While you might think Easter’s all about colored eggs and chocolate, lamb, bunnies and baskets full of sweet things, I think it’s about cheesecake.
I have no idea when the association came to me and why it stuck. But really, does anyone need a reason for cheesecake? And certainly, no one needs an excuse to make one. All you need is a foolproof recipe.
I’ve been making it the same way for years: really tall, really rich and creamy. Then, a couple of weeks ago, perhaps in the season’s spirit of renewal, I tinkered with my original recipe, one made with cream cheese and sour cream. What began on a whim finished as a quest. I was searching for a cheesecake that would be as impressive and as satisfying as my standby, but I wanted something lighter, with more spring, sponge and fluff.
I got all that by swapping some of the cream cheese for a lot of ricotta. Mixing the two cheeses gave the cake richness and creaminess plus the lightness I was looking for. I also added grated lemon and orange zest and a full tablespoon of vanilla extract, ingredients that round the flavor of eggs and make anything rich seem magically less so. Those additions might explain why my more moderate friends around the table cut thin slices and then went back for seconds. Like many seducers, the cake is not what it seems.
Making cheesecake is for the patient. It needs a long bake, a long cool and a long chill; making cheesecake with ricotta is for the very patient, because the ricotta must drain before you use it.
Don’t skip the draining step. Too much moisture will ruin the cheesecake.
So here’s what you should know:
You’ll need a 9- or 10-inch springform pan for this batter.
Beat, beat and then beat some more. By the time you pour the batter into the pan, the cream cheese and ricotta should have gone from solid to something resembling liquid satin. This is a great job for a stand mixer, although you can make it with a handheld mixer.
The cake bakes slowly in a water bath. This is the gentlest way of baking such a big cake made with such delicate ingredients. Once the cake is baked, it has to hang out in the turned-off oven for another hour. This is a must: Cheesecakes don’t like sudden shifts in temperature.
And then it has to hang some more. The cake needs to come to room temperature before it’s chilled. You could serve it at room temperature, but cheesecake is better chilled; overnight is best. That it can be frozen only makes us love it more.
Serve it plain, crown it with berries or a sauce: berry, chocolate or caramel.
Wishing you joy and cheesecake for Easter.
Dorie Greenspan’s light and creamy Easter cheesecake
Make ahead: It’s important to drain the ricotta for 6 to 12 hours. And it’s also best to give the finished cake a bunch of time to chill. In other words, this is a plan-ahead cake.
FOR THE CHEESECAKE
2 pounds whole-milk ricotta
Unsalted butter, for greasing the pan
3 to 4 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs or plain dried bread crumbs (see headnote)
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 lemon
1 orange (may substitute 2 clementines or other small oranges)
24 ounces (three 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, cut into chunks
¼ cup cornstarch, sifted
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
FOR THE TOPPING
2 to 3 tablespoons honey
12 ounces blueberries, raspberries or blackberries, or a combination
For the cheesecake: Line a strainer with a double thickness of dampened cheesecloth. (Use a big piece; you want a lot of overhang.) Place the lined strainer over a pot or bowl, spoon in the ricotta and draw up the sides of cheesecloth to cover it. Put a plate on top of the ricotta, then place a large can or bottle on top of the plate to put pressure on the cheese. Let it sit on the counter overnight (or refrigerate). When you’re ready to bake, remove the weights, unwrap the cheese and pat it dry.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease the springform pan with some butter and dust it with the crumbs. Wrap the exterior of the pan with a double layer of aluminum foil, bringing the foil as high up the sides of the pan as you can. Set out a roasting pan that’s large enough to hold the springform pan.
Combine the sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if you’re using a hand mixer) and finely grate the rind of the lemon and orange over it. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar is moist, fragrant and colored. If you’re using a stand mixer, attach the bowl and the paddle. Toss in the cream cheese and beat on medium speed, scraping the bowl occasionally (do this throughout the process), for 4 minutes. Add the drained ricotta and beat for 4 minutes more. Stop the mixer to add the cornstarch, then beat on low speed to incorporate it. Add the eggs one a time, beating on medium speed for a minute after each one goes in, then add the vanilla extract and beat just to incorporate. Pour and scrape the batter into the springform pan, using a spatula to level the top.
Seat the springform pan in the roasting pan, then transfer to the middle oven rack. Pour hot water into the roasting pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for 90 minutes (for a 10-inch pan; 15 minutes longer if using a 9-inch pan) without opening the oven door, then turn off the oven, prop the door open with a wooden spoon and allow the cake to rest in its water bath for 1 hour. The cake probably will have risen above the rim of the pan; it will settle down as it cools. The surface also may have cracked; that is not a problem.
Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Carefully lift the springform pan out of the roaster — there might be hot water in the foil, so pay attention! Remove and discard the foil, place the springform pan on a wire rack and let the cheesecake come to room temperature. The center of the cake may still be jiggly, and that’s fine. Once the cake has cooled completely, refrigerate it for at least 6 hours or, better yet, overnight.
Remove the sides of the springform pan. Place the cake, still on the pan’s base, on a platter.
For the optional topping: Warm the honey (to taste) very briefly in a microwave or over low heat, just to liquefy it and then brush a very thin layer over the top of the cake. Arrange the berries decoratively atop the cake, or mix them together and pile them on top of the cake. Drizzle a small amount of honey over the berries to give them a shine.
To serve, use a long knife to cut the cake, dipping the knife in hot water and wiping it dry between cuts.
16 servings. Nutrition per serving: 320 calories, 10 g protein, 18 g carbohydrates, 23 g fat, 14 g saturated fat, 75 mg cholesterol, 270 mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber, 14 g sugar
From cookbook author Dorie Greenspan.
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