Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the crust
1 1⁄2 cups crushed vanilla wafers (I used a 7.5oz bag of Barbara’s Vanilla Animal Crackers because all the vanilla wafers I could find at the store had HFCS)
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1⁄3 cup melted butter
For the cheesecake
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
15 ounces ricotta cheese
1 1⁄4 cups sugar
1⁄4 cup cornstarch
4 eggs
2 cups half and half
1⁄3 cup lemon juice
4 teaspoons lemon zest
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325*F.
2. In a bowl, combine wafer crumbs, butter and lemon peel. Press onto the bottom of a greased 9-in. spring-form pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.
3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and ricotta until smooth. Combine sugar and cornstarch; add to cheese mixture and beat well. Add eggs and cream, beating on low speed just until combined. Beat in lemon juice, peel, and vanilla until blended. Pour into crust. Place pan on a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 70-80 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan and serve.
Comments
It’s still cooling, I’ll add comments tomorrow. :)
Added Later
We all tried a slice of this after it had cooled for about 3-4 hours and, while the flavors were nice, it wasn’t that amazing. We tried it again after it had chilled for a full 12-14 hours and it was amazing. Please don’t neglect the “Refrigerate overnight” step, it’s rather important. The lemon and ricotta flavors are both prevalent throughout and noticeable. This cheesecake is creamy, but it’s also very light and airy compared to a normal creamy cheesecake.
It’s safe to say that Art loved it, since he managed to eat 3⁄4 of the cake all by himself over the course of three days. This one is a keeper.
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