Ricotta Lemon Cheesecake with Biscotti Crust
I’m so hopeless, i just spent half an hour trying to link a word to a sound file. When you click on the word burp is there a way to hear a burp without leaving the page? Is that even possible in wordpress!? Am i asking too much for chrissake? Computer geeks, HELLO!? err..eh.. Why am i talking about burps!?
Well let me explain, I have a backlog of recipes to post… it’s scary! This lemon ricotta cheesecake came back from the bowels of my computer hardrive and it regurgited it with a burp sound. True story! That my friends is a sure sign your computer is rebelling. And since i want you to have an interactive experience when you visit this blog i wanted you to actually HEAR the burp! Oh gosh, what i have gotten into?.. err.. nevermind! I don’t know, strange things are happening. Since i’m about to change computer i didn’t renew my virus protection… now i hear voices and stuff appear on my screen out of the blue. I see.. i see DEAD PEOPLE!! When i started my computer today a flash gogo dancer appeared on my screen out of nowhere! What the heck!?.. Is that what happens when you don’t renew your virus protection? Did my computer get herpes? I went to my wallet looking for dollar bills and when i came back the whole system froze and crashed. I don’t know if i will make it to the end of this post. It doesn’t look good but this cheesecake does, right?
This cheesecake is inspired by the one Andrew Carmellini makes but I tweaked it a little bit to make it more zen friendly. It’s a bit more labor intensive than your average cheesecake, you start a day ahead and make your candied lemon slices and let them rest in the syrup overnight. Sing them a lullaby if you wish, it only makes them more tender. The amount of sugar used in the syrup might sound excessive but you can re-use it for other citrus, i candied some kumquats in it and they were excellent. For the cheesecake you make a nice biscotti crust which is a nice departure from the usual graham crackers, make sure you use only plain biscottis though, any flavoring such as cinnamon would throw the balance off. I used a mixture of ricotta and cream cheese for the cheesecake part, you could do it all ricotta or all cream cheese if you prefer. I think the mix of the two is just right but i’ve been wrong before… once.. a long long time ago. 😛
Enjoy!
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Ricotta Lemon Cheesecake with Biscotti Crust
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- Adapted from Andrew Carmellini
- Serves 6 to 8
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For the candied lemon slices:
- 3 lemons
- 6 cups sugar
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For the biscotti crust:
- 12 plain biscotti
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 stick butter, melted
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For the cheesecake:
- 1 1/2 cup fresh ricotta
- 1 cup cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- zest of 2 lemons
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For the candied lemon slices:
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- Freeze the lemons for 30 minutes. Meanwhile combine 3 cups of sugar and 4 cups of water in a large pot and bring to a boil.
- Slice the lemons (not your fingers!) as thin as possible. Add them to the syrup and cook at a low simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, let it rest for 10 minutes and carefully strain the lemon slices, discard the syrup.
- Start again the process by combining the remaining 3 cups of sugar with 3 cups of water, bring to a low simmer, add the lemon slices, cook for about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat. Let it cool. Place in an airtight container. Refrigerate overnight. Sing it a lullaby.
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For the biscotti crust:
- Preheat the oven to 325’F.
- Process the biscotti to fine crumbs in a food processor.
- In a medium bowl, combine the crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Mix with a fork until incorporated.
- Line a 9 inches tart pan with the mixture, pressing down with your fingers. Proceed to stuff yourself with the leftover crumbs.
- Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let it cool. No i didn’t say you’re cool!.. eh.. Okay you are!
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For the cheesecake:
- Combine the ricotta, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, heavy cream, and lemon zest in a food processor and mix until combined, about 2 minutes.
- Fill the cooled crust with the cheesecake mixture and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. It should stop wiggling when you shake it and a knife inserted should come out clean.
- Let it cool and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Better overnight i think but i’ve been wrong before.. eh.. a long long long time ago.
- When ready to serve, arrange the candied lemon slices over the top in zee beautiful’ pattern.
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