Lidia's Torti di Ricotta ~



I watched Lidia make this on her show Lidia's Italy,  recently and was suprised at how easy it is to make. I decided that I would add it to my family's Easter desserts.  And I am so happy I did.  It's a delicious cheesecake and everyone loved it. 

It tastes much lighter than the New York style cheesecakes that I have made in the past.  I made a strawberry reduction sauce to serve on the side. 

This cake is made with both ricotta and mascarpone cheese which makes it so creamy.

The most work one has to do when making this dessert is to drain the ricotta cheese in a sieve or a cheesecloth for a few hours before making it.  Other than that, it's a breeze to make.  And it takes literally minutes to put together and put in the oven.  I can't recommend this cheesecake enough and I'll make it from now on when I want to make an impressive dessert.

I omitted the raisins and pine nuts, but it was still fabulous.  I also didn't feel like I needed to go buy amaretti cookies, just to use 4 or 5 of them.  So, I crumbled digestive biscuits instead.  You can use any vanilla based cookie and it will be fine.

Lidia Bastianich's Torti di Ricotta ~

2 tablespoons softened butter
1/2 cup amaretto crumbs from about 4 or 5 amaretti
1/2 cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons dark rum
5 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups drained fresh ricotta, at room temperature
1 cup mascarpone, at room temperature
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush an 8-inch spring form pan with butter on the bottom and sides. Coat bottom and sides with amaretto crumbs, tapping out excess. Put raisins in a small bowl and pour rum over, let soak while you make the filling.

In a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat eggs, sugar and salt at high speed until foamy and the sugar has dissolved and no longer feels grainy, about 2 minutes. Add ricotta, mascarpone and zests. Drain raisins, set aside and add leftover rum to the mixer, mix on medium until smooth and fluffy, about another 2 minutes. Fold in raisins and pine nuts by hand.

Put spring form pan on a baking sheet and pour batter into pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake until edges are set and light golden but the center is still a bit jiggly, about 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack completely before cutting and serving.

Strawberry sauce:

1 lb. bag of frozen whole strawberries
1 cup of sugar
1 orange zest and juice (zest first and squeeze second)
1 Tbsp. orange liquor

In a medium saucepan on the stove, bring all of the ingredients to a boil.  Turn it down to a simmer and let it reduce and thicken.  Add 1 tablespoon of orange liquor and turn off stove.  Let sauce cool down to serve on the side.

Enjoy ~