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Saturday, October 30, 2010

Ricotta Cheesecake with Caramel Apple Sauce

Boy has been asking me to learn to make cheesecake for a long time now; so when I spotted this recipe browsing through Cuisine at Home I knew it would end up on our table pretty quickly. This recipe is amazing, and even if you don't like cheesecake you must try this caramel sauce poured over something, it really is to die for!
One word of caution, the ricotta contributes to a slightly different texture than commercial cheescakes that usually are only made with cream cheese, it's lighter with a slightly grainy mouthfeel which might throw you off at first if you are not expecting it. Also it is difficult to avoid cracks in the surface as you can see below.
Ricotta Cheesecake from 2005 Sep/Oct Cuisine at Home magazine
Ingredients:
For the crust:
  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/3 cup toasted, ground hazelnuts (I substituted almond meal)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
  • 2 8 oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature (can substitute lowfat here if you want)
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 15 oz. (1 package) whole milk ricotta
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest (We used the zest of one whole lemon)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Instructions:
  1. Preheat oven to 400F. Coat a 9 inch springform pan with nonstick spray.
  2. Combine crust ingredients in a bowl until moist press into the pan and about 1 inch up the sides. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden. Allow to cool completely while you make the filling. Reduce the oen temperature to 300F.
  3. Blend cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on low until fluffy, scrape down the bowl as necessary, mix in ricotta. Add yols and eggs one at a time, blending after each addition. Add the rest of the ingredients and scrape down the bowl if necessary.
  4. Pour batter into the cooled crust and bake 1 hour, the center should still be jiggly at this point, turn the oven off and crack the oven open held with a wooden spoon in the door (plastic would melt). Leave the cake in the oven for another hour, then remove the cake to your counter and allow it to cool fully to rom temperature before moving it to the fridge to cool overnight. Keep it covered with a clean towel to absorb any condensation.
  5. Remove the sides of the pan and slice into edges to serve. Serve with generous spoonfuls of the Caramel Apple Sauce over each slice.

All right, now we are going to make this amazing caramel sauce!
Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups Granny Smith apple diced
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
 Instructions:
  1. Bring sugar, water, salt and lemon juice to a simmer in a medium saucepan, when bubble form cover and boil for 3 minutes. Then uncover and continue boiling until the mixture is about the color of iced tea, this should take 5-6 minutes.
  2. Whisk in the cream and brown sugar carefully it may spltter or steam. Reduce heat to low and simmer for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
  3. Stir in the apples and vanilla right before serving. Enjoy! Store any leftover sauce in the fridge.

1 comment:

  1. This cheesecake was super amazing! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete