Authentic Sicilian ricotta cake recipe, easy, gluten free and decadent. Simply baked creamy whole milk ricotta cheese mixed together with a bit of coconut flour, organic eggs, vanilla, some orange or lemon zest and a little sugar for sweetness. Basically an Italian style cheesecake!
Below I shared the classic recipe with you, feel free to get creative depending on the occasion.
During the winter holidays I top it with my cranberry blackberry sauce for a festive presentation, and during the spring and summer months a light dusting of powdered sugar is more than enough. Okay maybe garnish with a couple of pink peonies for Easter 😉
Go for a light lemon glaze, or add some organic dark chocolate chips to the batter.
During summer I’m really fond of piling pitted fresh sweet cherries on top, some shavings of dark chocolate and maybe some fresh lemon balm.. You could go for thin layer of this lemon curd and whatever berries are looking pretty that day.
Feel free to make a graham cracker crust but I really think this one is best without a base. Also, there shall be no cream cheese, no heavy cream, no sour cream and absolutely no cake mix involved, ever! Unless of course you want the Sicilian police ( Carabinieri ) looking for you and have a sit down. 😉
Note worthy:
- Since this is a cheesecake, remember to refrigerate your ricotta cake.
- Very important to use whole milk ricotta cheese when making this recipe.
- Use super fine sugar or your cake will end up having a grainy texture.
P.S. If you don’t have any superfine sugar on hand, use your food processor and buzz up some granulated sugar for about 35 seconds or so and voila, superfine!
Sicilian Ricotta Cheesecake
A gluten free authentic Italian style cheesecake from Sicily, made of whole milk ricotta cheese, fantastic served warm or chilled.
Servings 6
Calories 466kcal
Ingredients
- 2 eggs -organic at room temperature
- 3/4 cups superfine sugar
- 1/2 tbsp baking powder
- 1 lb ricotta cheese -whole milk and organic
- 1 lemon or orange -zested (about 2 tsp)
- 1 vanilla bean -seeds only
- 4 tbsp salted butter -organic at room temperature
- 2 1/2 tbsp coconut flour organic
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar for garnish
Orange or Lemon Glaze
- 2 tbsp orange or lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups Powder sugar organic
Instructions
- A few hours before baking, place the whole milk ricotta cheese in a cheesecloth lined strainer over a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit in the refrigerate to drain.
- Preheat your oven to 350”F.
- In the bowl of your mixer whisk together the eggs and sugar until nice and creamy. Add the butter one tablespoon at a time until nicely incorporated. Add the orange or lemon zest and scrape in the vanilla seeds. Add the baking powder and coconut flour and using a spatula mix to combine. Fold in the ricotta cheese.
- Butter a small spring form cake pan and sprinkle it all over with some of the sugar to lightly coat the bottom and the sides. Spoon the cake mixture in the pan and set the pan on a baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown around the sides and pulls away slightly from the sides. Your house should smell amazing by now, and that’s a good indicator the cake is ready.Allow the cake to cool completely before unfolding the spring-form pan.
- Set on a serving platter and sprinkle with powder sugar or make a light glaze to drizzle on top.
Orange / Lemon Glaze
- Whisk together the lemon or orange juice with the powdered sugar until smooth and thick to your liking. Add more sugar if needed but the glaze will harden up regardless. Pour over the cheesecake after it has cooled down and garnish with extra lemon zest.
Nutrition
Calories: 466kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 113mg | Sodium: 160mg | Potassium: 200mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 58g | Vitamin A: 650IU | Vitamin C: 3.2mg | Calcium: 210mg | Iron: 0.7mg
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