Cheese lover

Partiamo da un presupposto: ognuno ha dei vizi.

Ad ognuno il suo, non sono qui per giudicare, ma solo per fare mea culpa: io pure ho un vizietto duro a morire. Il formaggio.

Per quanto mi impegni non ne posso fare a meno, e il mio frigorifero non ne è mai sfornito, sia esso una forma misera di ricotta, o un ottimo asiago fresco. Come resistere, quindi, ad un morbido dessert fatto di formaggio?

La New York cheesecake originale è fatta con formaggio spalmabile (“cream cheese”) e uova. Molte uova. Io, spulciando qua e là e facendo qualche prova, sono arrivata a questa cheesecake all’italiana con ricotta, formaggio spalmabile (sic!) e un paio di ovetti, a rendere giustizia all’originale.

P.s. Io uso i biscotti di tipo Digestives, ma ho tentato con successo anche una versione senza glutine con dei biscotti secchi per celiaci. Ottimo, ottimo risultato!

english text

Let’s start with a premise: everybody has its own vice.

I’m not here to judge anyone, but I want to admit my fault: my die-hard bad habit is cheese.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t live without it: my fridge cannot be out of cheese, whether it’s a piece of Ricotta or a good fresh Asiago. Then, how could I resist to a soft dessert made of cheese?

The original New York Cheesecake is made with cream cheese and eggs. A lot of eggs. Having a look here and there and trying on my own, I have reached this “italian style” recipe with ricotta cheese, cream cheese (yes!) and a couple of eggs, just to do justice to the original.

P.s. I use Digestives for the base of the cake, but I have managed to do a gluten-free version with celiac-friendly breakfast biscuits. It works good!

Cheesecake italiana

• 180 g Digestives biscuits (or any other breakfast biscuit)
• 70 g softened butter
• 200 g cream cheese
• 400 g ricotta cheese
• 200 g full-fat cream
• 180 g sugar
• zest of half a lemon
• 2 eggs

Mince the biscuits and stir in the butter. Then create a base for the cake in a paper-lined baking pan (I used a 20 cm diameter pan), using a spoon to make it compact. Store in the fridge while making the cream.

Preheat the oven at 150°C. Whisk together cream cheese, ricotta cheese, cream, sugar, lemon zest and finally the eggs. Pour the cream onto the base, then put the pan in a bigger pan, which must be filled up with boiling water. Put them both in the oven and bake for an hour at 150°C (if your cake pan is not waterproof, then put the first pan in a second pan, and then finally in the boiling water pan. It sounds tricky, but is easier than it seems and it will save your work).

Let the cheesecake cool (it has to be baked but not golden!) and then store in the fridge for at least 6 hours.

Serve with fruit compote of fresh fruit, as you prefer.