Winter Orange Blossom Ricotta Cake with Pistachio-Cinnamon Crust

Preheat oven to 170°C (150°C fan/340°F). Butter a 26cm springform pan and dust with flour. Strain ricotta through a fine mesh sieve for smooth consistency. Wash lemon and orange in hot water and finely grate the zest.

Toast pistachios in a dry pan for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Cool and roughly chop. Cut cold butter into small cubes. Combine all crust ingredients (chopped pistachios, cold butter cubes, brown sugar, cinnamon, and 30g flour) and rub together with fingertips to form coarse crumbs.

In a large bowl, cream the strained ricotta with sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time until mixture is smooth. Stir in orange blossom water, lemon and orange zest, and lemon juice.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently fold the flour mixture into the ricotta mixture. Finally, stir in the melted, cooled butter until you have a smooth batter.

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the surface. Evenly distribute the pistachio-cinnamon crumble over the top. Bake in preheated oven for 60-65 minutes until golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in center comes out clean.

Let cake cool completely in the pan (about 2 hours) before removing from springform. Dust with powdered sugar before serving. The cake tastes best at room temperature.