Ricotta Cheesecake The Right Martha Stewart Food

RICOTTA CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, and dust with breadcrumbs, tapping out excess. In a small bowl, stir together raisins, flour, and zests; set aside.
• With an electric mixer, beat ricotta, sugar, and salt until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture, and beat just until smooth (do not overmix).
• Pour mixture into prepared pan; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until cake is browned and jiggles only slightly when shaken, 60 to 70 minutes. Cool completely in pan; unmold to serve. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

ITALIAN RICOTTA CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Set rack in the middle of the oven.
• Butter and flour a 9-by-2-inch springform pan and tap out excess flour. Place on a rimmed baking sheet.
• In a medium bowl, sift sugar and flour.
• In a large bowl, combine ricotta and zest and whisk until smooth. Add sugar and flour mixture and gently mix to combine.
• Add eggs, 1 at a time, and whisk to combine. Add the vanilla and salt.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the center of the oven for about 55 to 60 minutes, until a light golden color. Make sure the center is fairly firm and the point of a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool completely on a wire rack. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator until chilled, at least 2 hours.

FRESH RICOTTA

Steps:

• Combine milk, cream, and salt in a 4- to 5-quart pot, and warm mixture over medium-high heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to prevent scorching, until mixture registers 195 degrees on a candy thermometer. It should take about 15 minutes.
• Add lemon juice, gently stirring until just combined. Remove pot from heat and let stand 5 minutes. The combination of the acid and the residual heat in the mixture will cause it to coagulate, or curdle -- separating into a soft mass (curds) and a cloudy liquid (whey).
• After lining a mesh colander with a triple layer of cheesecloth and placing it inside a deeper, slightly larger bowl, gently pour curds and whey into colander. Let mixture stand, pouring off whey occasionally, until most of whey has drained from still-wet curds, 20 minutes.
• Gather up ricotta in cheesecloth and turn it out into a bowl. Serve within a few hours, or refrigerate up to 4 days. For a denser ricotta, which can be preferable for baking, hang it to drain for another hour. Repurpose whey or discard it.

RICOTTA CAKE

Steps:

• Bring milk to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in rice, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla bean. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until rice is very tender and has absorbed all liquid, about 30 minutes.
• Remove pan from heat. Stir in 3/4 cup granulated sugar. Cover; let cool, stirring occasionally. Discard vanilla bean.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch-round, 3-inch-deep springform pan. In a large bowl, combine the rice mixture, ricotta, whole eggs and egg yolks, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Pour into prepared pan. Bake until golden on top and almost set in the center, 65 to 70 minutes; cover with foil if starting to brown too much. Transfer pan to a cooling rack.
• When cake has completely cooled, run a knife around edge to loosen. Gentlyremove ring; transfer cake to a serving platter. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, and serve with sauce.

CITRUS-RICOTTA CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Stir together cookie crumbs, melted butter, and 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and up 1 inch on sides of an 8-inch square or 9-inch round springform pan; set aside.
• Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl. Let stand 7 minutes to soften. Stir until gelatin is dissolved; set aside. Beat cream with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form; set aside.
• Put egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a medium bowl. Scrape in vanilla seeds; whisk until mixture is pale and thick, about 2 minutes. Add ricotta, zests, lemon juice, salt, and gelatin mixture; gently stir until smooth. Set aside.
• Beat egg whites in a clean mixing bowl until they hold stiff peaks. Gently fold whipped cream and then whites with a rubber spatula into ricotta mixture.
• Pour filling over crust. Refrigerate, uncovered, 3 hours or overnight. Before unmolding, run a knife around edge of cake. Serve with citrus-vanilla compote.

RICOTTA CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray the springform pan with cooking spray. Separate the eggs, placing the whites in one of the large bowls and the yolks in the work bowl of a food processor.
• Add the sugar and vanilla to the work bowl of the food processor and process until thick and light yellow, about 1 minute. Add the ricotta and zest and process until smooth, another 30 seconds. Scrape the mixture into the other large bowl.
• Beat the whites on high speed with the mixer until they hold stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the ricotta mixture and scrape into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula.
• Bake until the cake is deep golden brown and the sides begin to pull away from the pan, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Transfer to the rack to let cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving, at least 6 hours and up to 1 day. To serve, release the sides of the springform pan, dust with confectioners' sugar using the strainer, and cut into wedges.

CHOCOLATE-RICOTTA ICEBOX CAKE

Steps:

• Prepare pan: Remove sides from a 9-inch round springform pan (see note, below). Place a sheet of waxed paper over bottom, leaving an overhang; lock sides onto bottom, firmly securing paper. Spray inside of pan with cooking spray; line sides with a strip of waxed paper 28 inches long and 4 inches wide.
• Make chocolate-ricotta mixture: Break 12 ounces of chocolate into pieces. Place in a heatproof medium bowl set over, not in, a pan of simmering water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chocolate has melted, 8 to 10 minutes.
• In a food processor, blend ricotta until very smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl. Add warm chocolate; blend until smooth. In a large bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in chocolate-ricotta mixture.
• Assemble cake: Arrange half the cookies in an overlapping pattern to cover bottom of pan. Spoon half the chocolate-ricotta mixture on top of cookies; smooth top. Cover with remaining cookies; top with remaining chocolate-ricotta mixture, and smooth top. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 6 hours and up to 2 days.
• Before serving, release sides of pan and remove waxed paper from sides. Using bottom piece of waxed paper, pull cake onto a platter; with a metal spatula, lift cake and remove waxed paper. Using a vegetable peeler, shave remaining 2 ounces chocolate over top of cake. With a knife dipped in hot water, cut cake into 10 slices (wipe off knife, and dip in hot water after each slice).