I've made ricotta filling for cakes a couple times before and went ahead and tried my hand at it again today. I used this recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/my-country-my-kitchen/sicilian-cassata-ricotta-cake-recipe/index.html and the filling turned out nice and thick and it tastes great, BUT I could not get rid of that "grainy" texture that ricotta cheese has. I beat the ricotta for 15 minutes but it still turned out grainy. And this is what's happened every other time I've tried making this filling.
Any suggestions? Should I be beating the filling for much longer than 15 mins?
I never made this cake but I have made cannoli cream, lasagna and ravioli (Can you tell I'm Italian!) Anyway I only use Polly-O brand. Full fat. If you're going to make these kinds of desserts you don't go SKIM! I don't like store brands or other brands (especially Sorrento) even if they are half the price! I don't get a grainy texture in my results so maybe it is the brand you use. Good luck!
Theresa
I never made this cake but I have made cannoli cream, lasagna and ravioli (Can you tell I'm Italian!) Anyway I only use Polly-O brand. Full fat. If you're going to make these kinds of desserts you don't go SKIM! I don't like store brands or other brands (especially Sorrento) even if they are half the price! I don't get a grainy texture in my results so maybe it is the brand you use. Good luck!
Theresa
I will admit I used Sorrento! But it was full fat. And like I said, the filling is nice and thick but has a slight graininess, if you will. I guess I should spend the extra $$ and buy the good stuff from the local Italian delis (there are so many in my area) :)
Most ricotta is going to be grainy. That's the nature of the beast. Beating it is just going to move the curds around. You should run it through a blender or food processor and then push it through a strainer to reduce the graininess. You also might want to strain it through a cheesecloth for 24 hours if you want something thicker. Most of us can't get impastata ricotta, which is thicker and used to fill cannolis.
I will admit I used Sorrento! But it was full fat. And like I said, the filling is nice and thick but has a slight graininess, if you will. I guess I should spend the extra $$ and buy the good stuff from the local Italian delis (there are so many in my area) :)
Oh that Sorrento! That made me laugh only because the few times I bought that brand I regretted it. Good luck with the next batch! Keep us posted!
Theresa
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