Medieval Cherry Cheesecake

Dark cherry cheesecake in a pastry crust

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City/Region: Italy

Time Period: 15th Century

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If you were in medieval Europe and wanted to make this torte, you would need to visit separate merchants for the grain, dairy products, cherries, sugar, and spices, and this was assuming that you were there on the right day when all of those merchants would be present. It would be worth the effort, though.

This cheesecake-like torte is fantastic. The cherries come through strongly with the barest hint of rose, and the spices are well balanced. The parmesan doesn’t do a whole lot except maybe add some salt, so you’d probably be fine if you left it out and added in a bit of salt instead. Definitely recommend!

“Take the darkest cherries you can find, remove their stones, and grind them very well in a mortar, and take red roses chopped very finely with a knife, and a little fresh cheese and a little good aged cheese, adding spices, that is cinnamon, ginger, and a little pepper and some sugar; and you mix all these very well, adding to them also three or four eggs according to the quantity that you wish to make, and with the crust underneath, put it to cook gently in the pan. And when it is cooked, you sprinkle it with some sugar and rosewater.”

— Libro de arte coquinaria by Maestro Martino da Como, 15th century

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Ingredients:

Crust

• 1 cup (226 g) salted butter, diced
• 3 cups (360 g) flour
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) very cold water

Filling

• 1 1/2 lbs (680 g) cherries, the darkest you can find, or 1 lb (450 g) pitted cherries
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups (375 g) fresh cheese, I used ricotta
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons aged cheese, I used parmesan
• A handful fragrant edible rose petals, red if you can find them, or 1 teaspoon rose water
• Rose water, for topping
• Powdered sugar, for topping
• Cherries, for decoration, optional
• Fresh edible roses, for decoration, optional

Instructions:

1. For the crust: In a large bowl, rub the butter into the flour until it has the texture of bread crumbs. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of the water over the flour mixture and work it in. Add more water only if you need to, 1 teaspoon at a time just until the dough comes together.
2. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead it a few times until it’s smooth enough to form a disc. If the dough isn’t holding together or has a lot of cracks, add a bit more water.
3. Wrap the disc of dough and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
5. If you’re using a tin with a removable bottom, cut out a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom and place the parchment on it. If you’re using a regular pie dish, skip this step.
6. After the dough has rested, roll it out into circle large enough to line your baking vessel and transfer the dough into it. If the dough tears, you can patch it with some scraps.
7. Line the dough with foil or parchment and fill it with baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes, then carefully remove the foil and baking beans and return the crust to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until it’s fully cooked.
8. Let the crust cool completely before adding the filling.
9. For the filling: Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F (165°C).
10. Pit the cherries, and I recommend wearing gloves unless you don’t mind staining your hands with cherry juice.
11. Put the pitted cherries into a blender and blend them into a puree.
12. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and ricotta together until the mixture is fairly smooth, then pass it through a strainer.
13. Stir in the sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and pepper. Stir in the cherry puree.
14. Chop the parmesan into the smallest pieces you can, then stir it into the filling.
15. Chop the rose petals finely, then stir them into the filling, or the rose water if you’re using it.
16. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until there’s just a slight wobble in the middle.
17. Let it cool completely, then brush a bit of rosewater over the top and sprinkle with some powdered sugar. If you’d like, decorate the top with some fresh cherries and roses, then serve it forth.

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