We ate oranges all winter long. We had them as juice, with salads, we used the peel to give an extra flavour to our dishes and desserts. As they are still in season, we want to propose you a delicious dessert.
This is a real fusion recipe: we got inspired both from the sicilian Cassata (a typical dessert of Sicily made of ricotta, chocolate, pistachios and marzipan) and the English orange curd. Two different creams, two different consistencies, the same authentic pleasure.
Do you need anything else? Well, we can tell you that in this dessert there is also the italian meringue.
This is an easy dish to make: you’ll need to cook only a bit. The stuffed oranges are a delicious dessert. The filling is made of two layers: the first one is a cream made with ricotta, chocolate and pistachios, orange peel and a bit of sugar. The upper layer is a custard made with orange juice, sugar and egg yolks. Really easy.
You can make them in advance, wrap in cling film and keep them in the fridge. You can guarnish them with the italian meringue or not: it’s up to you. They are delicious anyway. Do you want to know our recipe? Read more…
Serves 4
- 2 big oranges
- 1 teaspoon of grated orange peel
- 250 g orange juice
- 2 egg yolks
- 60 g caster sugar
- 20 g corn starch
- 250 g ricotta cheese
- 40 g icing sugar
- 20 g dark chocolate
- 20 g pistachios
- a pinch of cinnamon powder
Choose two oranges with a regular base, so that they can stand up alone. Cut them through the middle and gently squeeze. Pay attention to save the external peel. You need 250 g juice: two big oranges may give you the right amount, it depends on how much juicy are they. Gently scoop out the meat, to get 4 shells. Take care not to make holes while cleaning the rinds.
Make the orange curd with the juice. Place in a sauce pan two egg yolks, beat them slightly with 60 grams of caster sugar until frothy. Add orange juice a bit at a time to combine. Dilute the corn starch in a couple of tablespoon of orange juice and add it to the liquid base. Place the sauce pan on the heat on low temperature and go on stirring until sticky. Pour into a plate, cover with cling film and set a side to cool down.
Coarsely chop chocolate and pistachious.
When the orange curd is cold, make the second layer cream.
Sift the ricotta cheese in a large bowl, then combine with icing sugar and cinnamon powder. Add chopped chocolate and pistachios, a teaspoon of grated orange peel, combine well.
Fill 3/4 each orange cup with the ricotta cream. Flatten. Fill up the rinds with the orange curd. Flatten the surface, cover with cling film and set in the fridge to cool down for one hour at least.
Your stuffed orange are ready now: you can garnish with some chopped pistachios and chocolate, some orange zest and a pinch of cinnamon powder before serving. But what about the egg whites? Well, if you want you can make a kind of “hat” for the filled oranges…
There are two possibilities. First: to make baked meringues. Second: to make an italian meringue to flame with the blowtorch as we did (see above picture). If you choose to make the italian meringue you can find the method here. For the other meringue you have to whip up the egg whites with 100 grams of caster sugar. When done, line a baking tray with parchment paper, then use a sac-a-poche to make some little pyramids, as large as your orange top. Bake for two hours to 90°C. And this is the result!
