Citrus Ricotta Cheesecake

Citrus Ricotta Cheesecake

I love the zing of the citrus filling with the crunch of the gingersnap crust. The ricotta is delightful, with its smooth and velvety texture.

What you need:

Crust

2 cups (15-20) gingersnap cookies

¼ cup butter (room temperature)

Filling

 400 g (16 0z) ricotta cheese

250 g (1 pkg.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese

Zest of 2 lemons

¼ cup fresh lemon Juice

125 g (4.4 oz) raspberries

¼ cup orange juice

Zest of 1 orange

2 large eggs

1 ¼ cup(s) sugar

½ cup corn starch

2 tsp. vanilla

How to make it happen:

Crust

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Place cookies in a plastic bag and break into pieces using the back of a sauce spoon or meat hammer.

3. Combine butter with cookie pieces and press mixture firmly onto the bottom of a nine inch spring form pan. Bake crust for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. 

4. Reduce oven to 325 degrees and set the crust aside to cool.

Filling

1. Combine Philadelphia Cream Cheese and ricotta. Mix on medium speed with a mixer until smooth.

2. In a separate bowl, mix sugar and cornstarch together and slowly add to the cheese mixture on low speed.

3. Next, add eggs to the cheese mixture, adding them one at a time. Beat in the zest of one orange, two lemons, the orange and lemon juices and vanilla. Mix the remaining ingredients with a mixer on low speed until combined. Ensure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. 

4. Pour the batter onto the crust. In order to ensure the cheesecake bakes evenly and maintains its moisture it should bake in a water bath. Place the cheesecake in a slightly larger container. Bring a kettle to a boil and fill the surrounding container with boiling water until it reaches the height of the cheesecake filling. Make sure the water does not spill into the cheesecake filling as it is poured into the container (I find placing the cheesecake in a slightly larger frying pan works well).

5. Bake the cheesecake at 325 degrees for one hour.  After one hour, shut the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven for an additional thirty minutes.

6. Once the cheesecake is removed from the oven, immediately run a knife around the edges of the spring form pan to avoid cracking. Add sliced lemons and raspberries to the top as desired.