ricotta cheesecake with strawberry coulis

The sudden influx of ricotta and/or cheesecake-based dessert is pure coincidence. I just happen to have had some ricotta sitting in the fridge that I needed to use up. And I'm utterly obsessed with cream cheese. It was a dessert waiting to happen, really.

Plus, I've been kickin it in Cville on my own over break, so amidst work and studying I've had some down time to do frivolous things like this.

Ricotta Cheesecake
Adapted from foodnetwork.com

For the cheesecake filling, you'll need:

• 3 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 3 egg yolks

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the bottom and sides.

Beat cream cheese, ricotta, sour cream, and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, 2-3 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk heavy cream, vanilla, eggs and egg yolks until blended. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the cream cheese mixture. Beat until just blended. Pour filling into the prepared pan.

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 275 degrees, and continue baking for 1 1/2 hours, or until top is golden brown and cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan. The center will still be slightly jiggly. Turn off the oven when done, and leave cake in the oven with the door ajar to cool for 3 hours. Remove cake from the oven and refrigerate for at least 4 hours [preferably overnight], before removing from the pan and cutting. Serve chilled.

You can use any sort of crust you'd like for this cheesecake. A classic graham cracker crust always works well, but a shortbread crust would also be delicious. I made a low-carb version of this particular cheesecake, so I used the crust from my LC mocha cheesecake, and a combination of baking Splenda and erythritol [3/4 cup of each] in place of the granulated sugar. Also, instead of one 8-inch cheesecake, I made two 4-inch cheesecakes and one 6-inch cheesecake, and adjusted the bake times accordingly [30-25 mins at 375 degrees Fahrenheit]. What can I say, I just like mini desserts. [Except cupcakes]

The low-carb version turned out beautifully, without the slightest inkling that it's actually low-carb, but I'm sure the full-carb version is just divine. In fact, this may be the best LC cheesecake I've ever had. Is this the magical cheesecake recipe I've been searching for? If it's not, it's getting pretty damn close.

I also topped mine off with a really easy, homemade strawberry coulis, because no real cheesecake is complete without a berry sauce.

Strawberry Coulis
Adapted from smitten kitchen

You'll need:

• 1 cup strawberries, quartered and hulled
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Puree all the above ingredients in a blender. Run coulis through a strainer to get rid of seeds. Store in fridge for up to 1 week, in freezer for up to 3 months.

Recipe makes about 3/4 cup of coulis.

In other news, I am officially giving up sugar [again]. Honey, agave, sugar added to coffee, BBQ sauce and sugary Asian sauces, baked goods. Yep, baked goods. I'm not cutting out the artificial sweetener, but it'll definitely be a once-in-a-while sort of thing. Mainly to satisfy any unbearable cravings and experiment with more low-carb baking.

How long? Only very strictly until Spain. Which is only, what, 80 days? 2 and a half months? Definitely doable. I hope. And I'll still be baking full-carb, of course, so no worries there. I'll just have to will myself not to lick the spoon.

...merda.

ricotta pound cake

To say I've been doing little more than sketching, playing the piano, and eating since coming home for break would be a lie. But then again, that's not the least bit surprising.

Nor is it surprising that after scarcely 48 hours of being home, I've been asked to bake. This is basically what happens whenever I come home after weeks at University.

Mom: I'VE MISSED YOU!
Me, through a smothering embrace: You, too, mom.
Mom, steps back and studies my face for a minute: I can tell you've been baking.
Me, rolling my eyes: Thanks.
Mom, grinning and poking me in the side: Better watch the carbs! Oh! You've missed so much Outsourced! We have all the episodes TiVo-ed for you.
Me, trying to move into the living room to put down my bag: Er, great.
Mom, following: I know right! Oh yeah, don't forget to make dad's cake tomorrow.

And so here we are. I'm not sure if I've mentioned before, but my father is rather...particular about what foods he enjoys. Which translates into: he eats what he likes, and only what he likes. And he doesn't like much. He also doesn't have much of a sweet tooth at all, so he could really care less about all my baking endeavors. That is, until it comes to morning cakes. Coffee cake, pound cake, 1-2-3-4 cakes, what have you. The reason is likely because he basically only eats three meals a day: breakfast [which consists of tea and a slice of cake or biscotti], dinner [always Pakistani food], and an enormous bowl of ice cream [butter pecan].

Yeah, I'm related to him.

Usually I make him Ina Garten's sour cream coffee cake, which is his favorite, but mom wanted me to try a pound cake, since my last attempt failed in a most spectacular fashion. I obliged, nervous as I was about it, and decided on a ricotta pound cake.

Ricotta Pound Cake
Adapted from Food Gal 

You'll need:

• 1 1/2 cups cake flour [see note]
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line and grease a 9-inch loaf pan.

In a bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat butter, sugar, and ricotta cheese on medium-high speed until light, 2-3 minutes. Add in eggs, one at a time. Add in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and slowly add in dry ingredients. Once dry ingredients are just combined, increase speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds. Pour batter into prepared pan and tap against the counter two or three times to eliminate air bubbles. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool to room temperature before cutting. Sprinkle confectioner's sugar on top, if desired.

It turned out so much better than my last attempt!! I'm quite pleased. The ricotta makes this cake deliciously moist, and the texture is soft and light. It's not too sweet, either, as I suspect the ricotta cuts some of the sweetness.


Back to Cville tomorrow. I'm rather excited about having Cville all to myself, again, even though it will be full of work and studying. Maybe I'll get to finish the book I've been putting off for the past 6 months...

...maybe.