If you’ve never tried an Italian Ricotta Cheesecake you don’t know what you’re missing. Top it with fresh berries and you’ve got a dessert of legendary status!
updated from original post July 3, 2010
Ricotta Cheesecakes are not the same as a New York style cheesecake. They’re not a sweet and not creamy in the same way. I didn’t want to say not as creamy, because it’s still freaking awesomely creamy!
The real secret to making a ricotta cheesecake extra cream is adding mascarpone. Which for lack of a better term is Italian cream cheese. Adding in sour cream or Greek yogurt adds a little of the flavor you’ve come to expect from a New York style cheesecake.
While we are making Italian desserts, be sure to try my delicious cannoli recipe and my cannoli cake. Soooo good.
What ingredients do I need to make a Ricotta Cheesecake?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make an Authentic Ricotta Cheesecake with Berries. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the up cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
*If you’re not familiar with digestive biscuits I like to think of them as Adult Graham Crackers.
Be sure to also check out my tasty Japanese cheesecake recipe while we are on the subject.
How do I make a Ricotta Cheesecake?
The first step is making the crust for the cheesecake. In a food processor, grind up the pistachios, then remove from them from the processor. Add the graham crackers and grind to a fine meal.
Melt one 6 tablespoons of butter and add the melted butter and sugar to the ground pistachios and graham crackers, mix well.
*The mixture should be wet enough to form but not so wet that it oozes butter.
Form the crust into your springform pan and bake at 375 degrees for about 7 minutes.
In your mixer, blend together the ricotta cheese, mascarpone, and Greek yogurt. Blend until the mixture is smooth.
Add the eggs one at a time until well blended. Next, add the sugar, flour, salt, grated lemon peel, lemon juice, and vanilla. Blend well until very creamy.
Pour the cheesecake batter into a prepared Springform pan (with baked crust) and bake at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes in a conventional oven or until the cake has set in the middle.
**The top of the cheesecake can get brown. If you’re not topping the cheesecake or prefer a lighter top, cover the cheesecake with foil for half of the time in the oven.
After the cheesecake has fully cooled, you can start adding the strawberries around the outer edge of the cheesecake. Cut the bottoms off the strawberries so they sit nicely on the cheesecake.
Next add the blueberries to the center of the cheesecake, making sure they are at least two deep. Spoon the prepared glaze over top of the strawberries and blueberries.
*You can use a brush to make sure all of the strawberries are coated with the glaze,
Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 4 hours or overnight. The cheesecake will be soft and crumble unless you give it time to set up.
You’re going to love the texture and flavor of this Ricotta Cheesecake. This Italian Classic is a delicious version of one of America’s favorite desserts!
More Cheesecake Recipes You’ll Love!
- Restaurant Style Cheesecake
- Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars with a toffee crust
- Blood Orange Ricotta Cheesecake
- Chocolate Cheesecake Bars with Pecan Shortbread Crust
Ricotta Cheesecake
Equipment
- 9 inch springform pan
Ingredients
Crust for Cheesecake
- 1 ¼ cup graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup pistachios toasted
- 6 tablespoon Unsalted Butter melted
- ¼ cup Sugar
Ricotta Cheesecake
- 16 oz ricotta cheese full fat or low fat
- 16 oz mascarpone *or cream cheese if you can find mascarpone
- 8 oz Greek yogurt *or sour cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 2 tablespoon flour
- grated peel of one lemon
- juice from one half lemon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon salt
Topping for Cheesecake
- 1 pint strawberries whole berries
- ½ Pint blueberries more if desired
- 1 cup red fruit juice
- juice of one lemon
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1½ tablespoon corn starch
Instructions
Crust for Cheesecake
- In a food processor, grind up the pistachios and remove from the processor. Then add the dgraham crackers and grind to a fine meal.
- Melt 6 tablespoons of butter and add the butter and sugar to the ground pistachios and graham crackers, mix well.*The mixture should be wet enough to form but not so wet that it oozes butter.
- Form crust into your springform pan and bake at 375 degrees for about 7 minutes. *Allow to cool before adding the cheesecake batter.
Ricotta Cheesecake
- In your mixer blend together the ricotta cheese, mascarpone, and Greek yogurt. Blend until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the eggs one at a time until well blended.
- Add the sugar, flour, salt, grated lemon peel, lemon juice, and vanilla.
- Blend well until very creamy. Pour mixture into prepared Springform pan and Bake at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes in a conventional oven, or until the cake has set in the middle. The top of the cheesecake can get brown. If you're not topping the cheesecake or prefer a lighter top, cover the cheesecake with foil for half of the time in the oven.
Topping for Cheesecake
- Wash the strawberries and blueberries, allow to dry on paper towels.
- Cut the tops off the dried strawberries and place around the outside of the cheesecake, fill the inside with blueberries. They should be at least two deep in the middle of the Strawberries.
- Place all but ¼ cup of the juice and lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan, heat to a near boil. Mix corn starch, into remaining juice and make into a slurry, add the slurry to the heated juice and bring to a low boil. The mixture should start to clear as it thickens. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then spoon over the berries.
- Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 4 hours or overnight. The cheesecake will be soft and crumble unless you give it time to set up! I know it's hard to resist but it will be worth it!!
Pacheco Patty says
WOW! (:-0) What a beautiful berry topped cheesecake, love the greek yogurt and pretty much everything you put it to this wonderful dessert, yummy!
Foodessa says
My Hubby will be very pleased to see that this absolutely stunning cheesecake has his favourite soft cheese of Ricotta.
You did an amazing creation with this great recipe ;o) I'm bookmarking this one for sure.
Flavourful wishes,
Claudia
A Thought For Food says
Dennis…
I'm having a tough time reading your blog because you make all of my favorite foods. I go absolutely crazy for cheesecake! This looks incredibly decadent. Another beautiful post!
Stella says
Yum Dennis, I could eat half that thing right now! Seriously, I could…
Hey, I love your new place for taking photos by the way. The lighting is beautiful and so is the background. It's funny how a pretty place with proper lighting can just make all of the difference! Though I'm sure your skills came in handy too (smile).
Debbie says
Very patriotic, i like it! Good call on the strawberries and blueberries, sound great with the cheesecake!
Joy says
Your topping looks so wonderful. It is perfect for a cheesecake. Great recipe.
Cristina - Teenie Cakes says
Chef – This ricotta cheesecake looks luscious and just gorgeous color with all those lovely berries. I like the use of pistachios in your crust – sounds wonderful (I'm attempting a cobbler this afternoon that calls for pistachios too!)
I'm going to be thinking about this all day. I need to make a cheesecake like this. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Ana Powell says
Oh my God, you are the perfect master.
I am crawling at your feet, awesome cheesecake.
Lovely clicks ♥
Candace says
What a beautiful dessert! Looks delicious!
Leslie says
What a beautiful dessert! Cherries and strawberries don't last long around here…one or the other of us is always dipping into them!
Paz says
Oh my! What a wonderful-looking dessert!
Paz
~~louise~~ says
I never saw a cheesecake like that on the Golden Girls. Heavenly, simply heavenly…
I adore the combination of ricotta, marscapone and Greek yogurt. And that crust, oh goodness. I'm not much of a baker but I'm pretty good at whirling that blender of mine. A keeper for sure!!!
Thanks for sharing…
Monet says
Denis,
You and I think alike! I made cheese cake (for the first time) this weekend and topped mine with fresh berries as well. Such a pretty and rich dessert for the fourth. I hope you have a wonderful week full of joy and blessings. Hugs!
Ingrid says
I love mascarpone, ricotta, and greek yogurt so you can imagine how insanely delicious I think this looks and sounds!
~ingrid
tes says
I hope you had great 4th of July!
The cheesecake looks so amazing. It really keeps the mood of celebrating going!