Easy Sicilian Ricotta Tarts from Guest Author Melodie Campbell

Vicki here and I’m delighted to welcome back my good friend Melodie Campbell. Melodie and I met when she was the ED of the Crime Writers of Canada and I was on the board, and we’ve remained friends even now that we’ve both left those august positions. 

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Lady Lucy Revelstoke, star of The Silent Film Star Murders, may be a titled English gal now, but she didn’t start out that way.  Daughter of a Canadian mobster, her roots are firmly Sicilian, as are mine. When she is famished from missing meals while investigating murder, this is what she craves.  A trip to the kitchens on the Victoriana Ocean Liner will usually satisfy this.

The book takes place in 1928, but these ricotta tarts have been in my family for long before that.  Probably, these are best described as Italian cheesecake baked in little muffin cups.  They are crustless, low in sugar (only ¼ cup of sugar for 12) and can be eaten as is, as a protein rich snack, or dolled up with a dollop of lemon curd, the traditional way.  I also use homemade raspberry jam on top for a different taste.

These are so easy, you can involve kids and grandkids in the making!  My five-year-old grandson calls these ‘Grandma Tarts’, and they are a family imperative.

Easy Ricotta Tarts

1 tub fine or extra fine ricotta cheese (about 2 cups)

3 eggs

¼ cup sugar

1 teas vanilla

2 T flour

2 T cream

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together well.  Then spoon into muffin cups – I use an ice cream scoop.

Bake at 350 degrees for 24 minutes.  Let cool slightly (although they are very good warm!)

Note that the tops will be dished.  This is perfect for the final step!

Spoon lemon curd (I use MACKAYS from Scotland) or jam into the dished tops, if desired.

These are good warm or cold, and can be frozen (before adding topping.)

About The Silent Film Star Murders

1928, at Sea:  Lady Lucy Revelstoke and her pickpocket-turned-maid Elf are once again embarking on a Transatlantic crossing. Also on board, are Renata Harwood, star of the silver screen, and her former understudy, Stella Burke.  Roy Armitage may be Renata’s husband now, but he used to be Stella’s man.  Everyone expects delicious drama at dinner, and they are not disappointed. But before long, Lucy and Elf are faced with another high society murder, featuring rival film stars, resentful ex-lovers, and renegade snakes!

About Melodie Campbell

Compared to Agatha Christie by The Toronto Star, Melodie Campbell writes golden age mysteries.  Winner of ten awards for mystery fiction, including The Derringer (US) and the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence, Melodie has 18 books and over 60 short stories, but she got her start writing stand-up.  Melodie Campbell Author (the home of Bad Girl Comedy)

Melodie would love to give a signed paperback (or ebook) copy of The Silent Film Star Murders to  one lucky reader who can answer the following question: Can you name another writer of cozies who is Canadian?

MELODIE’S MAGIC LEMON SEMIFREDDO – The easiest dessert you’ll ever make! From Guest Author Melodie Campbell

 Vicki here, and I'm delighted to welcome a Canadian author friend of many years, Melodie Campbell to tell us about her new book and share a recipe. Melodie is known for her wicked sense of humour which has no trouble coming across in her writing. 

I’ve always felt sorry for the women on the Titanic who passed on dessert.  So does my protagonist, Lucy Revelstoke, in the 1928-set cozy mystery, The Merry Widow Murders.  Desserts on the Victoriana ocean liner are elaborate, but in her opinion nothing can compare to homemade lemon semifreddo.

The name means ‘half frozen’ in Italian.  Growing up, I was told that the difference between ice cream and a semifreddo is that ice cream has air whipped into it *after* being frozen.  In my recipe (and in most original recipes) air is whipped in *before* being frozen.

This recipe has been joyfully modified from the original by a gal who was a big fan of short-cuts.  That intrepid lady was my mother, a woman as Sicilian as they come, and I defy anyone to find a better tasting lemon dessert.  Truly, it will be the easiest dessert you’ve ever made!

 Melodie’s Magic Lemon Semifreddo

20 minutes to make!  Serves 6.

1 300 ml or 10 oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT low fat)

¾ cup fresh lemon juice (3-5 lemons depending on size)

1 spray can whipped cream (NOT low fat) or 2 cups fresh whipped

Squeeze the lemons.  You should have ¾ cup of fresh lemon juice.  (No substitutes!  The lemon juice must be fresh.)  I make this dessert every month, so invested in an electric lemon squeezer, as pictured.  You simply halve the lemons and press down on the revolving press.)

 

Combine the sweetened condensed milk with the lemon juice in a bowl, and mix well.  Wait ten minutes until it thickens.

Measure 2 cups of whipped cream.  Yes, you can whip your own if you prefer that over the can.  (I do for company.)  Fold the whipped cream into the lemon mixture, gently but thoroughly.  Ladle into six ramekin cups, or small glass bowls, and freeze for at least four hours.

To serve:  This is like a very rich lemon ice cream if you serve it directly from the freezer.  I like to take it out about 15 to 20 minutes before serving, to soften it slightly, and some people allow even more time than that.  It’s up to you!  Dollop a little whipped cream on top, and wait for the compliments!

Called the “Queen of Comedy" by The Toronto Sun, Melodie Campbell has been compared to Janet Evanovich by Library Journal.  No surprise, as she got her start writing standup.  Melodie has won ten awards for humorous mystery fiction, including the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence.  Her seventeenth book, The Merry Widow Murders, has just been released by Cormorant Books.

The Merry Widow Murders

“The high society flair of Death on the Nile meets a 1920s ocean liner in this sensational cozy mystery from Melodie Campbell.”  Open Book

Lucy Revelstoke, unconventional widow of a young British lord and daughter of a Canadian mobster, is crossing the Atlantic in 1928. When an inconvenient dead body shows up in her stateroom, Lucy and her-pickpocket-turned-maid Elf know how to make it disappear--and find the killer. But can they do it before authorities look into Lucy’s dodgy past?

Now it’s your turn.  I am ALWAYS looking for very easy homemade desserts.  Do you have any favourites?

And while you’re at it, why not enter my contest for a free book?  You can ask for The Merry Widow Murders, or any of my books.  Simply visit my website to see more books.  Pick a book, leave your selection in the comments here, and a winner will be announced Monday by midnight.  www.melodiecampbell.com