Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake With Blueberry Sauce
This is a very easy, traditional Italian cheesecake made with ricotta cheese that I first posted to this blog back in 2002. Apparently this recipe got lost when I moved to my new blog format years ago because I just recently realized it was no longer on the blog.
I had two different people email me just before Easter this year asking about this recipe, and why I removed it from Italian Food Forever. They both stated that it was their favorite Italian cheesecake recipe and asked if I would email it to them. Remembering exactly what recipe they were looking for, I checked the blog and was surprised to see that it was in fact no longer posted there!
Unfortunately, every time I update my blog and change designs, it often requires changes in recipes, especially images. Although I tried my best to take new, larger photos of most of my best recipes for the latest blog design, some got missed, like this tasty cheesecake recipe.
This recipe uses just ricotta cheese, no cream cheese, sugar, eggs, lemon, and a little flour. It is very easy to make, and you end up with a very moist, tender cheesecake that has a subtle lemon flavor that pairs perfectly with a blueberry sauce. I was very happy that I had an excuse to make this cake again, and am even happier to be able to share it with you!
Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele
Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake With Blueberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds Ricotta Cheese
- 2/3 Cup White Sugar
- 1/3 Cup All-purpose Flour
- 6 Eggs
- Zest From 1 Lemon
- 1 Teaspoon Lemon Extract
Sauce:
- 3 Cups Fresh or Frozen Blueberries
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 3 Teaspoons Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Spray a 9 inch springform pan with baking spray.
- In a large bowl, beat the ricotta cheese with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
- Beat in the sugar and flour until blended, then beat in the eggs, one at a time.
- Beat in the lemon zest and extract.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the center is just about set, about an hour and 10 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack. (The cheesecake will sink as it cools!)
- While the cheesecake is baking, place the berries, lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Cook until the sauce has thickened, stirring often.
- Set the sauce aside until needed.
- Serve the cheesecake in slices with a spoonful of the sauce on top.
Wow, this looks amazing! And easy, as you said. I was wondering, does this require a springform pan? Or could you make it in a large pie dish or cake pan?
Terry, I’ve only used a springform pan.
That looks great! Since there is only a bit of flour in it, do you think it would be possible to substitute it with potato flour?
I haven’t tried it, but I think rice flour or coconut flour would be better substitutions.
I made this for guests last night. Despite beating the fresh ricotta until it was smooth, the end result still had a ‘cottage cheese’ dry texture on the tongue. We all thought the flavour was lovely and subtle and the sauce (essentially jam) delicious but the cake was not popular.
Sorry to hear that. I never had that experience. Do make sure that you use a full fat ricotta cheese, and do not overbake the cheesecake.
Wow!  This is “the best cake I’ve ever eaten” says my finicky husband.  I live in ricotta country here in the Appenines where i can find it (still warm!!) at the  alimentari.  I’m so glad to have such a wonderful way to use it.  Grazie mille!!
Aly, glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Since I was only cooking this recipe for two – I halved it and used my smaller spring form pan. It came out perfectly! (I reduced the cooking time a bit)
I made my own ricotta from milk, cream, salt and lemon juice. It is worth the extra effort. I don’t usually have cream cheese on hand so this recipe works perfectly for me. Thank you!
could i substitute gluten-free flour for regular?
I’ve never tried using gluten-free flour so I can’t recommend it. If you do use it, let me know how it works out.