Ricotta Cheesecake

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When I first moved to San Francisco, I lived a few blocks away from the California Culinary Academy. There was a used book store right next to it where students would sell their textbooks. I bought a paperback on Italian Cooking for like a dollar. It has the most gorgeous photos of delicious looking dishes. I read it like a good book, and it became my bible for pasta sauces.

I grew up adoring silky smooth New York cheesecake, especially the frozen Sara Lee ones with the graham cracker crust. I had never heard of a ricotta cheesecake until I saw it on the menu at L’Osteria del Forno, a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant on Columbus Avenue that Jason and I adored. They made their own focaccia in house, and made amazing three course dinner specials every Sunday. We ate there all the time, but we’re always too stuffed to even consider dessert. Until the night when the owner told us she had a dessert special, a ricotta cheesecake. I have always loved ricotta, I used to steal spoonfuls of it when my mom was making her famous baked shells, so of course I needed to try ricotta cheesecake. It was unbelievable. After that, I asked for it every time we went to l’Osteria, but I was only able to have it maybe two or three more times.

A few years later, my dear friends Johnny and Cat Alamilla had just closed their restaurant, Alma, and were moving to Lake Tahoe. Katie hosted a going away party and asked me to bring a dessert. Cat is one of the greatest pastry chefs I know (we have her to thank for our family Tres Leches recipe), so I wanted to make her something really special. I found this Ricotta Cheesecake recipe in my trusty old Italian cooking paperback textbook. I spent hours making sure it was perfect. And it was. It came out so well, I still can’t believe I made it. The pine nut brittle with the chocolate is insane.

I only made it one other time, as a thank you for Branconis next door in Sonoma. I was afraid to remove it from the springform pan bottom so I gave them the whole thing. They probably thought the bottom was all foil and tossed it, and I have never owned a springform pan since. I also have no need to eat a whole cheesecake that will never be as amazing as I remember it. But just in case we want to try, I still have the recipe.

Ricotta Cheesecake with pine nut brittle and chocolate

Ingredients

  • 1 cup superfine sugar
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 5 tablespoons pine nuts
  • 4 tablespoons golden raisins
  • 2 tablespoons rum
  • 3.25 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup Dark brown sugar
  • 1.25 cups ground almonds
  • 8 ounces unsalted butter, chilled, cut in small pieces
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1.5 pounds whole milk ricotta
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
  • 2 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

Instructions

  • In a saucepan, heat 1/4 cup of the superfine sugar and water over high heat.when the mixture boils and the sugar dissolves, add the pine nuts. Continue cooking, swirling often, until sugar turns light brown. Turn out the mixture onto an oiled baking sheet to cool. Then break into small chunks.
  • Combine raisins and rum in a small bowl and set aside for one hour.

Make the Dough

  • Combine flour, baking powder, brown sugar, and almonds in a food processor and pulse 5 seconds.
  • Add butter and process until mixture forms a coarse meal.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together egg and vanilla, then slowly add to food processor while it is running. Process just until the dough nearly holds together.
  • Turn out the dough onto a board and form into a ball. Do not knead or work the dough, even if it doesn’t hold together well. Wrap it in plastic and refrigerate one hour.

Make filling

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta, the remaining superfine sugar, lemon rind, raisins, rum, chocolate and pine nut brittle. Stir gently to combine well.

Assemble and Bake the cheesecake

  • Preheat the oven to 350F.
  • Line a 10 inch springform pan with foil.
  • Split the dough ball in half. Press half the dough into the pan, patting it into place and pushing it partway up the sides of the pan.
  • Spoon in the filling.
  • Roll out the remaining pastry into a 10-inch round and place atop the filling. Trim or tuck the edges if necessary.
  • Bake 50-55 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan. When cool, gently release the sides of the spring pan and gently peel the foil from the sides.
  • Lift the bottom of the cake gently with a spatula and pull out the foil. Serve barely warm or at room temperature.
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