This light and refreshing lemon ricotta cheesecake is as delicious as it is easy. Ricotta cheesecakes are the lighter and fluffy version of the new york style cheesecake. I fell in love with light ricotta cheesecakes in Italy; they have the perfect amount of sweetness and aren't dense or overly sweet.
why ricotta?
Ricotta provides a much more mild tasting cheesecake than cheesecakes made will all cream cheese. They also don't have the tang associated with cream cheese cheesecakes and instead produce a wonderfully mild panna cotta tasting cake.
mascarpone VS cream cheese:
In addition to ricotta, this recipe also calls for 8 ounces of a thicker sweet cheese to help solidify the cake. I use mascarpone because I want a sweeter, smoother, and less tangy taste.
Tips for perfect ricotta cheesecakes:
- Use fresh ricotta. The fresher the ricotta, the smoother the cake will be. If it's not fresh, it could produce a grainier texture.
- Have all your ingredients at room temperature. This helps prevent splitting and the dreaded cracked top.
- Add a little bit of flour. This also helps create a smooth texture and prevents splitting.
- Leave the cake in the oven with heat off for 30 minutes after its done baking. This lets it cool down slowly, which also helps prevent cracking.
The Toppings:
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THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING ABOUT THIS AWESOME CAKE! IF YOU MAKE IT BE SURE TO LEAVE A COMMENT AND/OR GIVE THIS RECIPE A RATING! I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR EVERYONE'S THOUGHTS!
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Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake
- Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 9" cake 1x
Ingredients
- 10 graham crackers
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 16 ounces ricotta
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest- about 4 lemons
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 2 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 5 tablespoons lemon curd
Instructions
- About an hour before baking, pull out the ricotta, mascarpone, and eggs and let them come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- In a food processor, blend the graham crackers with the melted butter until it resembles a coarse meal. Pour the mixture into a springform pan and use the bottom of a glass to push and spread the mixture into the pan.
- In a food processor, blend the ricotta, mascarpone, flour, and cream until it is light and fluffy. About 5 minutes.
- Next, add the sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, and eggs. Blend to combine.
- Pour the filling on top of the flatted crumbs and bake for 1 hour then turn off the oven and continue baking for 30 minutes.
- Smear the 5 tablespoons of lemon curd to the top of the cake and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 min
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: Cheesecake
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