Author Notes
This lemon ricotta baked cheesecake covered with little purplish blueberries is a fresh and slightly sweet dessert, almost like a moist cake, in which one feels the soft taste of the ricotta, the vivid acidity of the lemon and the juicy bittersweet blueberries, which leave a faint trace of blue over pale yellow as we cut the slices. It’s just a little detail, but I thought it was pretty. —Paula | my common table
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Ingredients
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750 grams
fresh ricotta
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1/2 teaspoon
butter
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75 grams
cookies or biscuits (to your choice)
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250 grams
Mascarpone
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50 grams
all-purpose flour
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200 grams
sugar
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4
large eggs
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Zest of 1 lemon
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1 tablespoon
lemon juice
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blueberries
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200 grams
Powdered sugar to finish (optional)
Directions
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Place the ricotta in a strainer and let it stand for at least one hour to drain excess liquid.
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Preheat the oven to 180°C. Reduce cookies, or biscuits, to thin crumbs (you can use a food processor or, simpler, place them inside a plastic bag and use the kitchen roll over it). Grease a round spring pan (about 23 cm) with butter and line with the cookies crumbs (place the crumbs in the pan and rotate it so they stick to the bottom and sides). Wrap the entire pan with two or three layers of aluminum foil to prevent the bain-marie water from entering.
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Beat the Mascarpone in the electric mixer, equipped with the whisk attachment, until it forms a soft cream. Add the ricotta and beat until smooth and homogenous (you may need to scrap the sides of the bowl with a spatula once or twice). Add the flour and sugar and then the eggs one by one, always beating between each addition. At the end, incorporate the zest and lemon juice.
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Boil 1.5 to 3 liters of water (the exact amount will depend on the size of the tray you’ll use to cook the cheesecake in a water bath).
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Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Place the pan inside a baking tray and place it inside the preheated oven (in the middle). Pour the boiling water into the tray so that it covers about half the height of the Spring pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes until firm (you can make the toothpick test to confirm that it is cooked; the cheesecake will get firmer as it cools).
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Remove from the water bath and allow to cool to room temperature. Then put it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight. To serve the lemon ricotta baked cheesecake, remove it from the refrigerator and let it return to room temperature. Garnish with blueberries and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
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