Ricotta Cheese Pudding

I haven't made my Chocolate Cannoli Cake in ages. It's a lovely dessert with an orange-scented ricotta cheese mixture swirled into the batter; remarkably, it's both rich and light at the same time.

The other night, I wanted the flavors of the cake but didn't want to bother baking. I'd also just made a blueberry cake that morning, and hardly needed a second seductress in the house calling to me sweetly!

So instead, I simply took the ricotta filling that is swirled into the cake batter (minus the raw egg, of course, since no cooking would be involved) and made it into a pudding instead.

This is light, refreshing, and absolutely ridiculously easy to make. If it's too hot out to cook or you need an elegant finish to a summer meal, this is the dessert you've been waiting for.

It's also perfect if you just want a slightly sweet, cool dessert at the end of the day. This pudding can be anything you need it to be ....


Italian Ricotta Cheese Pudding

1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
very finely grated zest of 1 large orange
juice of 1/4 orange
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
5 cinnamon graham cookie sticks, crushed

Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl; mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight for the flavors to develop, then spoon into decorative serving glasses. Sprinkle cookie crumbs over the top of the puddings.

Serves 4-6.