Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake - Republished from April 2018

This recipe is something you have to try, either for your sweetheart or for people who fill your life with love and laughter! I made this for my parents initially and have made it since for my nieces’ bday because nobody says “no thanks” to raspberries and lemon cheesecake! Consider it my Valentines Day Gift to you, my readers!

I have adjusted the format to align with this blog’s evolution. I am working towards being able to directly link old recipes to my newsletter, but alas, it’s still a work in progress. Nothing says “love” more than an Italian dish which takes some serious elbow grease! Build 2-3 hours into your schedule to bake this, to account for cooling and cooking time, and more if your kitchen is hot. If your springform pan is smaller than indicated it will take a moment more and if recipe requires a smaller pan, the big pan will cook slightly more quickly.

Recipe Hits: I have made this recipe several times and it does not every disappoint. It is rich and not as sweet as traditional cheesecakes but the Ricotta makes it taste light and almost whipped.

Recipe Misses: The first time I made this I should have whisked more…well…yea, more. It was still super well received, but we’re all our own worst critics and I was, as I ate it, judging my wimpy whisking….

My comments from 2018:

My Comments: I couldn't find semolina flour so I used traditional unbleached flour. I invested in a risk after this, because I didn't have a risk before, but it is actually a testament to how well the dessert was received I felt compelled to invest in my own set of wisks! I bought 3 so I can whisk like the wishing maniac I aspire to be! I have not ever made cheesecake from scratch before, so I over cooked it a little bit. I added the zest of 2 medium lemons, Word to the wise: Remove from oven when it is not soupy but still and little bit fluidly moving because as it cools it'll firm up! I didn't have a 11 inch springform pan, so it took 6-13 minutes more than the hour indicated but I got rave reviews from the people I made it for, and I plan on making again!

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 quart whole milk

1 ¾ cups semolina flour

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 ¾ cups sugar

1 large or 2 small lemons

4 large eggs

1 pound (2 cups) fresh ricotta cheese, strained

 Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling

Cake:

PREPARATION (Copied directly from he NY Times Cooking Website

Preheat the oven to 325. Butter an 11-inch round cake pan.

Heat the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering, then whisk in the semolina and salt. Boil, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and stir in the sugar and butter until combined. Transfer the batter to a bowl to cool it down to warm, stirring frequently to prevent a skin from forming.

Zest the lemons, using only the yellow part, and stir into the batter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Beat in the ricotta.

Pour the batter into the pan, and bake until set and golden in places, about 1 hour. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool, and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar while still hot. Once the cake has cooled, sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar once more, then serve.

Heat the Milk With Care

Make sure you’re keeping an eye towards not heating it too quickly!

Heat the milk over medium heat and before its rolling boiling, add the semolina (or whatever flour you are using).

Then whisk The semolina and salt. Boil, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

WHISK!

Keep whisking the mixture to get all the clumps out. This is not for the weak of heart but there’s a reward at the end of all your whisking (besides arm exercise!)

Patience is virtuous

Making sure your batter has cooled is essential before adding the egg. If you add it too early you’ll have scrambled eggs!

Beat in your eggs, an egg at a time. The bowl should be cool to the touch and when you test with your finger, the batter should at least have cooled to lukewarm. You didn't do all this whisking to drop the ball at the home stretch and add your eggs too early!

Zesting Time!

Make sure you don’t scrimp on the lemon zest and even add a little juice if you’re super into citrus

Zest the lemons, using only the yellow part, and stir into the batter. Beat in the ricotta.

Pour the batter into the pan

Cook until slightly quivery

All egg based dishes (baked custard, cheesecakes, quiches) have a little movement in the middle, even when they’re cooked through. Judge the doneness not by if it has some movement by what it looks like. *I over cooked this the initial time I made this!

Bake for 60 minutes and remove from the oven when all places are golden. You can always cook it more if it is underdone but there’s no way to fix an overbooked cake…I mean, maybe, like A LOT of frosting, but this cake? Just cook it for 60 minutes…

BONUS RECIPE:

Raspberry Sauce

Raspberry Sauce!! Make it or make the candied lemon peel published later in this blog…both add something so special to this cake you just slaved over!

Serving Suggestion: Garnish with ripe raspberries and raspberry sauce

INGREDIENTS

1 cup raspberry jam

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

PREPARATION

Copied Directly from the NY Times - Heat the jam and juice together in a small heavy saucepan until melted and combined. Strain the sauce, discarding any seeds if desired, then serve with migliaccio. I added ripe raspberries to the saucepan with he jam and lemon juice and it was successful!