Saturday, November 7, 2009

Take A Bite Of: Ricotta Cheesecake


the easiest cheesecake you will ever make. This, using ricotta instead of cream cheese, is still rich but has a much lighter texture. Martha Stewart knows her baked goods. From her Baking Handbook comes this delicious vittle. Buon Appetito!


Ricotta Cheesecake
Ingredients:
Unsalted butter, room temperature, for pan
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan
1 1/2 lbs. fresh whole milk ricotta cheese, pureed in food processor until smooth
6 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Generously butter and sugar a 9-inch Springform pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta, egg yolks, flour, 6 tablespoons sugar, zest and salt until combined, set aside.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on low speed until foamy. With the mixer on high, gradually add the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar, beating until stiff and glossy, 3 to 4 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, fold a third of the egg-white mixture into the ricotta mixture until combined. Gently fold the remaining egg white mixture until just combined. Pour into pan and bake until center is firm and the top a deep golden brown, about 1 hour.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool ten minutes. Place another wire rack on top and invert cake to rack to remove from pan. Reinvert cake and cool completely, top side up. The cheesecake is best eaten the day it is baked but can be refrigerated, covered loosely with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes prior to serving.


Top with fresh fruit, dark fudge sauce, or berry coulis. And even amazing plain!

56 comments:

debra@dustjacket said...

You had me at cheesecake!
xxx

JenJen said...

I make this! It is yummy!

Menopausal New Mom said...

Oh, I was just complaining that I need to get my curves back. Don't think that this is going to help! It looks delicious!!!

Blasé said...

My first reaction is to grab me some Raspberry Topping...

Pramoda Meduri said...

hey thanks for this jennyyyyy..

:)..Prams..

Scrappy Girl said...

Martha is such a smart chick.

Dumbwit Tellher said...

I'm with DJA - you had me too @ just "cheescake". I have just 6 lbs. to go to reach goal & then I saw this..WOW

Unknown said...

Oh, yum. One of my favorite desserts!

The Peach Tart said...

I love ricotta cheesecake

sheila said...

I would have never thought to put ricotta in there! But damn this looks good!

AmyMusings said...

You are TRYING to make me fat, aren't you! I am a total sucker for cheesecake.

@ Menopausal New Mom, this will give you curves, for sure...but...maybe not the ones you were envisioning. ;-)

Unknown said...

I think I put on 5 pounds just by looking at the photo. Thanks a lot!

I've never attempted homemade cheesecake. It sounds easy, but I've been known to muck up pretty simple recipes. hmmmmm.....I love strawberry coulis with mine!

Life Laugh Latte said...

Love cheesecake...and this looks so yummy. Love it when a recipe only has a few ingredients even more. You know what I also LOVE...your poem...beautiful! Thanks for coming by and hangin out. Holly at LLL

Mademoiselle Deva said...

ohh that looks delicious!!! I'm getting so hungry!

Kristina P. said...

I've only had ricotta cheesecake once. It was in NYC at the little Italian restaurant in our old hotel. It didn't say it was ricotta and I took a bite, and couldn't finish it. It had the texture of cottage cheese!

This one is smooth?

Anonymous said...

Seeing how skinny you are, there's NO WAY you actually eat all of this stuff!!!!

JennyMac said...

KP: Yes...you have to put the ricotta in the food processor first..or yes..you get that grainy feel.

Liz Mays said...

I do love ricotta cheese but I never thought to use it in place of cream cheese in cheesecake. hmmmmmm

The Daily Connoisseur said...

Delightful! I love cheesecake... ricotta sounds so yummy!

Angie said...

Cheesecake...my favorite!

I can't wait to try this recipe. Yummy.

The Rantings of a Drama Queen's Mum said...

That sounds really good.

Bibi @ Bibi's Culinary Journey said...

I don't like cheesecakes, but I love Ricotta so I will probably enjoy this

Shelly - Tropical Mum said...

This sounds great. I am always on the look out for new recipes to bring to our weekly swim/lunch with girls--sounds so posh doesn't it?

I loved your story 'Red Means Stop' too. So cool under pressure, I tend to get flustered in situations like that, but I might take a page from your book next time.

Thanks for sharing and for coming by today, I will be following you, awaiting your next post with anticipation!

HalfAsstic.com said...

That? sounds awesome! And I have never heard that recipe before!

Sara @ Domestically Challenged said...

Awesome! Now i have a new good recipe to use at the next work get together!

Luna said...

that looks so good.

Anonymous said...

You're killing me with that cheescake. i just unbuttoned my jeans, but that's not good enough, I'm wait... ...... ok, they're off now.

That recipe does look easy.

Katrina said...

Ooooooo cheesecake is my weakness! I'll have to try this with the ricotta.

Michael said...

That looks like a professional cheesecake. Yum.

Busy Bee Suz said...

I am so craving this now...wish I had all the ingredients right now!

lisa and laura said...

My grandmother makes this and it's delicious. Although it weighs a ton which scares me a little. I mean if it weighs that much before you eat it, imagine the impact it's going to have on your a$$.

chocolatecovereddaydreams.blogspot.com said...

Is it less calories from using ricotta cheese instead? I'm a sucker for cheesecake. I can smell it and it's slathered all over me in the form of pounds.

obladi oblada said...

Mmmm....I make a pineapple-ricotta pie, ala Carmella Soprano that is really good, so I know how well ricotta can work in something like this!

People Who Know Me Would Say: said...

You had ME at "Ri..."

I grew up in NY state...home of NY cheesecake..yummmmmmmmmm!

Midtown Girl said...

Love cheesecake!

Have an award for you darling ;-)

little luxury list said...

I found you through my new and fab blogger buddy, Midtown Girl.

Ricotta cheesecake - like Veneiro's?! Yum! I'm going to have to see if I can smuggle my baking supplies to London and experiment in my pathetic little convection oven.

Theta Mom said...

I may be able to handle this one...

Eyeglasses & Endzones said...

YUMMY!!!! ;)

strokeofliving said...

I love anything made with Ricotta, thanks for the recipe.

Carma Sez said...

ricotta cheese is often overlooked and underrated. You have found the perfect use :-) looks heavenly.

Phillipia said...

Looks yummy...but Philladelphia cream cheese has a tub of cheesecake mix in the dairy section...I can get my fix so much faster:)

Sometimes I mix some mini chocolate chips in the container and break up some graham cracker crust in there and just grab a fork....

Corrie Howe said...

Yum! Must try. I love to eat Ricotta cheese with mini chocolate chips mixed in or lemon flavoring or rum flavoring....This should be an awesome cake!

Jen said...

I make a similar cheesecake with both ricotta and cream cheese. It is just fabulous.

Lisa Anne said...

Um HELLO! Cheesecake is like one of my favorite foods ever. next to pickles! I'm not sure how it would taste using this recipe, but you know what. I love it so much, I'll try it out! lol

Haley said...

OMG! this looks SOOO YUMMY!

Joanna Jenkins said...

You had me at cheesecake! This looks fabulous! Thanks for the recipe.
xo

Anonymous said...

I make un uncooked cheesecake variant (European, with cream cheese, cream and gelatine) which I am sure could do with some ricotta substitution. I will let you know how it goes next time I make it!

Doula said...

I've made this so many times! The thing I do differently is that I use a phyllo crust. Just my way of putting a Greek spin on it!

Vivienne @ the V Spot said...

You had me at cheese.

Claudya Martinez said...

You know I like easy.

Rowe said...

Mmm, love a nice cheesecake, and some are a bit on the gluggy, heavy side. Will have to try this one.

Jessica Ryan said...

i hate hate hate cheese cake with a passion... i love love love ricotta cheese cake!

Alexis AKA MOM said...

Ahhh man how you kill me with these amazing recipes!

Anne Marie said...

ooh, my daughter and I are going to have to try this one. Looks delicious!

Live.Love.Eat said...

I do enjoy Ricotta cheesecake. I make it for my Dad since he loves it.

Cocaine Princess said...

If I could I would eat a slice of cheesecake every single day. Yummy.