Everyone keeps moaning about the cost of things… £3 for coffee, £2 for tea, £4 for some cake. I swear, if I hear any more complaints I’m going to stop inviting people around.

Fortunately this newsletter continues to be free (at least until I get a business degree), so you can save yourself some money with this week’s delicious dessert: ‘burnt’ ricotta cheesecake.

It’s essentially a Basque cheesecake (a dish every London restaurant felt compelled to have on their menu last year) but with an Italian twist.

This week’s album: 
For Broken Ears by Tems

While the Basque cheesecake is immense, a similar crustless ricotta cake is often served in Italy.

This week we’re combining the two, using the ingredients from the Italian version but the cooking method from the Basque one.

This means using ricotta (which is wonderfully light) instead of cream cheese, and adding some lemon zest and vanilla. The latter two additions are completely optional but, as we’re not using a rich / high fat cheese, this flavour pairing will create an extra dimension.

You can pull this recipe together in 15 mins, but it’s the cooking method that makes the dish so worth doing. We’ll bake the cheesecake at a much higher temperature than usual, and deliberately ‘undercook’ it.

Doing this creates the ‘burnt crust’ on top and around the edge, but keeps the centre soft, creamy, and custard-like. Think flan more than cheesecake.

The above is a Basque cheesecake from Brat - a really great London restaurant that (probably) was one of the first to bring Basque onto most menus.

The below serves 10-12. It takes 15 mins to prep, then 40 mins to cook (with 1 hour of cooling). 

900g ricotta
200g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod (or 1 tbsp vanilla extract)
1 lemon (zest only)
1 pinch of sea salt
40g flour
6 eggs

1. Preheat your oven to 200°c/180°c fan. Grease and flour a 20-22cm springform cake tin.


2. Add the ricotta, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and a pinch of sea salt to a mixing bowl. Whisk everything together until completely smooth and uniform.

NOTE: if you have a stand mixer/KitchenAid then I would recommend using this. Otherwise use an electric or hand whisk.


3. Sift in the flour and gently incorporate into the mixture until completely dispersed.


4. Add the eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is again completely uniform.


5. Transfer the mixture to the greased and floured cake tin. Tap a few times against a work surface to remove any air pockets and flatten the top.


6. Put the tin on the middle shelf of the oven and set a timer for 35 mins. After 35 mins, increase the oven temp to 230°c/220°c fan and cook for a further 5 mins (or until the top has darkened and formed a crust).


7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 1 hour.

Note: when you remove the cheesecake it will be risen, puffy, and slightly wobbly. This is what we want. It will sink and firm up as it cools.


8. After an hour, remove the cheesecake from the tin and transfer to a plate or board. It should still be a little warm and this is when it’s best to eat. Portion up and enjoy.

You can make this ahead of time (just store in the fridge and take it out an hour or so before serving so that it comes up to room temp). It's great with stewed fruits or fresh berries, but is equally good enough on its own.

Have a deliciously unhealthy Easter.

Fraser

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