Baked ricotta and lemon cake

Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced).

Place flour, sugar and butter in a food processor and pulse until crumbs form. Add egg yolks and vanilla extract and process until dough forms. Turn out onto a floured board and knead into a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll pastry out to line a 23cm loose-based flan pan. Trim edges, prick base with a fork and chill.

To make ricotta filling, use an electric mixer with paddle or V-groove beaters to beat ricotta until softened, then gradually beat in sugar, until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in lemon rind, then eggs, one at a time, to prevent curdling. Beat in a pinch of salt, lemon juice and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

Pour ricotta mixture into prepared pastry shell and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 190°C (170°C fan-forced) and bake for another 35 minutes, until pastry shell is cooked and filling pale golden.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Top with lemon slices, dust with icing sugar and serve with thick cream.