Italian Lemon Cheesecake

This recipe I took from William and Sonoma which is my second favorite store in the whole world. 

When working with this recipe I focused on the three major parts: the fresh homemade cheese, the tart summer lemon, and the perfectly ground gingersnap walnut base. Taking your time with each step of this recipe is important. Something about Italian cheesecake always screams diva to me- so I make sure to exaggerate each step and give each part of the process it's own recognition. Each ingredient was brought back to it's base and most natural form. Instead of store ricotta, I used cheese I made myself. Lemon juice from freshly squeezed cold lemons. Each step is a different piece of the act that comes together to yield a dramatic Italian cheesecake. 

Ingredients: 

For the crust:

6 oz. gingersnap cookies 

1 1/4 cups walnuts 

1/4 cup sugar

5 Tbs. unsalted butter, or as needed, melted

 

For the filling:

1/2 lb of cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

2/3 cup heavy cream

Finely grated zest of 2 lemons 

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

 

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)

 

Directions: 

1. Make ricotta cheese. Recipe under cannoli filling. 

2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, grind the walnuts.  Grind gingersnaps as finely as you can, either in a food processor or mortar and pestle. Combine together in a food processor until uniform. Add the sugar and melted butter. Add a teaspoon of butter at a time until it begins to stick together. Mix and mold onto your 9 inch springform pan. Make sure you have an even base and work up the sides of the pan. It does not have to be even. In fact it will look nicer if it is not even. Bake at 325 for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Store in freezer until ready to use. 

I wanted a perfect crust that was completely uniform. I also wanted to really be apart of the grinding process.

3. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees. In a large bowl combine the cream cheese, ricotta, sugar, egg yolks, cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and salt until creamy.  If you do this in a food processor, process until creamy about 4-5 minutes. Pour into a large bowl and set aside. 

4. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the egg whites into the cheese mixture just until combined. 

Pour the mixture into the reserved chilled crust, smoothing the top.

5. Place the pan on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Then, raise the oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake until another 30-35 minutes until the top looks golden brown. The edges should appear firm. The center will still jiggle. Turn off the oven, open the door and leave it in the oven for about 3 hours. You will notice that the center will fall slightly, that is normal. 

6. Cover tightly with plastic wrap (do not let the wrap touch the surface) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. I used toothpicks to keep the Saran Wrap from touching the center. 

7. When ready to remove the cheesecake from the springform pan, first slowly run a knife around the sides of the cake to loosen them from the pan, then remove the pan sides. 

8. Use confectioners sugar to dust the top of the cheesecake.

Serve and enjoy! I was so excited all night while it was chilling, the next morning I came right down and ate it for breakfast. All the work was well worth it.