SICILIAN RICOTTA CHEESECAKE RECIPE RECIPES

Steps:

• 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 9 inch 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 off 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

Steps:

• I prefer to use sheep's cheese ricotta for its more pronounced taste and for the contrast of the savouriness with the candied fruits and cinnamon. 

  For the pastry

  combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, almond meal and chopped butter in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Or, if you are doing it by hand, gently and quickly rub the butter through the flour mixture between your fingers until it turns into coarse crumbs.

  Turn on to the bench and make a well in the centre. Add the beaten egg and gently bring the mixture together with your hands, kneading lightly until it forms a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.

  For the filling

   Place the ricotta in a colander to drain for about 1 hour.

  Preheat oven to 170C (or 160C if you have a fan-forced oven). Butter a 26cm flan tin.

  Toast the pinenuts in the oven until light golden. Soak the chopped sultanas in the marsala. Finely chop the candied fruit.

  In a bowl, beat the ricotta with the sugar, then add the eggs, one by one, beating until smooth and well incorporated. Fold in the sultanas and marsala, the candied fruits and citrus rind, the cinnamon and then the sifted flour. Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to 1 - 2 cm thickness and use it to line the flan tin. Press into shape and trim edges.

  Pour the ricotta mixture into the pastry and bake for 1 hour or until lightly golden.

  The cake should feel slightly firm and may crack in the centre. Cool completely before removing from the tin.

  This is best served cold and is even better the next day.

  This recipes is featured in the book, Autumn is available now in all good bookstores RRP $34.95. To order direct call 1300 656 059 or visit www.smh.com.au/store