Sicilian lemon and ricotta cheesecake
WHO doesn’t love a slice of cheesecake?
My summer-inspired lemon cheesecake is really light and absolutely delicious too.
Ingredients:
150g digestive biscuits 50g ginger biscuits 60g butter 50g caster sugar 600ml whipping cream 1 tsp vanilla extract 50g ricotta cheese 100g soft cream cheese Lemon curd 125g unsalted butter 2 unwaxed lemons, organic if possible 200g caster sugar 2 eggs You will need a 10in loosebottomed cake tin
Recipe:
Pre-heat oven to 160°C and line or grease the cake tin bottom. Melt 60g of butter in a ramekin. Crush the biscuits together. Add the butter to the biscuits and mix.
Pile the biscuit mixture into the cake tin and firm down with the back of a spoon.
Bake the base for approximately 5-10 minutes to golden.
Then set aside to thoroughly cool down andd refrigerate.f
The oven is no longer needed for this recipe.
Meanwhile to make the lemon curd peel the lemons thinly, taking care not to include any of the bitter pith.
Squeeze the juice of the two lemons into a Pyrex or metal bowl along with the lemon skin slices, sugar and butter; place the bowl on top of a pan of boiling water to make a bain-marie; heat to melt the ingredients, whisking all the time.
After 10 minutes, remove from the heat.
Beat the eggs together in a separate bowl, and gradually whisk into the lemon mixture.
Return to the heat (bain-marie) and continue mixing for a further 10-15 minutes.
Remove from the heat and allowll theh mixture to cool.l
Next mix the whipping cream, ricotta, cream cheese, vanilla extract and caster sugar together in a mixer on low speed to start off with, gradually increasing the speed until the consistency is thick.
Fold in half of the cold lemon curd into the cream mixture.
Pile the mixture on top of the cold biscuit base and even out with a palette knife.
Decorate the top of the cheesecake with the remaining lemon curd.
Slice and enjoy!
Lesley and her husband, Roberto, own Roberto’s Italian on Ocean Plaza. For more of Lesley’s recipes pop by and say hello or go to www. ritaliandiner.co.uk