Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake - Eggless

Sweta C
Jul 11, 2017
7 min read

When its your sweetheart's birthday falling amidst Navratri days and you want to make it really special with the little options you have, devise a recipe which can make him fall for you over and over again with every single bite. This Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake did the job for me :D Though, I am yet to find out if he loves me or the cheesecake more :P ;)

Sharing with you the recipe of my first ever cheesecake.This one has a special place in my heart as I have made it from scratch, home baked digestive biscuits, ricotta cheese, and sour cream. Of course, the blueberries and lemons are not from my garden ;) The best part is you can just play around with the ingredients and still achieve perfection in its true sense.

Ricotta gives a lighter texture to the cheesecake and easily substitutes one block of cream cheese. This means less cholesterol and lower calories. So, grab an extra slice without worrying much.

If you don't have Ricotta cheese handy and still want to try it, substitute the ricotta with an extra 8 oz. of cream cheese. Everything remains the same except that you have a rich and heavy Lemon cheesecake rather than a light Lemon Ricotta cheesecake.

For those who can't imagine imagine cakes without eggs, go ahead and mix 2-3 eggs to your batter, add 1/2 tbsp corn starch to the batter and adjust the amount of sugar. Hurrah! you have pleased the Cheesecake Gods :D

Ingredients:

For Crust:

Graham Crackers / Digestive biscuits - 150 grams approx

Brown sugar - 2 tbsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Ground cinnamon (optional) - 1 tsp

Butter - 4 to 5 tbsp

For Cheese batter:

Full fat Cream Cheese - 8 oz

Hung Ricotta Cheese - 1 cup

Condensed milk - 1 can

Vanilla Extract - 1 tbsp

White Sugar - 1/4 to 1/2 cup approx (as per taste)

Corn Starch - 1 tbsp

Lemon juice - 2 tbsp

Lemon rind - 1 tbsp

For Sour Cream Layer (optional):

Sour cream - 1/2 cup

Granulated white sugar - 2 tbsp

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Lemon Jelly Layer:

Lemon juice - 4 tbsp

Water - 1/4 cup

Confectioner Sugar - 4 - 5 tbsp

Corn starch - tbsp

Yellow food color - 2 to 3 drops

Directions:

- Take big sheets of heavy duty aluminium foil, keep springform pan in the centre and wrap around with the foil. Look for gaps and tears. Get rid of these as water will seep in and spoil your cheesecake.

For Crust :-

- Crush the crackers or biscuits in a food processor (do not turn it into a fine powder).

- Mix melted butter, salt, brown sugar and cinnamon powder. If using salted butter, skip salt. I even add 1 tbsp ghee to add to the richness.

- When mixed, take some mix and try forming a ball. If it holds the shape, you are good to set it in a greased 9 inch springform pan.

- Spread the mix evenly and press it hard to bind and form an even surface.

- Pop it in the refrigerator for 15 - 20 min and lets start working on the cream cheese batter.

For Cream Cheese batter :-

- Ensure that all your ingredients are at room temperature

-Hang ricotta cheese in a cheese cloth for 2-3 hours to drain out all the excess liquid.

- Mix cream cheese and vanilla extract until smooth.

- Add ricotta cheese and mix well.

- Pour in condensed milk, sieve some corn starch into the batter and give a good stir.

- Add lemon juice and rind.

- Taste the batter and add sugar accordingly (as you have added condensed milk, you will require less sugar).

- Pour batter over the cheesecake crust.

Hot water bath Set up :-

- Best cheesecakes are made with water bath as it controls the oven temperature and prevents cheesecakes from cracking. So, lets try it out.

- Take a pan which is larger than the cheesecake pan. Keep a kitchen towel on the bottom of the pan and place the springform pan over the towel. This will keep the springform pan in place when you are handling it.

- Boil lots of water and fill it in a kettle, so as to ease pouring in the large pan.

- Add piping hot water carefully to the bigger pan till it half of the springform pan is immersed in water.

- Place the entire setup in the oven preheated to 350 deg F / 180 deg C. Run the timer for 45 min.

- If skipping the sour cream layer bake it for 50-60 min or till the cheesecake is set and yet jiggles in the centre.

Sour Cream Layer:-

- Mix sour cream, sugar and vanilla extract.

- If u r running short of sour cream, hang yogurt/curd for 4-5 hours to drain excess liquid. Add 1 tbsp lemon juice, sugar and vanilla extract. This works well.

- Pull the pan out of the oven and spread the Sour cream layer as evenly as possible. Do not apply pressure.

- Back to the oven for 10 min.

- Once the cheesecake is done, open the door of the oven slightly and let the heat escape gradually. This will not shock your cheesecake with temperature changes.

After the cheesecake enjoys gradual cooling, bring it out of the oven and let it cool completely on a cooling rack for 2 -3 hours and then pop it in the refrigerator.

Lemon Jelly Layer:-

- Take lemon juice, water, corn starch and confectioner sugar(to taste) in a pan. Mix well to avoid any lumps.

- Heat the pan on medium and keep stirring. Add 2 drops of yellow food color.

- Once a jelly like consistency is achieved transfer the jelly into a bowl and let it cool slightly but not completely.

- Coat the top surface of the cheesecake with this layer.

- Let the cheesecake rest in the refrigerator overnight.

Keep the cheesecake out of the refrigerator at least one hour before serving for easy slice through. Add more temptation by garnishing it with fresh fruits and berries.

Tips:

- Get all your ingredients to room temperature before working with it. Makes mixing a lot easier.

- As it is a cheesecake, we need not incorporate much air into the batter. To avoid aeration and over mixing the batter, I use hand whisk.

- When your cheesecake is done, do not bring it out of the oven immediately. Open the oven door slightly and let it cool inside the oven for half n hour and then transfer to a cooling rack over your kitchen counter. This process will help your cheesecake maintain its height. Sudden temperature change can shrink your cheesecake by half an inch or more. (My this cheesecake prep is not as high coz i was in such a hurry and skipped this step. Lesson learnt. Won't ever skip it again)

- Taste you batter n mixtures to ensure a strong build up of flavors.

Crush the crackers or biscuits in a food processor (do not turn it into a fine powder).

- Mix melted butter, salt, brown sugar and cinnamon powder. If using salted butter, skip salt. I even add 1 tbsp ghee to add to the richness.

- When mixed, take some mix and try forming a ball. If it holds the shape, you are good to set it in a greased 9 inch springform pan.

- Take big sheets of heavy duty aluminium foil, keep springform pan in the centre and wrap around with the foil.

- Look for gaps and tears. Get rid of these as water will seep in and spoil your cheesecake.

- Spread the mix evenly and press it hard to bind and form an even surface.

- Pop it in the refrigerator for 15 - 20 min and lets start working on the cream cheese batter.

- Mix cream cheese and vanilla extract until smooth.

- Add ricotta cheese and mix well.

- Pour in condensed milk, sieve some corn starch into the batter and give a good stir.

- Add lemon juice and rind.

- Taste the batter and add sugar accordingly (as you have added condensed milk, you will require less sugar).

Pour batter onto the crust.

- Add piping hot water carefully to the bigger pan till it half of the springform pan is immersed in water.

- Place the entire setup in the oven preheated to 350 deg F / 180 deg C. Run the timer for 45 min.

- If skipping the sour cream layer bake it for 50-60 min or till the cheesecake is set and yet jiggles in the centre.

Mix sour cream, sugar and vanilla extract.

- If u r running short of sour cream, hang yogurt/curd for 4-5 hours to drain excess liquid. Add 1 tbsp lemon juice, sugar and vanilla extract. This works well.

Pull the pan out of the oven and spread the Sour cream layer as evenly as possible. Do not apply pressure.

- Back to the oven for 10 min.

- Once the cheesecake is done, open the door of the oven slightly and let the heat escape gradually. This will not shock your cheesecake with temperature changes.

After the cheesecake enjoys gradual cooling, bring it out of the oven and let it cool completely on a cooling rack for 2 -3 hours and then pop it in the refrigerator.

- Take lemon juice, water, corn starch and confectioner sugar(to taste) in a pan. Mix well to avoid any lumps. Add 2 drops of yellow food color.