Corsican

Fiadone — Brocciu Cheesecake: The Canonical Corsican Dessert

Fiadone is Corsica's defining dessert — a baked brocciu cheesecake that requires no pastry case, no thickener, and no water bath. Fresh brocciu is mashed with eggs, caster-sugar, lemon zest (or cédrat zest), and a splash of eau-de-vie de châtaigne or Corsican myrtle liqueur, poured directly into an oiled baking dish or terracotta tian, and baked at 180°C for 30–35 minutes until the surface is golden and the centre just set. The result is lighter and more fragile than Italian cheesecakes (which use denser ricotta or mascarpone) — the high water content of brocciu means fiadone soufflés slightly in the oven and then settles as it cools, developing a light, yielding texture that is closer to a baked custard than a dense cheesecake. The lemon or cédrat zest is the aromatic anchor — without it, fiadone is pleasant but characterless; with it, the citrus lift against the sheep-milk sweetness of brocciu is the dish's entire point. Fiadone is served at room temperature, never warm, never refrigerator-cold — refrigeration firms the brocciu and closes the flavour.

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ServesFour to six portions

Total45–50 minutes (plus cooling to room temperature)

Sourced0of 7 in BC

Cook

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The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

500 g

brocciu

24–48 hours old, not same-day fresh

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

eggs

beaten until pale and doubled in volume

Your own market

150 g

caster sugar

Your own market

lemon or cédrat

zest only, finely grated; cédrat preferred where available

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

1 tbsp

eau-de-vie de châtaigne or mirto

optional; eau-de-vie de châtaigne for chestnut aromatic depth, mirto for a more resinous note

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

1 tsp

neutral oil

for greasing the dish

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

To finish

1 tbsp

icing sugar

for dusting once cooled; not a glaze

Your own market

The Method

Heat the oven to 180 °C. Lightly oil an ovenproof dish or terracotta tian. Set aside. The brocciu should be 24–48 hours old; same-day brocciu retains excess moisture and will not set correctly.

Beat the eggs with the caster sugar until pale and doubled in volume. The air incorporated at this stage is the sole leavening agent: it is what gives fiadone its soufflé-light texture. The mixture is ready when it falls from the whisk in a thick, continuous ribbon.

Mash the brocciu until smooth. Add the lemon or cédrat zest and, if using, the eau-de-vie de châtaigne or mirto. Stir to combine. The zest is the aromatic anchor of the dish — it is essential, not optional. Fold the beaten egg and sugar mixture into the brocciu with a light hand, preserving as much volume as possible. The batter is ready when it is uniform in colour and no streaks of egg remain.

From the canon — Corsican chestnut eau-de-vie is the island's oldest distilled spirit — produced from the fermented mash of farine de châtaigne corse or from pressed chestnut… Eau-de-Vie de Châtaigne — Corsican Chestnut Brandy →

This is the step where the dish lives or dies: pour the batter into the prepared dish and bake at 180 °C for 30–35 minutes. Pull the fiadone from the oven when the surface is golden and the edges are fully set but the centre still carries a distinct, gentle wobble when the dish is moved. Fiadone continues to set as it cools; a centre that appears just underdone in the oven will reach the correct yielding texture at room temperature. A centre baked to full rigidity in the oven will be over-set and dense once cold.

Allow the fiadone to cool completely in the dish at room temperature. It will settle and deflate slightly as it cools — this is correct. Dust with a light veil of icing sugar only once fully cooled. Serve at room temperature. Do not refrigerate: cold firms the brocciu and closes the flavour.

III

Quality Hierarchy

Reserve — Fresh brocciu from a Corsican producer, 24–48 hours old, made from ewes'-milk whey; cédrat zest rather than lemon; eau-de-vie de châtaigne from a Corsican artisan distiller; baking in an unglazed terracotta tian.

Estate — Brocciu from a mainland French cheesemaker using the AOC method; cédrat zest if obtainable; mirto in place of eau-de-vie de châtaigne; a ceramic baking dish.

Market — Brocciu where stocked by a good cheesemonger, at correct age; unwaxed lemon zest; a small measure of grappa as a substitute spirit; any ovenproof dish.

House — Fresh ricotta used in place of brocciu — the result is denser and lacks the sheep-milk character, but the structure holds; lemon zest essential at all rungs; eau-de-vie or mirto omitted if unavailable.

Sensory Tests

◇Sight. Golden surface; slight, even collapse at centre after cooling; no cracking; pale ivory-yellow interior throughout.

◇Touch. Light and yielding at room temperature; the dish yields a gentle wobble when moved; not dense, not rubbery.

◇Smell. Warm sheep-milk dairy with a clear citrus-zest lift and a faint aromatic background from the eau-de-vie or mirto.

◇Where it lives or dies. The fiadone must be pulled from the oven while the centre still wobbles — it sets further as it cools, and a centre baked to rigidity in the oven will be over-set and dense at table.

Pillar V

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