A fresh imagination from the oven

The Sicilians have a sweet called the cannoli. It is a roll of pastry, stuffed with chilled creme and other flavors. In Italy, they keep the pastry and the creme separate, and put them together at the point of purchase, so that the cannoli remains crispy. What I reminisce about the cannoli is its mix of a crispy crust and chilled sweetness in one bite. So I decide to try making a sweet of such personality, not a cannoli, just a tart of my own imaginations.


Recipe: Sweet ricotta tart on a flaky crust (for one)


Ingredients:
- 1 oz of flake pie dough from recipe in "Baking with Julia"
- 3 tablespoon (TB) ricotta cheese fat-free
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- dash of confectioner's sugar
- 1 drop of vanilla extract
- dash of cardamom
- 1 sweetened cranberry


Procedure:
Roll out dough to 1/8" thick, and cover the bottom of a small tart tray (about 4TB big). Bake at 350F until golden brown (about 5-10 minutes). Crust will bubble a little while baking. When done, the crust will alert you by its inviting smell. Meanwhile, mix 3 TB ricotta cheese, 1/2 tp sugar and vanilla extract into a smooth paste. Don't over stir. Keep it chilled. When the crust is done, take it out from oven and let cool for 5 minutes or until your mouth can handle it. Fill with the cheese mix. Sprinkle a dash of cardamom, and a dash of confectioner's sugar. Top with a sweetened cranberry, which goes very well with cardamom. Serve right away.

Ever since I learnt to bake the flaky pie crust, my imaginations have grown wings! It only takes a few dough balls in the fridge to make a crust at anytime for anything. It's said that "if you could have only one pie dough in your repertoire, it would have to be [the flaky pie dough]".