It is exactly one week away from Valentine’s Day. If you have a Valentine, you are probably trying to figure out what to get them or what to prepare for a romantic dinner.
If you don’t have someone special, then I suggest you get on that and hurry up and find someone. Time’s a-wasting! Of course, baking up one of these cheesecakes might help you in your pursuit! 😉
If you have been perusing food blogs for Valentine’s ideas, I am sure you have had your fill of chocolate and Nutella (especially since it was World Nutella Day this past Saturday). We enjoy chocolate as much as anyone, but we also love cheesecake! I personally adore the really fattening cheesy, rich and decadent cheesecake with pounds of cream cheese, but my Italian hubs prefers a true Italian Ricotta Cheesecake. And after all…it is all about him on Valentine’s Day!
This version is definitely a bit lighter (sort of). I make it with Calabro whole-milk ricotta. I find that it really makes a difference when you use a better ricotta and this is my favorite.
The recipe calls for vanilla and cinnamon, but with all of the Meyer Lemons (remember those?!) that were in my house, I had to include them in everything we have been eating this dessert! I substituted Meyer Lemon zest and Amaretto for the vanilla and cinnamon. We loved the subtle lemon and boozy almond flavors with the cheesecake and would definitely add more next time (if someone hasn’t consumed all the Amaretto!!).
We loved the Meyer Lemon in the cheesecake so much and since we are totally obsessed blessed with a few more jars of Meyer Lemon Curd, we topped the cheesecake with some of that awesome stuff! My hubs still can’t quit licking his spoon!
A citrus glaze would work well as a topping, too. I personally like these flavors with the ricotta cheese more than the vanilla and cinnamon. I’m just sayin’…you can do what you like.
The cheesecake took about an hour an a half to properly cook. The filling was cooked (I checked twice!) although it did not brown at all. I did not want to overcook the cake and dry it out. It stayed moist and creamy and we enjoyed it for days! Then we ran around the block a few times…
If you are looking for an alternative to rich and chocolaty desserts for this Valentine’s Day, I highly recommend baking one of these up for your sweetie!
Adapted quite a bit from Allrecipes.com.