Gina DePalma’s Obsessive Ricotta Cheesecake
Can you channel a spirit with a recipe? That’s how it feels every time I open Gina DePalma’s Dolce Italiano, the authoritative Italian dessert cookbook that my friend Gina wrote before she died of ovarian cancer in 2016.
For a dinner party this weekend, I made her Obsessive Ricotta Cheesecake. It’s funny because I convinced myself that this was the first time I’ve ever made Gina DePalma’s ricotta cheesecake, but then her ghost just whopped me on the head and said, “You putz! You made an updated version of this cake back when I was alive and you blogged about it.”
Oops! Well, that’s true that I made her updated cheesecake, but I hadn’t made the cheesecake in the book . The difference is that the updated cheesecake has no crust — it’s pure ricotta. The crust in the book version is a nice addition, especially because the toasted almond flavor echoes the toasted almond in the Amaretto. It’s just a little more work.
There are two main headlines about this recipe: (1) the huge amount of ricotta that goes into it (the fresher your ricotta, the better… look for Bellwether Farms, though I supplemented with some cheaper stuff); (2) the fact that you don’t have to bake it in a water bath like you might with a regular cheesecake makes it so much easier.
The hardest part for me was pressing the toasted almond crust into the springform pan. I couldn’t get an even one-inch border, but you know what? It really doesn’t matter at all. The cheese hides a multitude of sins and it all tastes great in the end.
The final test is knowing when it’s done. The key is to look for a wobble. If it’s still sloshy and liquidy, put it back in. If it doesn’t move at all, you’ve gone too far. You just want the whole thing to get jiggy with it.
To serve, I used another trick from the Gina DePalma playbook: I tossed fresh blackberries with honey and a little sugar and let them sit until they were saucy (she taught me this for my own cookbook for her panna cotta recipe). I spooned those over individual slices and everybody swooned.
So can you channel a spirit with a recipe? After baking this I’m pretty sure you can; I felt Gina smiling at me with every bite.
Gina DePalma’s Obsessive Ricotta Cheesecake
From Dolce Italiano.
Makes One 9-inch cake. Approximately 12 servings.
For the crust:
3/4 cup sliced blanched almonds, toasted and cooled
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the filling:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups (30 ounces) fresh whole-milk ricotta
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon amaretto
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons finely chopped candied orange rind (optional; I left it out)
2 tablespoons finely chopped candied lemon rind or candied citron (optional; I also left it out)
Preheat the oven to 325 and position a rack in the middle. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan with butter or non-stick cooking spray, dust it with flour, and tap to knock out the excess.
To make the crust: Place the almonds, flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and process until the nuts are finely chopped. In a small bowl, lightly whisk together the egg yolk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Add the liquids to the nut mixture and pulse several times to moisten and combine the ingredients thoroughly. The mixture should come together easily between your fingers when pinched.
To form the crust, press the mixture onto the bottom and about an inch up the sides of the springform pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes to firm up the crust, then bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the crust is light golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the crust to cool completely on a wire rack.
To make the filling: In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese with the sugar and salt on medium speed until soft and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the ricotta and beat until the mixture is smooth and light, another 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Beat in the vanilla extract, amaretto, and cornstarch. Fold in the candied fruits, if desired, with the spatula.
Pour the filling into the cooled crust, smoothing the top with the spatula. Bake the cheesecake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the center is set; it should be jiggly but not liquid. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow it to cool completely in the pan onn a wire rack.
Chill the cooled cheesecake for at least 4 hours before serving; it is best served fully chilled on the following day. To serve, remove the sides of the springform pan and cut the cheesecake into wedges with a long, thin-bladed knife. Any leftover cake should be wrapped in plastic and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
