate the filling slightly and smooth the top a bit. Do not over do it, you don't want to mix all the ingredients together. Bake in a 350 oven for 35-40 minutes. When it is done a wooden pic will come out clean when inserted into the middle. Cool on a rack before cutting and removing from the pan.
- Enjoy!
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