“Sbriciolata” is an Italian-style crumb cake and a classic dessert that people make at home.
Buttery crumbled pastry dough with a scrumptious layer of whipped ricotta and jam, topped with streusel for an extra crunch.
It doesn’t require outstanding pastry skills, and it’s a good place to start if you’re just getting familiar with pie making.
Ingredients to make ricotta and blueberry jam Italian crumb cake:
Butter: Unsalted cold butter cut into cubes.
Flour: All-purpose flour is the way to get a crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth crumb crust.
Sugar: I use powdered sugar for the filling and granulated for the crumb crust.
Cheese: Ricotta and mascarpone cheese both work well for this recipe.
Eggs: Room temperature eggs to keep our cheese filing stable and bind together the crust.
Cornstarch: Same as the eggs, it helps the filling stay together and ensures we get a clean cut when slicing it.
Jam: I prefer jams with a bit of tartness to balance the sweetness of the filling, like blueberry or cherry, but any jam you’d like will work.
Flavor: Vanilla and lemon zest make everything taste better.
Salt: Salt adds a little contrast and helps enhance the flavor of every pastry.
How to make Italian crumb cake:
For the filling:
- In a medium bowl, add 500g of ricotta, 100g of powdered sugar, one large egg at room temperature, 1 tbsp of vanilla paste, the zest of one organic lemon, and one tbsp of cornstarch.
- Using a whisk, mix it until well combined, then set aside while preparing the crumb crust.
For the crumb crust:
- In a large bowl, place 400g of all-purpose flour, 100g of granulated sugar, and one tbsp of baking powder, and give them a mix.
- Next, add 120g of room temperature butter already cut into cubes, and mix until the mixture has a sand-like consistency.
- At this point, add two room temperature large eggs and mix until the dough clumps together.|
- It’s fundamental not to over-mix the dough; we need a dough that comes together but is still crumbly.
Assembling the sbriciolata:
Put 2/3 of the dough in the bottom of the pan pressing it using the palm of your hand.
Press the crumble to make it even and create a bit of a border.
In the next step, we add the blueberry jam but really, every type of jam you like do the work.
Spread the jam on top of the crumble; the amount can vary depending on your preference; I’m putting 250 g for a 10-inch pan.
At this point, we remove the ricotta from the fridge and pour it on top of the jam.
Make it even using an offset spatula, and add the finishing touch by covering our cake with the rest of the crumble.
Bake at 350°F in a preheated oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Remove it from the oven and place it on a wire rack.
Let it cool for 30 minutes, then gently remove the ring.
Ok, now we have to flip the crumb cake to remove the springform plate. It’s a delicate operation but manageable if you follow my directions.
Place a cake plate or flat surface on top and flip the cake upside down.
Now, you can gently remove the springform plate.
Then we place the cake plate back on top
and flip it once more, so the crumb topping faces up.
The last touch, we sprinkle some powdered sugar on top, and we are ready to try!
How to store sbriciolata:
- You can store the sbriciolata in the fridge, covered in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days.
- You can also freeze it wrapped in foil and place it in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Other sweets, you might also like:
Limoncello poppy seed pound cake
Banana pudding entirely from scratch
Sbriciolata: Italian crumb cake
Equipment
- 10-inch springform pan with removable bottom
- stand mixer optional
- offset spatula
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 400 g all-purpose flour
- 100 g powdered sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 120 g unsalted butter,cut into cubes
- 2 large eggs,room temperature
- 1 tbsp baking powder
For the filling:
- 450 g ricotta
- 100 g powdered sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
- 1 lemon zest
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 250 g blueberry jam
To serve:
- powdered sugar
Instructions
For the filling:
- In a medium bowl, add 500g of ricotta, 100g of powdered sugar, one large egg at room temperature, 1 tbsp of vanilla paste, the zest of one organic lemon, and one tbsp of cornstarch.
- Using a whisk, mix it until well combined, then set aside while preparing the crumb crust.
For the crumb crust:
- In a large bowl, place 400g of all-purpose flour, 100g of granulated sugar, and one tbsp of baking powder, and give them a mix.
- Next, add 120g of room temperature butter already cut into cubes, and mix until the mixture has a sand-like consistency
- At this point, add two room temperature large eggs and mix until the dough clumps together.| It's fundamental not to over-mix the dough; we need a dough that comes together.
- It's fundamental not to over-mix the dough; we need a dough that comes together but is still crumbly.
Assembling the sbriciolata:
- Put 2/3 of the dough in the bottom of the pan pressing it using the palm of your hand. Press the crumble to make it even and create a bit of a border.
- In the next step we add the blueberry jam but really, every type of jam you like do the work.Spread the jam on top of the crumble; the amount can vary depending on what you prefer; I’m putting 250 g for a 10-inch pan.
- At this point, we remove the ricotta from the fridge and pour it on top of the jam.Make it even using an offset spatula,and add the finishing touch by covering our cake with the rest of the crumble.
- Bake at 350°F in a preheated oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown on top.Remove it from the oven and place it on a wire rack.Let it cool for 30 minutes, then gently remove the ring.
- Ok, now we have to flip the crumb cake to remove the springform plate. It’s a delicate operation but manageable if you follow my directions.Place a cake plate or flat surface on top and flip the cake upside down. Now, you can gently remove the springform plate.Then we place the cake plate back on top and flip it once more so the crumb topping faces up.
- The last touch, we sprinkle some powdered sugar on top, and we are ready to try!
Notes
How to store sbriciolata:
- You can store the sbriciolata in the fridge, covered in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days.
- You can also freeze it wrapped in foil and place it in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
About Author
