apricot pie with yogurt and goat cheese (ricotta)

I love the goat cheese, since I discovered its lightness and the total absence of flakes, this goat ricotta has become my favorite one for preparing desserts such as this delicious pie or cheesecake. It's a fresh cheese so you don't meet that unpleasant bitter aftertaste typical of products with preservatives. This cheese is obtained with the serum that is formed during the processing of milk into cheese: it's a food rich in protein and low in fat. So let's taste this noble food. Really delicious eaten absolute and perfect for many sweet and savory preparations.

Here it is in plain sight while biting into a warm slice of this delicious pie, it winks between the fruit and fork with its sublime flavor, delicate and "right". 

This recipe taken from the Encyclopaedia of Great Mastry Pastry Academy, participates in the contest of my friends  Assunta e Donatella.

Serve: 8 slices

Ingredients for the filling:

• 250 g goat ricotta 
• 250 g yogurt
• 170 g caster sugar
• 4 free range eggs
• 1 organic lemon
• 6 apricot jam
• 250 g apricots in syrup (weighted drained)
• butter for the pan

for the shortbread

• 300 g flour
• 150 g softened butter 
• 150 g caster sugar
• 1 lemon zest
• 1 free range egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)

1. Prepare the shortbread mixing quickly all ingredients, flatten it with a rolling pin between two baking papers. Store in the fridge while preparing the filling. 

2. In the meanwhile prepare the filling: in a bowl mix the ricotta cheese with yogurt and sugar  with a spatula, then add 3 eggs one by one and the lemon zest. 

3. Divide the dough in two parts one larger than the other. Roll it in two discs of 20 and 26 cm in diameter. 

4. Grease a springform pan (I used a mold disposable) and cover the bottom and the sides with baking paper wet and squeezed, upward out so that you can unmold the pie without breaking it (it's a useful trick to unmold the cakes with a soft inner). Close the pie with the larger disc.    

5. Prick the bottom with a fork, spread the jam on the top, then pour in the ricotta mixture; level with a spatula and dip the apricots into the mixture. Cover with the other pastry disc, engrave with smaller cuts, radially folded over the edges of the pastry and brush the top with the remained egg beaten.  

6. Bake the cake at  175° for about 1 hour and serve warm, an experience!, or at room temperature.