This is an unusual tart which is perfect for winter as it is full of warm Mediterranean flavours and Hanini liqueur to warm away the winter blues. Serve it at teatime or as a dessert with a glass of Hanini.
For the dough: 300g of flour, 150g of butter, 10g of carob flour (from Good Earth), 100g of sugar.
For the filling: one kilo of Maltese ricotta, 50ml of cream, one tablespoonful of semolina, the zest of two Maltese oranges (very finely grated), a pinch of ground cinnamon, four generous tablespoonfuls of Maltese honey (preferably carob), three eggs.
Make the pastry by mixing together the two flours and the sugar. Then rub the butter into this until it has the texture breadcrumbs. Bind it with cold water and make dough. Put this to one side to rest.
Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 ½/195C. Now beat all the ingredients together by hand with a fork until they are smooth. Then make a paste with 25g of carob flour and enough Hanini to make a paste that has the consistency of melted chocolate. Next, roll out the pastry to fit a 24cm-diameter spring-form cake-tin, which should be thoroughly greased. Line the tin with the pastry and crimp the edges. Then swirl the carob paste gently into the ricotta mixture. Don’t mix it: the ricotta should have streaks of carob paste. Quickly pour the mixture into the tin and bake it for 45 minutes or until it has risen and is firm.