What more could you ask for?!
- Ingredients
- step-by-step directions
Pizza Cake
- all-purpose flour (for dusting)
- 2 pounds store-bought pizza dough
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano (freshly grated, plus more to finish)
- 3 cups store-bought marinara sauce (divided, plus more to serve)
- 1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese (shredded, divided)
- 1/4 pound fresh mozzarella cheese (cut into 1/4-inch by 1-inch pieces)
- cooking spray
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pizza dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Using the base of a 6-inch springform pan as your guide, cut out 4 circles of pizza dough. Reserve remaining dough.
- Transfer the dough rounds to prepared baking sheets, brush tops with 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Place in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Gather the remaining dough scraps and form into a ball. Pat into a disk and roll out into a 20-inch by 6-inch rectangle, or large enough to fit around the sides of a springform pan with at least 2 inches of overlap. Spray the inside of the springform pan with cooking spray and drape the rectangle of dough inside the pan, lining the insides and sealing with the ends where they meet. Place one of the baked rounds into the bottom of the springform pan and top with 1/4 of the marinara sauce and 1/4 of the shredded mozzarella cheese. Repeat with remaining baked dough rounds, marinara and shredded mozzarella, ending with mozzarella on top. If necessary, trim excess pie dough so there is only 2 inches of overhang.
- Hold up the pie dough overhang and place the mozzarella rectangles in the middle. Roll the dough inwards, sealing with your fingers, to create a cheese-stuffed crust. Repeat with the remaining mozzarella rectangles and edges of dough and be sure to tuck the crust in tightly. Brush the crust with remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Remove pizza cake to a baking sheet and return to the oven to bake until crust is golden brown, and the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 45-50 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes before carefully removing the springform pan. Slice and serve with additional marinara sauce.