Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake - with Homemade Ricotta

I've been fascinated with homemade everything lately. I think going to the farm in Quilisascut kinda inspires that. It's pretty amazing to look in a fridge and pantry and see cheese you made, preserves you've made, oil you've infused and other such delectable things.

So on that note I decided to make ricotta cheese. I knew it was easy I'd seen it made on the farm. All you need to do to make ricotta is add an acid to your milk (unpasteurized or pasteurized, ultra pasteurized won't work). I added citric acid, but I've seen it done with lemon juice as well as vinegar.

I've used the ricotta in a few applications, mainly pasta, but I wanted to make something sweet using it, so I made this cake; a lemon ricotta cheesecake using the ricotta I made the day before. Apparently this is a very Italian type of cake. I'm not quite sure what that means, but it was pretty tasty - so the Italians must be onto something! Beware thpough, as there is a bunch of fat in the crust it does burn easily so pay attention to the smells your oven is emitting...unlike me..

Cheese Cake with Raspberry Coulis

Sorry it's taken me so damn long to post - I have been baking really! 

A tasty smooth rich cake with a bit of 

a kick from the coulis this was a delectable cake!

Ingredients: Crust

1 ans 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 Tbs Sugar

Pinch of Salt 

1/2 stick melted unsalted butter

Ingredients: Cheesecake

Four 8 oz boxes cream cheese, at room temp.

1 and 1/3 cups sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs at room temp.

1 and 1/3 cups sour cream or heavy cream. 

Ingredients: Coulis

1 pint fresh raspberries (or frozen just make sure they are partially thawed)

3 Tbs. sugar (or more to taste)

Method: Crust

1. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Make sure the sides of the pan are 2.75 inches high. 

2. Wrap the bottom of the pan in alumininum foil. 

3. Stir the crumbs, sugar and salt toether in a medium bowl. 

4. Pour over the melted butter and stir until evrything is uniformly moist. 

5. Scrape the ingredients into the tin. Pat an even layer of crumbs on the bottom of the pan and about half way up the sides. 

6. Put the pan in the freezer. 

7. Preheat the oven to 325F. 

Method: Cheesecake

1. Put a kettle of water on to boil.

2. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment beat the cream cheese on medium speed for 4 min. 

3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 

4. With the mixer running on medium, add the sugar and salt. Mix for another 4 min until the cream cheese is light. 

5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. 

6. Beat in the vanilla. 

7. Scrape the sides and bottom. 

8. Add the eggs one by one, beating for a full min. before adding the next egg. 

9. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and ad

d the cream (sour of heavy whipping cream). 

10. Place the foil wrapped springform pan into a large roasting pan. 

11. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the batter bowl. 

12. Pour the batter into the springform. 

13. Place th roasting pan in the oven, and pour enough boiling water into it so that the boiling water comes half way up the sides of the springform. 

14.  Bake for 1 hour 30 min.

15. Turn the oven off, and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour. 

16. Pull the setup out of the oven, lift the springform out and remove the foil. 

17. Let the cheesecake come to room temp. 

18. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. 

19. When ready to serve remove the sides of the springform, and cut the cake. 

Method: Raspberry Coulis

1. Place the berries and sugar in a blender and whir until pureed. Add more sugar if needed. 

2. Strain the coulis through a sieve and serve on top of cheesecake. 

Taken from Dorie Greenspan "Baking: From My Home to Yours" pp. 467 and 235-7. 

Caramel Cheesecake

This is a really nice cheesecake. It is smooth, creamy, slightly sweet and rich. The addition of the caramel layer adds a warm almost smoky depth to the cake which can be further enhanced by drizzling some caramel on the cake when it is being served. Very tasty indeed.

Ingredients: Base
1.75 cups of graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbs sugar
½ stick unsalted butter, melted

Ingredients: Cheesecake
2 pounds (4 8oz. boxes) cream cheese at room temp.
1.33 cups sugar
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. scotch
4 large eggs, at room temp
1.33 cups heavy cream
4 oz caramel (see recipe below)

Method: Crust
1.Grease a spring-form pan (9 inch, with sides that are at least 2 inches high). Wrap the bottom of the pan with two layers of foil.
2. Combine the graham crumbs, sugar and salt in a bowl, and then add the butter.
3. Mix the ingredients together with your fingertips, until all the crumbs have been covered with the butter.
3. Place the crumb mixture into the prepared tin, and press into the base and sides of the pan. Do not worry too much about covering up all the sides (the cake becomes stable as it gets colder).
4. Center a rack in the oven and heat the oven to 350F.
5. Bake the base for 10 min.
6. Place on a wire rack and let it cool.

Method: Cake
1.Reduce the heat in the oven to 325F.
2.Put a full kettle on to boil.
3. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment beat the cream cheese for around 4 min at medium speed, periodically scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula.
4. Beat in the scotch.
5. Add each egg separately making sure to beat the mixture for at least a min between each addition.
6. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and mix in the cream.
7. Place the baking pan, into a roasting tray that is large enough to accommodate the baking pan, and have space around the edges.
8. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and once again mix the batter.
9. remove 2/3 of the batter, and place it in a separate bowl. To the 1/3 left in the mixing bowl add the caramel and beat for a couple of min until it has been combine (make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl).
10. Put 1/3 of the plain batter on top of the crumb base and smooth the top down with a rubber spatula.
11. Add a layer of the caramel batter, and finis with a layer of plain batter, making sure to smooth the top.
12. Place the roasting pan in the oven and add the boiling water to it – making sure that the water comes ½ way up the sides of the pan.
13. Cook the cake for 1 hour and 30 min. The top of the cake may be brown, and the cake may have risen (mine did).
14. Turn off the oven and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. Leave the cake in the oven for another hour.
15. Carefully remove the cake from the oven and let the cheesecake cool to room temp on a wire rack.
16. Refrigerate the cake for at least 4 hours.
17. When ready to serve, get a hair dryer and heat the sides of the pan, gently slip a butter knife between the pan and the cake and remove the cake from the tin.
18. Serve with a drizzle of caramel.

Mostly taken from the amazing “Baking: From my Home to Yours” by Dorie Greenspan pp. 235-7.

Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake

This is a rich cheesecake with the slight taste of blueberries. I had some issues baking this one. The picture above is of the cake before it was baked, the one below is when it was baked. I baked it for around 3 hours - far, far over the 50-60min baking time. I'm sure there are better recipes out there for a cheesecake, but I would absolutely make the blueberry syrup again, as I think it's stunning!

Ingredients: Base
2.5 oz shortbread cookies
1/2 cup almond meal
1.5 oz melted butter

Ingredients: Blueberry syrup
7.5 oz fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup sugar

Ingredients: Filling
20 oz cream cheese, at room temp
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Method: Syrup
1. Process the blueberries in a food processor and press through a sieve (you should end up with 1/2 cup of puree).

2. Place the puree and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Rapidly simmer for 8 or so min, until it thickens.

3. Set aside to cool.

Method: Base
1. Process the cookies in a food processor until crushed.

2. Add the almond meal, and butter and process until combined.

3. Grease a 9 inch springform pan, and line the base with parchment paper.

4. Press the crumb mixture over the base and place in the fridge.

Method: Filling
1. Preheat the oven to 280F.

2. Process the cream cheese either with a paddle attachment or in a food processor until very smooth, make sure there are no lumps, and make sure that you use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and the bottom.

3. Add the sour cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla, and process till smooth.

Method: Assembly
1. Pour the filling over the base.

2. Drizzle the blueberry mixture over the top and swirl lightly with a butter knife.

3. Bake for 1 hour (or until set - not having made many cheesecakes before this was an ambigious remark- which confused me to no end. If it's wiggly - is it set? How solid does it have to be to be set?!)

4. Refridgerate and serve cold.

Taken from the sometimes good, but very pretty Donna Hay Modern Classics Book 2: Cookies, Biscuits + Slices, Small Cakes, Cakes, Desserts, Hot Puddings, Pies + Tarts, p. 86.