Gourmet Club dinner: GREEK. Four couples, each once yearly hosts a “theme” meal at their home. Marlene and John will be cruising the Greek Isles next month and, happily, this theme choice produced one of our absolute best group collaborations. Laura snagged the coveted DESSERT course. Laura makes perfect flan, and so a “water bath” dessert clearly causes her no anxiety. Few things in life actually cause Laura anxiety, she is levelheaded AND an excellent cook. This, her Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake was spot-on: beautiful, scrumptious, the flavor was spectacular and the texture soft and creamy.
Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake
- 3 lbs ricotta cheese
- 1 tablespoon softened unsalted butter for the pan
- 1 teaspoon sugar for the pan, plus 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup Greek Yogurt
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- juice from the fresh lemon
TOPPING, optional:
- 1 pint whipping cream
- 1 cup crushed pineapple
- Fresh berries for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 10 inch springform pan, coat with 1 tsp sugar. Beat ricotta at slow speed until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, then blend in remaining sugar. Blend in yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla. Pour mixture in pan and smooth out top.
To prepare the pan for “water bath” baking, create a waterproof seal on the bottom by wrapping bottom and sides of pan in heavy-duty WIDE aluminum foil. Place cheesecake pan in another larger pan filled with water within an inch of the top.
Cover loosely with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil, continue baking until top is golden and center jiggles, total baking time about 90 minutes.
Remove cake from oven but keep in the water bath; cool to room temperature. Remove pan from water, remove foil from pan and cool on a rack. Cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
To serve with topping: whip cream until stiff, fold in crushed pineapple, spread on top of cheesecake. Garnish with fresh berries. Serves 8 to 10.
- If you love this post, please share:
Digg this post- Recommend on Facebook
- Share with Stumblers
- Tweet about it
- Tell a friend
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
This is divine.
First of all, ricotta cheesecake is my absolute favorite.
I love lemon, so this will be a treat
No restaurants in LA know how to do ricotta cheesecake.
And, without even trying, this dessert is gluten free!
An added bonus
Patti, your Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake looks amazing, just like a pillow of sweet bliss! Great use of Greek yogurt. Thanks for entering it in my Stonyfield yogurt challenge
You guys are too funny!
I’m glad it was yummy, that’s all. I can’t remember: Did we sing Happy Birthday to Marlene? Laura
Lynne, I made a huge green salad: butter lettuce, kalamata olives, feta, garbanzos, tomatoes, red onions and mediterranean flavored vinaigrette. I want more right now.
best cheese cake ever!
This cheesecake looks really good. Really good. Greek nite, huh? What did you bring?
It was a light, lovely cake and a nice surprise birthday cake for me as well. Laura always does it up!!
That cheesecake looks dreamy! I love lemon cheesecake, such a good flavor to cut through the richness.