Pepperoni Cup Ricotta Hot Honey Pizza

This pizza brings together the irresistible combo of charred, crispy pepperoni cups and a cloud of whipped lemon ricotta, all finished with a spicy-sweet honey drizzle.

Baked on a blazing hot steel, the crust turns blistered and chewy in just 8 minutes. It’s a pizzeria secret that’s surprisingly simple to pull off at home, and the contrast of textures and temperatures makes every bite unforgettable.

The magic of this pizza lies in the technique: a super-hot baking steel mimics the intense heat of a professional pizza oven, giving you a blistered, leopard-spotted crust in minutes.

Cup-and-char pepperoni crisps up into little bowls that catch pools of rendered fat, while the whipped ricotta adds a cool, bright, creamy contrast.

A final drizzle of hot honey ties it all together with a sweet, spicy kick. This is the kind of pizza that feels special enough for a weekend but comes together fast enough for a weeknight.

Ingredients

Why this recipe works

A baking steel is the key to a pizzeria-quality crust at home. It absorbs and radiates intense heat, transferring it directly to the dough’s underside, which creates that blistered, chewy texture you can’t get from a sheet pan. The steel also helps the crust rise quickly, giving you a light, airy interior with a crisp exterior.

Cup-and-char pepperoni is specifically designed to curl up into crispy cups when baked. As it renders, the edges get dark and crunchy while the center stays slightly chewy, creating little vessels that hold the hot honey and ricotta.

Whipping the ricotta with lemon zest adds air and brightness, making it light and mousse-like rather than dense.

Notes and substitutions

Use whole-milk ricotta for the best texture; part-skim will be less creamy. Look for cup-and-char pepperoni, which is usually labeled as such, but regular pepperoni will work in a pinch. Hot honey is available at most supermarkets; if you can’t find it, mix regular honey with a pinch of cayenne or red pepper flakes.

The dough should be at room temperature for easy stretching. If it keeps springing back, let it rest for 10 minutes before trying again. A pizza peel dusted with flour is essential for sliding the pizza onto the steel; cornmeal or semolina also work well and add a nice crunch to the bottom.

• cup-and-char pepperoni: Regular pepperoni slices can be used, but they may not cup and char as dramatically.
• hot honey: Regular honey mixed with a pinch of red pepper flakes.
• whole-milk ricotta: Part-skim ricotta works, but the whipped texture will be slightly less rich.
• pizza dough: Store-bought fresh pizza dough or homemade dough, stretched to 12 inches.

Equipment

• Baking steel
• Pizza peel
• Stand mixer with paddle attachment (for ricotta)
• Bench scraper
• Pastry brush