Berry Ricotta Cakes

This is a really easy recipe, and a great solution to your left over ricotta from Italian pasta dishes. The photos reflect the cakes just out of the oven before any topping has been placed. Notice the caramelized sugar in the cakes! These can be made in individual cups or in one large cake. Top with any sort of fruit and sauce that you desire. I recommend using frozen berries if you want a stronger sauce base, if you want more texture use the fresh and boil them down.I used fresh blackberries and then also pureed about half the berries to thicken the sauce. With fresh berries you will need to boil in water first to start creating a sauce, and then you only need to add sweetener and cornstarch to the fruit once its heated.

Ingredients:
Cake:

• 1 cup ricotta
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg

Sauce:

• 1 cup frozen blackberries (or fresh boiled with some water)
  
• Sugar to sweeten
• Cornstarch to thicken (if necessary)

Directions:

• Whisk together ingredients
• Pour into small baking dishes
• Bake at 375 until mixture rises and solidifies in the center
• Allow to cool in oven
• For sauce, heat berries on stove and add sugar to taste
• If sauce is too watery slowly whisk in small amount of cornstarch to thicken
  
• Serve with a drizzle of warm berry sauce

Enjoy!