Ricotta Pudding Cake w/ Roasted Grapes

I always make a dessert when I have leftover ricotta cheese from a lasagne or an eggplant rollatini.

This time I made a ricotta pudding cake based loosely on a Mario Batali recipe from his Molto Italiano cookbook.

I added roasted grapes as a fruit sauce and it came out DELICIOUS!
This is more like a flan, than a cake or a pudding, but he calls it a budino (pudding in Italian).

I added more flour to my recipe and next time I think I will bake it in a springform pan instead of a ceramic quiche pan as Mario suggests.

Budino di Ricotta:

1 lb. fresh ricotta cheese (I like Trader Joe's fresh ricotta)
1 tsp cinnamon
5 eggs
3 tbsp flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp candied orange peel
grated zest of a lemon

1 cup red seedless grapes
sprinkle of sugar
splash of balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp of olive oil

Mix all the cake ingredients in a bowl and pour into a well greased and floured quiche pan (next time I will use a springform pan for easier removal).

On a small baking sheet lined with foil, lay the grapes and splash with the vinegar and oil and sprinkle with sugar to coat.



Place the quiche pan on the center rack of a 350F oven and the grapes on the bottom rack of the same oven, so they cook together.

Bake about 25 minutes, the budino will puff up then flop when you take it out of the oven.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and place some of the roasted grapes on the side.



Enjoy!