Obsessive Ricotta Cheesecake

To perhaps no one’s surprise at all: Italy has you covered when it comes to Easter sweets. (I mean really: has Italy ever not delivered on its holidays, gastronomically speaking?!) There’s the dove-shaped, sugar-almond crusted, yeasted cake known as colomba, hailing from Lombardy. There are the oversized, luxe chocolate easter eggs – uova di pasqua – generally meant for children, but still truly appealing even when you’re well into your 30s (I can attest to this). And then there’s my favorite: the subset of dolci pasquali that are made with ricotta. There’s the Neapolitan ricotta-grain pie that is pastiera, the uber colorful, unapologetically sweet Sicilian cassata, and casadine from Sardegna, little flaky pastries with a ricotta and raisin filling, to name just a few. My nonna materna baked a crostata di ricotta – studded with maraschino cherries and chocolate chips – every Easter, a tradition that my mom carries on to this day. Ricotta — in all its freshness, newness, and lightness — is an ingredient that perfectly reflects the Easter holiday, just what you want to bake with as you shrug off Winter and welcome Spring. It’s also a fairly sentimental ingredient for me as well, one that brought my late grandfather luck when he immigrated to the U.S. It is a cheese that I will forever and always associate with him.

Here’s my contribution to the the ricotta-Easter-dessert category, an Obsessive Ricotta Cheesecake from the late (great) pastry chef Gina DePalma (more on her here and here). Obsessive, because Gina made it her business to develop the perfect recipe, and maybe drove herself a little crazy in doing so, she says. I am grateful for her tireless efforts in the field of ricotta-cheesecake-research.

So! The star of the show here is indeed a whopping 30 ounces of ricotta, but it does benefit from a little help behind the scenes. In true Italo-American fashion, Gina adds some cream cheese to the mix, thus adding a little tanginess to what would otherwise be a very mild filling. The smoother texture of the cream cheese also tames the naturally grainy texture of the ricotta, making for a cheesecake that is unbelievably velvety. Our ultra-smooth filling is infused with lots of orange zest and vanilla, and sits a top a pistachio crust — diverging from the typical graham cracker crust — which adds a toastiness nuttiness to our cake, plus a little crunch. Best of all: a bit of cornstarch ensures that it doesn’t threaten to crack down the middle like most cheesecakes, an added bonus. A slice of this is pure heaven, and if you don’t believe me, the reviews from my lucky neighbors are in:

[8:54 pm, 25/03/2024] David: your cake is MENTAL
[8:26 pm, 25/03/2024] Alyssa: Omg it’s so good! Do you have the recipe posted??

(Here it is, Alyssa!)

I’ll be traveling up North to Torino and then down South to Catania for the Easter holidays — stay tuned — but have a restful, food-filled Easter, everyone.

A couple of notes on the crust: In the recipe as written, Gina calls for slivered almonds in the crust instead of pistachios; feel free to use these if you wish, or even substitute another kind of nut (I think hazelnuts would be nice). I found that the crust recipe as written made for a thinner crust than I would have liked, so I increased the quantities by half (even if measuring out 1.5 egg yolks is a pain — eyeball it). The quantities below are from Gina’s original recipe and will need to be increased by half if you decide to go the same route as I did. Finally, please do butter and flour the springpan to prevent the crust from sticking (I speak from experience).

A couple of notes on the filling: Gina flavors the filing with a tablespoon of amaretto — I chose instead to flavor the filling with a double dose of vanilla and some orange zest. Do as you see fit. If you go my route, you can substitute lemon zest of the orange zest if you prefer. I thought that this was lovely served plain as is, but you can also serve it with a raspberry sauce/raspberry topping to make it a little fancier.

A couple of notes on cheesecakes, generally: Cheesecakes are prone to cracking right down the middle at some point while baking or cooling; this is usually due to drafts or changes in temperature in the oven/when you take it out of the oven. A few tips: don't over whip your filling (especially once the eggs are added) -- more air in the filling means that air bubbles will form, which will expand in the oven causing cracks. Don't open the oven too much, as this will also mess with the temperature inside and cause cracks. You can also put a pan of hot water in the oven so that steam regulates the heat evenly, or bake the cheesecake in a water bath. In my case, I usually let the cheesecake cool in the oven with the oven door slightly open, so that there is no drastic temperature shift and the cheesecake and cool slowly. But honestly speaking -- even if a cheesecake cracks, it tastes just as good, and you can cover any damage with this strawberry sauce, so don't sweat it!

Looking for other recipes with ricotta? Click here.
Looking for other Easter recipes? Click here.
Looking for other cheesecake recipes? I have this Strawberry Cheesecake, this Pistachio Cheesecake, and this Pumpkin Cheesecake, plus these Cheesecake Brownies. I also have this

OBSESSIVE RICOTTA CHEESECAKE

Recipe adapted from Dolce Italiano, by Gina DePalma.

Ingredients for the pistachio crust (see notes):
3/4 cup (about 112 grams) shelled, unsalted pistachios
3 tablespoons (37 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons (37 grams) granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons (42 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for the filling:
1 (8-ounce, 250 grams) package cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
32 ounces, around 4 cups (900 grams) container whole milk ricotta
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Zest of 1-2 oranges (depending on how orange-y you want the finished product)

1 (9-inch diameter/22cm) springform pan

Directions:
1.) Preheat the oven to 325°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Butter a 9-inch springform pan; dust it evenly with flour (important, see notes) and tap out any excess.

2.) To make the crust: Place the pistachios, flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Process until the nuts are finely chopped and the mixture looks sandy. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, cooled melted butter and vanilla. Add the liquid mixture to the nut mixture and pulse several times until the ingredients are well combined, moistened and crumbly. Dump the mixture into the buttered, floured pan and, using your fingers or the bottom of a measuring cup, press into an even layer. Place the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes (or the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes) to chill; then bake for 10-15 minutes, until the crust is lightly golden. Let cool on a wire rack.

3.) To make the filling: Beat the cream cheese, sugar and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer or with electirc beaters. Mix about 1 minute. Add the ricotta and mix until the mixture is smooth and light. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla, cornstarch and orange zest and mix until well-combined.

4.) Pour the filling into the crust, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake the cheesecake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is lightly golden, the edges are set and the center is quite jiggly but not totally liquid (it will continue to cook as it cools).

5.) Carefully remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack. It will sink a bit -- that's okay. Once cool, If necessary, run a thin-bladed knife around the edge of the cake to make sure it's not sticking to the sides (which can cause cracks as it cools), then cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to cool for at least 8 hours or overnight.

6.) When ready to serve, remove the sides of the springform pan and slice with a sharp knife, wiping the knife clean between slices.