This is our no-fuss but utterly delicious Italian spin on cheesecake. For this dessert, we don’t even bother to waste time making a traditional crust; instead, amaretto cookie crumbs provide a crunchy element that doesn’t distract from the velvety nature of the cake. A sweet-tart granita offers a counterbalance to the cake, and fresh peaches on top make it just as beautiful to look at as it is to eat. Here is how to make the perfect ricotta cake with fresh peaches and lemon granita.
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
Ingredients
Unsalted butter melted
9 oz amaretto cookie crumbs
14 oz cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
14 oz whole milk ricotta at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup lemon juice
zest from 2 lemons
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups water
6 ripe peaches, skinned, pitted, and cut into ½-inch thick slices
2 tablespoons honey
Directions
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Mix butter and cookie crumbs in a small bowl until well combined. Place on a jelly roll pan and toast for 6 to 8 minutes. Reserve.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add cream cheese and mix on low for 5 minutes. Add ricotta and sugar and mix 3 to 4 minutes. Then, add flour, vanilla, and zest and mix until just combined. Add eggs and mix for 2 minutes.
Butter a 9’’ springform pan and add batter. Place the pan in a roasting pan that is the same height or taller than the springform. Add boiling tap water to the roasting pan until water reaches halfway up the springform. (Be careful to keep water out of springform.) Delicately place the pan in the oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the cake has just set and the top is light golden brown. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool to room temperature in a pan. Place in refrigerator and chill for at least 4 hours.
Add lemon juice, zest, sugar, and water in a small saucepan and heat on medium until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool—strain zest. Place mixture in a metal bowl covers with Saran, and freeze. Stir the mixture occasionally until frozen. In a medium bowl, add peaches and toss with honey.
To assemble dessert: slice the cake and sprinkle a generous amount of cookie crumbs onto the serving plate. Add a slice of cake and top with several spoonfuls of peaches. Using a fork, scrape granita into a large spoonful and add to the serving plate.
