Tag Archives: About Italian desserts

Ricotta Cheesecake with Champagne

Italian Ricotta Cheesecake for Valentines Day

Italian Ricotta Cheesecake for Valentines Day

Best Kathy Twitter Pic edited for blog Italian ricotta cheesecake — is a light, fresh cheesecake perfect for  your Valentine!

Italian Ricotta Cheesecake for Valentines Day 

When I was growing up in New York, my mother made a version of light, fresh-tasting cheesecake that my family loved.  After I became older and moved away from home,  I would often order what was called “New York Style” cheesecake in restaurants, hoping for a dessert that that would come close to the memory I had of my mother’s heavenly version.

What I came to realize over the years was that “New York Style” cheesecake is not at all like the cheesecake that my  used to make  while we were living in New York.  I could not understand why the restaurant cheesecake served to me often had an off flavor (can you say artificial ingredients?) and a texture that was heavy, and even gooey or sticky.

Of course, as I discovered when I finally asked my mother for her recipe, the reason the cheesecake I had at home was so different from what I found in restaurants was the type of cheese my mother used.  The ricotta cheese that my  mother would get freshly made from the Italian deli  after church every Sunday yielded a delicious, light, and almost crumbly cheesecake,  gently held together by a few  fresh eggs, flavored lightly with vanilla and given a fresh taste with a bit of lemon zest.  Which is not to say the other, more creamy versions made with cream cheese are not good if made with fresh ingredients.  They are just not Italian ricotta cheesecake!

The Italian crust my mother makes for her ricotta cheesecake also yields another subtle layer of flavor.  The method used to make the Italian version of a smaller fruit “crostata” or “tart” transfers to the thicker cheesecakes made in Italy.  A  “pasta frolla,” or “sweet pastry” crust lines the bottom of the tart and a lattice crust nicely decorates the top of the tart, and a true Italian cheesecake will have a lattice crust!  The crust for this cheesecake is flavored with a bit of lemon zest and brandy, which nicely compliments the taste of the fresh ricotta.

I modified the traditional lattice crust for Valentines Day by cutting an open heart into the top lattice crust.  After  baking the cheesecake, I let it cool a bit and then  I spread some good raspberry jam into the center of the heart for color and a little extra flavor.

Making the Italian ricotta cheesecake in the recipe below was even more fun for me than usual because I was able to use my new time-lapse photography software for my  cell phone.  If you want to see the video of my home cooked Italian ricotta cheesecake in the making, just click on the link below for the magic of Instagram!

My family loved this cheesecake as an early Valentines Day present.  I hope your loved ones will too!   -Kathryn Occhipinti


Italian Ricotta Cheesecake 

Ricotta Cheesecake with raspberry jam
Slice of Italian Ricotta Cheesecake with Raspberry Jam topping and coffee

Ingredients
(Makes One, 9″ Cheesecake)

Pasta Folla for the Crust
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cups unsalted butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tbsp brandy
1 tsp grated lemon zest

Ricotta Filling 
2  1/2 lbs. fresh ricotta cheese*
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon zest
2 large eggs beaten lightly

Topping
powdered sugar
raspberry jam
fresh raspberries

Method

Before starting to make the cheesecake,  set an oven rack into the lower third of your oven and preheat your oven to 350°.

Assemble the Springform pan and lock the bottom in place.  (If you don’t have a Springform pan, you can use a deep dish pie pan.)

For the crust:

In a large, wide bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and salt together with a fork.

Cut in 3/4 cup unsalted butter with a pastry cutter or your hands, running your thumb across your fingers to create small, flat, “flakes” of butter (method shown in Instagram video).

Add the lightly beaten eggs, brandy and lemon zest.

Mix together with a fork gently and then your hands gently until the dough comes together to form a disk.

Pull off pieces of the dough and use this to line the bottom of a 9″ Springform pan.  Reform the remainder of the dough into a disk and refrigerate in plastic wrap 30 minutes.

Pop into the oven and bake 8 – 10 minutes at 350°, or until lightly brown and set, but not cooked through.

Take out of oven and let cool before filling.

For the filling:

Using a large spoon or an electric mixer on low, gently mix together the ricotta cheese, sugar, flour salt, vanilla and lemon zest.

Add the 2 beaten eggs and mix gently to combine.

Pour the filling into the pre-baked, cooled crust in the Springform pan.

Take out the disk of reserved dough from the refrigerator.  Roll the dough out on a floured board.

Cut  one side of the rolled out dough into 4 long strips and place each strip onto the periphery of the filling to create the four sides of a square. Cut out a heart the size to fit into the center of the square. (You can cut the heart out of paper at first until you get the right size and then use this as a stencil to trace when cutting the dough if  you are not comfortable cutting the heart free hand.  And if it doesn’t work the first time, just put the dough back together and try again!)

Place the cheesecake in the oven and bake at 350 degrees about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until set and lightly brown on the edges.

Complete the  Cheesecake:

Let the cheesecake cool a bit.

Sprinkle all over with powdered sugar.

For a special occasion such as Valentines Day, spread a thin layer of raspberry jam into the cheesecake, in the center of the heart and/or between the lattice crust.

Top with fresh raspberries if desired.

Let set in the refrigerator overnight or at least 3 hours before enjoying!

 

*How to Find Good Ricotta Cheese
Today, I live near two small grocery store chains that make ricotta cheese fresh daily, and I would advise using this ricotta cheese instead of the mass produced (and preservative filled) ricotta cheese found on the shelves in most grocery stores.  If you have access to good, farm-fresh milk, it is actually easy to make your own cheese – but that is the subject of another blog!

— by Kathryn Occhipinti

Best Kathy Twitter Pic edited for blogKathryn Occhipinti, MD, is the author of the
Conversational Italian for Travelers
 series of books and a teacher of Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area.
“Everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Italy!”

Join my Conversational Italian! Facebook group and follow me on Twitter at StellaLucente@travelitalian1  and start to learn Italian today for FREE!
Conversational Italian! Facebook Group
Tweet @travelitalian1 for Stella Lucente Italian

YouTube videos to learn Italian are available from © Stella Lucente, LLC.
Learn Conversational Italian.

More information on and photographs of Italy can be found on Facebook Stella Lucente Italian and Pinterest Stella Lucente Italian.
Facebook Stella Lucente Italian

Pinterest Stella Lucente Italian

Visit learntravelitalian.com/download.html to purchase/download Conversational Italian for Travelers and find more interesting facts and helpful hints about getting around Italy! Learn how to buy train tickets online, how to make international and local telephone calls, and how to decipher Italian coffee names and restaurant menus, all while gaining the basic understanding of Italian that you will need to know to communicate easily and effectively while in Italy. —From the staff at Stella Lucente, LLC

Italian Ricotta Cheesecake for Valentines Day

Recipe for Italian dessert Tiramisù

Dessert Recipe from Italy: Make Our Famous Tiramisù

Dessert Recipe from Italy: Make Our Famous Tiramisù

 

Best Kathy Twitter Pic edited for blogTiramisù: Italian Pick-Me-Up!

Dessert Recipe from Italy: Make Our Famous Tiramisù

This famous Italian layered dessert, which literally means “pick-me-up,” was said to have originated when Italian ladies  wanted a snack to get them through a long night of entertaining. Try our version, and we think you will agree that a piece of this dessert will add sparkle to any get-together or special celebration, whether for lunch, dinner, or the wee hours of the evening… Just follow our step-by-step instructions on how to make each component of the dessert, and assemble it all into the delicious layers that will form a kind of cake when refrigerated overnight.
—Kathryn Occhipinti


Tiramisù Recipe

Make the zabaglione* custard:
*Italian custard made with Marsala wine
6 egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup Marsala wine

Off heat, beat the egg yolks and sugar on the top pot of a double boiler with a whisk
until combined and the yolks become pale yellow.

Fill the bottom pot ⅓ of the way up with water and heat to a simmer on the stove.

Place the pot with the egg yolk mixture over the pot with the simmering water.

Stir the beaten egg yolks constantly with a whisk while slowly pouring in the Marsala wine.

Continue to stir, scraping the bottom of the pot often, for about 5 to 6 minutes.

When the mixture has thickened, transfer to a bowl and chill for 30 minutes.

 Make the cream filling:
1 cup whipping cream (cold)
4 Tbsp sugar
1 lb. Mascarpone cheese
chilled zabaglione custard

Beat the whipping cream and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.

Fold in the Mascarpone cheese, and then the chilled zabaglione custard, into the whipped cream until well blended.

Make the coffee syrup mixture:
2 cups espresso coffee (cooled)
¼ cup Marsala wine
1 tsp vanilla

Combine the espresso coffee, Marsala wine, and vanilla in a measuring cup.

 Assemble the tiramisu (have the following ready):

  1. Cream filling
  2. Coffee syrup
  3. 2 (7 oz.) packages of lady finger cookies
  4.  Cocoa powder for dusting

 Arrange 16 lady finger cookies in a 9″ x 13″ baking pan.

Pour 1 Tbsp. of the coffee syrup on each cookie.

Spread 1/2 of the cream filling mixture over the cookies.

Dust with cocoa powder.

Repeat cookie layer, coffee syrup, cream filling mixture, and cocoa powder, finishing with a layer of cream and a dusting of the cocoa powder on top.

Cover and refrigerate at least 5 hours or overnight to allow the cookies to absorb
moisture and flavor.

Cut into squares to serve and enjoy with a cup of espresso coffee!

—Adapted from the cooking classes given by the Italian-American Society of Peoria. Thanks to Rudy Litwin, IAS President in 2012, for this recipe! 

 

Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases
Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases (with Restaurant Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions) is YOUR traveling companion in Italy! All the Italian phrases you need to know to enjoy your trip to Italy are right here and fit right into your pocket or purse.

   Available on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com

Best Kathy Twitter Pic edited for blog

Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, is the author of the
Conversational Italian for Travelers
 series of books and a teacher of Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area.
“Everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Italy!”

Join my Conversational Italian! Facebook group and follow me on Twitter at StellaLucente@travelitalian1  and start to learn Italian today for FREE!
Conversational Italian! Facebook Group
Tweet @travelitalian1 for Stella Lucente Italian

YouTube videos to learn Italian are available from © Stella Lucente, LLC.
Learn Conversational Italian.

More information on and photographs of Italy can be found on Facebook Stella Lucente Italian and Pinterest Stella Lucente Italian.
Facebook Stella Lucente Italian

Pinterest Stella Lucente Italian

Visit learntravelitalian.com/download.html to purchase/download Conversational Italian for Travelers and find more interesting facts and helpful hints about getting around Italy! Learn how to buy train tickets online, how to make international and local telephone calls, and how to decipher Italian coffee names and restaurant menus, all while gaining the basic understanding of Italian that you will need to know to communicate easily and effectively while in Italy. —From the staff at Stella Lucente, LLC

Dessert Recipe from Italy: Make Our Famous Tiramisù