Berry Ricotta Baked Cheesecake

 

Cheesecake is one of our family's favourite desserts, so while I was on vacation with my mother, she hankered after a berry cheesecake.  Mum had seen a raspberry baked cheesecake on Good Chef Bad Chef, so I found the recipe online here. 

The recipe creates a vast cheesecake, so I halved it, which still created a very nice sized cheesecake.  We also used frozen mixed berries instead of fresh raspberries.

I really liked this cheesecake.  The mixture of ricotta and cream cheese makes for a cheesecake that is less dense than its all-cream cheese counterparts, and the digestive biscuit base gives it a nice earthy flavour.

To make this cheesecake (half size), you will need:

Base

150g digestive biscuits

50g softened butter

15g brown sugar  

Cheesecake

250g cream cheese

375g ricotta

125g sugar

2 1/2 large eggs

1 tablespoon lemon zest

250g berries, fresh or frozen

pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease and line an 8" round springform tin.

Process the biscuits, butter and brown sugar together in a food processor until crumbs form.  (Interestingly, there is no need to melt the butter - I will use this technique again.) Scrape the crumb mixture into the prepared springform tin, and spread out evenly, pressing into the tin to create a flat base for the cheesecake. (I think your fingers work just as well as anything for this purpose.) Place into the fridge to chill while you make the filling.

Put the cheeses, eggs, lemon zest and sugar into a food processor  and process until smooth.  Remove the bowl from the food processor, take out the blade, and gently fold through the berries with a spatula.

Pour the cheesecake mixture over the chilled base, and bake the cheesecake in the oven for 40 minutes or until cooked through (ie firm to the touch on top but still a bit jiggly).  Mine took ~ 50 minutes.  You can turn off the oven and leave the door slightly ajar with a wooden spoon, leaving the cheesecake to cool in the oven.  However, I just removed the cheesecake from the oven immediately and left it to cool on a rack without any ill effect.

Once cool, chill the cheesecake in the fridge for at least a couple of hours or overnight to allow the flavours to meld and the texture to smooth before slicing and serving.