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🍰 DESSERT
Crostata di Ricotta e Visciole
A shortcrust tart of sweet ricotta and tart sour cherries, the classic Roman-Jewish dessert of the old Ghetto.
Roman · medium · serves 10
prep 40 min · cook 45 min · plus 2 h hands-off time
~515 cal · 10g protein · 72g carbs · 22g fat · 1g fiber · 39g sugars · 13g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Crostata di ricotta e visciole is one of Rome's most treasured desserts, born in the Jewish Ghetto that lies just across the river from Vatican City. The best-known story has it that the tart was covered with a lid of pastry to hide the ricotta from view, at a time when a papal edict restricted Jews from selling dairy. It is a good story and it may be true, but it is worth saying that it is disputed: the family who run Pasticceria Boccione, the last kosher bakery in the Ghetto and the shop most associated with the tart, say their grandmother invented it after the Second World War and that the pope had nothing to do with it, while historians of the Roman Jewish community say there are no records, only clues.
A sweet shortcrust encloses a layer of lightly sweetened ricotta and a layer of visciole, the tart wild sour cherries preserved in syrup. Fully covered top and bottom, it bakes into a golden tart that reveals its ruby cherry and creamy ricotta only when cut. The interplay of rich cheese and sharp cherry is what makes it unforgettable.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 10
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup butter, cold
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups ricotta
- 1 1/2 cups visciole (sour cherry) jamHard to find? morello or amarena sour cherry jam - visciole are wild sour cherries; any true sour cherry jam keeps the sharp edge, while sweet cherry jam flattens the tart
- 2 tbsp sambuca
- 1 lemon lemon zest
- 3/4 cup sugar
Instructions
- 1Beat the cold butter with the sugar and lemon zest, work in one egg and the yolk, then the flour and a pinch of salt, and stop the moment it is smooth. Chill it at least 30 minutes.✎ Chef’s noteWork the pastry as fast as you can and no more than you must. This is a rich, delicate frolla and overworking it makes it tough; if it tears when you line the tin, simply patch it with scraps.
- 2Beat the ricotta, ideally sheep's milk, with the remaining egg, the rest of the sugar and the sambuca until smooth.✎ Chef’s noteSambuca is the Roman signature in the filling and almost every bakery in the Ghetto uses it.
- 3Line a tin with two-thirds of the pastry, prick the base, spread the sour cherry jam over it first, and pour the ricotta on top of the jam.✎ Chef’s noteJam on the bottom, ricotta above it. That is the order in every Roman version, and it is what keeps the fruit from bleeding through the top and gives the clean red-and-white layers when you cut it. If you are using cherries in syrup rather than jam, drain them hard first or the base goes soggy.
- 4Cover with the remaining pastry, seal the edges well, brush the top with beaten egg, and bake at 350F (180C) for 45 to 60 minutes until deep golden. Cool completely and chill a couple of hours before cutting.✎ Chef’s noteIt is better cold and better still the next day, which is why the Ghetto bakeries make it ahead. Use visciole rather than sweet cherries if you can: the sourness is what stands up to the ricotta.
Roman-Jewish Ghetto tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Vatican City. Vatican City is a Roman enclave, and its table is Roman: cacio e pepe, carbonara, and artichokes fried or braised. Papal kitchens have long drawn on the same pasta, pecorino, and seasonal vegetables as the city around them.
🗺️
Vatican City. The state has no farmland, but the Holy See does. The papal estate at Castel Gandolfo, extraterritorial under the 1929 Lateran Treaty, runs a working farm with a herd of Holsteins, hens, beehives, an olive press and a vegetable garden, and its milk, cheese, eggs, honey and oil are sold in the Vatican's own Annona supermarket.
🌍
Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Vatican City
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Maritozzo con PannaA soft, sweet Roman bun split and filled with a thick cloud of whipped cream.
SupplìFried risotto rice croquettes with a molten mozzarella centre, the Roman street snack found around the Vatican.
Browse all Vatican City recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Mould or tin.
Storing it: Store in an airtight container. Most keep 2 to 3 days at room temperature, and longer refrigerated.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Crostata di Ricotta e Visciole?
A shortcrust tart of sweet ricotta and tart sour cherries, the classic Roman-Jewish dessert of the old Ghetto.
Where does Crostata di Ricotta e Visciole come from?
Crostata di Ricotta e Visciole is a Roman dish from Vatican City, Vatican City.
Can Crostata di Ricotta e Visciole be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Crostata di Ricotta e Visciole recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Crostata di Ricotta e Visciole safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Crostata di Ricotta e Visciole take to make?
About 3 h 25 min in all: 40 minutes prep and 45 minutes cooking, plus 2 h of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 10.
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