MEK Ricotta Cheesecake

We all love American cheesecake and almost always whether it’s at home at a restaurant or from a supermarket our pick is always the cream cheese version of the cheesecake. But maybe most of you have never tried ricotta cheesecake. If you try it, I bet you will love it. This Specific ricotta cheesecake is especially flavored with lots of citrus zest and cinnamon. The combination is a true delight. And for the first time, for this specific recipe, I flavored the whipped cream with fresh ground cinnamon and it changed the concept of whipped cream for me. I don’t think I can ever leave cinnamon powder out from my whipped topping, ever. It’s that good, you have to try it at home. Tips: You don’t have to drain ricotta. Make sure to pass it through the strainer. I have used icing sugar (the one that has some cornstarch mixed) for both the crust and the batter. The crust gets baked at 350 F and then the cheesecake is baked at 325 F. MEK Ricotta Cheesecake  For the crust: 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour ½ cup icing sugar ¼ tsp salt ½ tsp baking powder ½ cup or 8 tbsp cold butter 1 egg Vanilla essence and lemon zest For the ricotta cheesecake batter: 3 eggs ¾ cup confectioner sugar (icing sugar) ¼ tsp salt 2- 15 Oz pks of whole milk ricotta (850g)- at room temp 1 cup mascarpone cheese- at room temp Zest one whole lemon Zest one whole orange 2 tbsp orange juice 2 tbsp flour vanilla ½ tsp cinnamon powder Some cream for brushing the top crust Granulated sugar for sprinkling the top crust Cinnamon-flavored whipped cream and powdered sugar for serving Let’s start with the crust first. Heat oven to 350 F and grease your spring form pan. Sift together flour, icing sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add cold diced butter to it and process till the mixture looks like sand. Now crack an egg in there. Add your vanilla and zest to it and knead the dough till it comes together.  Roll it out to ⅛ inch thickness using dry flour dust. Spread it on the base of your cheesecake pan ring and remove excess dough as shown in the video. Prick with a fork and bake at 350 F for 12 minutes. Then remove from the oven and set it aside. Gather the rest of the dough and roll it out. Cut out 8 equal-sized triangles from it for layering at the top later. Now let’s prepare the batter. Reduce oven temp to 325 F. Crack eggs in a bowl and add sugar and salt to it. Whisk till light and airy. In a separate bowl place a mesh strainer and add your ricotta cheese to it. Using the back of a flat spatula pass the ricotta through the strainer. We are doing that for a creamy texture. Add mascarpone to the strained ricotta and mix. Now pour the whisked eggs and sugar mixture in there. Mix it well. Also add lemon and orange zest, orange juice, flour, and cinnamon to it. Mix it all well and pour it on top of the prepared and baked crust. Arrange the cutout triangles on top of the batter gently.  Brush the tops with cream and sprinkle sugar on top. Bake at 325 F for 50 minutes. After 50 minutes have passed, turn off the oven and leave the cake inside the oven leaving the door ajar. Leave the cake in there with the door ajar for an hour. Then transfer to the fridge and cool for a few hours or you can also serve at room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with cinnamon-flavored whipped topping to the side. Enjoy!