Budino Di Ricotta

Name: Budino Di Ricotta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 19 min
Total time: 29 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 500g Ricotta; 4 large Eggs; 3 tbs Flour; 250g Sugar; 1 tsp Cinnamon; Grated Zest of 2 Lemons; 5 tbs Dark Rum; sprinking Icing Sugar

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Dessert recipe with Italian flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 44 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Step-by-step instructions

Mash the ricotta and beat well with the egg yolks, stir in the flour, sugar, cinnamon, grated lemon rind and the rum and mix well.
You can do this in a food processor.
Beat the egg whites until stiff, fold in and pour into a buttered and floured 25cm cake tin.
Bake in the oven at 180ºC/160ºC fan/gas 4 for about 40 minutes, or until it is firm.
Serve hot or cold dusted with icing sugar.

Why this works on a weeknight

Budino Di Ricotta genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, which is why it earned a spot in our Sweet Finishes collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Budino Di Ricotta actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.