This light and refreshing Italian lemon ricotta cheesecake is as delicious as it is easy! Ricotta cheesecakes are the lighter and fluffier version of the new york style cheesecake.
I fell in love with light ricotta cheesecakes in Italy. After only having dense and tough new york style cheesecakes, this light, airy, and fluffy version was a revelation!
Why you will love this recipe:
This recipe is also so easy, and all comes together in a food processor! It's as simple as blending everything, and a good blender will do if you don't have a food processor.
Key ingredients:
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. Instead, they produce a wonderfully mild Panna cotta-tasting cake.
Mascarpone Cheese: this recipe also calls for 8 ounces of thicker sweet cheese to help solidify the cake. I use mascarpone over cream cheese because I want a sweeter, smoother, and less tangy taste.
Heavy Cream: cream helps make this cake texture creamy and light.
Lemon Juice and Zest: this cake is infused with a balance of lemon juice and zest to ensure it has the perfect lemon flavor.
Lemon Curd: one of the best parts of cheesecake is the toppings! This one is topped with a few tablespoons of lemon curd to compliment the lemon in the cake. I use store-bought lemon curd from Trader Joes because its just as good as homemade. You could also use raspberry jam or coulis.
Step by step instructions:
- Let all your ingredients come to room temperature before starting.
- 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 push to spread in across the pan.
- In a food processor, blend the ricotta, mascarpone, flour, and heavy cream until it is light and fluffy.
- 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.
Tips and tricks:
- 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.
FAQ's
Italian cheesecakes use ricotta cheese instead of the New York-style cheesecakes that use all cream cheese. Italian cakes are lighter, dryer, and less dense than the New York version.
Ricotta cheesecake is made with ricotta instead of all cream cheese. The ricotta makes for a lighter and less dense cheesecake.
This cake will keep covered and chilled in the fridge for up to three days.
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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
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 min
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 9" cake 1x
- Category: Cheesecake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
This light and refreshing Italian lemon ricotta cheesecake is as delicious as it is easy! Ricotta cheesecakes are the lighter and fluffier version of the new york style cheesecake.
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 ½ tsp vanilla
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 5 tablespoons lemon curd
- dried or fresh lemon slices for garnish
Instructions
- About an hour or two 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.
- Remove from the oven and let the cake come to room temperature,
- Smear the 5 tablespoons of lemon curd to the top of the cake and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Serve with dried, candied, or fresh lemon slices. The slices pictured are dried lemons. To dry, bake thinly sliced lemons on a baking sheet with a cooling rack at 200 degrees for 4-6 hours.
Notes
- 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.
Anonymous says
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