Ricotta Cheesecake with Shortbread Crust

Baked over a thick buttery shortbread crust and topped with a sour cherry topping, this ricotta cheesecake will become your new favorite.

I owe you an explanation.

By now you are probably wondering, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH ALL THESE DESSERTS??!

Well, we ate them. ALL. ...Ha! No, not even.

Honestly, we froze them including this luscious cheesecake. That killed me- wrapping this beauty up and then storing her in a dark, cold ice box. Until Easter dear cheesecake!

That's right. All you Easter guests better come hungry and save room for dessert. Chances are, you will probably be going home with dessert too. Hey, if any of you wonderful blogger friends want to stop over and come help me cleanse the freezer of fudge, truffles, brownies and cheesecake, this is an open invite so hop on a bus, train, plane or what have you, and come celebrate! I kid you not, our freezer is packed.

Now that we have that squared away, let me explain to you the story behind this cheesecake.

Camilla of Culinary Adventures called upon several bloggers to help her celebrate her 15th Wedding Anniversary.

Well, if you yell 'cheesecake' to a bunch of bloggers this is what will happen- you'll get a whole lot more than just 15 bloggers with 15 different cheesecakes. Today, we are now celebrating and sharing 26 amazing cheesecakes. These are my kind of party people 😉

If you have been a long time reader of #LTG, then you know we LOVE our cheesecake, and while I have probably said this before about other cheesecakes I have made, I will say this one is by far the best.

I wanted to deviate a bit from the expected, and so I opted for a thick shortbread crust as opposed to a graham cracker crust. The filling is a combo of ricotta and cream cheese with notes of citrus. To top it off, I made a sour cherry topping, which is not too sour at all, so don't let the word 'sour' scare you.

Congratulations to Camilla and Jake. Cheers to you both and here is to many happy, beautiful and blessed years to come!

It has been such a pleasure celebrating with you.

xo,
Tammy & Catherine

Ricotta Cheesecake with Shortbread Crust

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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 11 reviews

• Author: Living the Gourmet
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Shortbread Crust:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup shortening

Ricotta Cheesecake:

• 3 eggs, beaten
• 11/4 cup Ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice

Sour Cherry Topping:

• 1 cup jarred sour cherries in syrup
• 2 tablespoons cherry syrup
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoons cornstarch

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Instructions

Shortbread Crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Made a well in the center and add the egg, vanilla and fat.
3. Using a pastry blender of your fingers, mix until a soft dough forms.
4. Fit to the bottom of a springform pan. Blind bake for about 10 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly.

Ricotta Cheesecake:

1. In the same bowl you used to mix your shortbread crust, whisk together ricotta and cream cheese until smooth. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, vanilla, orange zest and orange juice. Mix until all is incorporated.
2. Pour over the prepared shortbread crust. Bake cheesecake in a water bath (be sure to wrap the pan with tinfoil before placing into water bath) for about 40 minutes, or until golden and slightly firm. Remove and let cool and set before refrigerating.

Sour Cherry Topping:

1. Place sour cherries in a small saucepan with 2 tablespoons syrup over medium low heat.
2. Whisk together sugar and cornstarch, then add to cherries. Stir until the mixture becomes thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Remove let cool to room temperature before topping the cheesecake.
3. Best when served chilled. Enjoy!

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Category: Dessert

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1

Today we are helping Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla celebrate her 15th wedding anniversary with waaaayy more than #fifteencheesecakes.

Here's what everyone brought to the cheesecake table, listed in alphabetical order. Enjoy!

Linking up to these parties and here.