Ricotta and apple baked cheesecake recipe

By Eric Lanlard from Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard

Traditional baked cheesecake with cinnamon and apple from Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard

Ingredients

For the base

200g digestive biscuits
75g unsalted butter, melted

For the filling

2 Cox's apples
50g unsalted butter
50g golden caster sugar
2 tbsp calvados
900g ricotta cheese
200g caster sugar
50g plain flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs beaten

For the topping

1-2 Cox's apples
½ tsp cinnamon
25g soft brown sugar
Icing sugar, to dust

For the spun sugar

200g unrefined caster sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and grease a loose bottomed 22cm springform tin with butter. Line the base with baking paper.
Prepare the base by crushing digestives in a freezer bag with a rolling pin. Place the crushed biscuits in a bowl and mix with the melted butter then press the biscuit mixture evenly into base of the prepared tin. Bake for 10 minutes then remove and cool for at least 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 170°C/gas mark 3.
For the filling, peel and core the apples and cut into small cubes. Melt the butter in frying pan, add the caster sugar and sauté apple cubes until they turn golden brown, shaking the pan so the apples don’t stick. Pour the Calvados into the pan, set alight to flambé then leave to cool.
Place the ricotta in a large bowl and stir with a spatula until smooth. Stir in the caster sugar, flour, cinnamon and vanilla, then gradually add the eggs to the ricotta mixture, one at a time. Finally, sieve the cubes of sautéed apple to remove any remaining liquid and gently fold the apple cubes into the cheesecake mixture. Pour the cheesecake filling onto the cooked biscuit base.
For the topping, peel and core the apples and cut into thin slices. Arrange on top of the cheesecake mixture. Sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar over the top.
Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for about 1½ hours – until the cheesecake is a golden colour. Make sure the centre is fairly firm and that the point of sharp knife inserted in centre comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the tin on wire rack. The cheesecake will sink slightly as it cools. Cover and chill until ready to serve, and finish with a dusting of icing sugar.
To make the spun sugar, heat the caster sugar on the hob to make a dark caramel. Once it has melted and turned a deep golden brown colour, plunge the pan into the sink of cold water and allow to cool and thicken for a couple of minutes. Then cover your kitchen floor with some newspaper and find a friend to help – your friend needs to stand holding two wooden spoons, which have been lightly oiled with sunflower oil. Your friend needs to hold one spoon in each hand, while you quickly ‘spin’ the sugar between the two wooden spoons. The spun sugar will quickly set, then you can use it to decorate the top of your cheesecake.

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Monday 18 April 2011