ricotta Archives - Sugar et al

Blueberry Ricotta Cake

2|09|2022

Cake or Cheesecake, which one do you love? What if you could have something in between? This blueberry ricotta cake is just that. It has a soft, moist texture dense enough but not creamy like a cheesecake. Fresh blueberries add a burst of sweetness while the addition of citrus zest adds flavour and freshness. It is truly such a delicious combination.

It’ not only a very simple cake to make where everything is pretty much mixed in one bowl, I’ve kept the frosting simple by using whipped cream. It looks so colourful but it is basically just whipped cream, part of which is colored and then piped onto the cake. A simple dusting of icing sugar would work as well if a frosting is not your thing.

If you’re fond of creamy Ricotta cheese, you will love my Baked, Ricotta Cheesecake and 3 Delicious Ways to use Up Leftoover Ricotta Cheese

Blueberry Ricotta Cake
Makes an 8 inch round cake

250g smooth ricotta, room temperature
2/3 cups castor sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
90g unsalted butter, melted
1tbsp freshly grated orange zest (or lemon zest)
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (or 1tbsp lemon juice)
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Extra blueberries, to decorate

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease the base and sides of an 8-inch round pan with 3-inch height and line the base with baking paper.

In a large bowl, beat the ricotta, sugar and eggs until well blended. Add the butter, orange zest and juice. Beat for 1/2 a minute. Fold in the flour and almond meal until just combined. Fold in the blueberries.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until cooked through. A skewer inserted in the middle of the cake should come out clean. Remove from oven. Set aside for 5 minutes, then gently turn onto a wire rack to cool.

Once completely cool, pipe or dollop whipped cream. Decorate with fresh blueberries.

Baked Cardamom Ricotta Cheesecake with Western Union for Mother’s Day

13|05|2018

This post is brought to you by Western Union. All opinions expressed in this post as always are entirely my own.

Mother’s Day every year is a walk down memory lane. Precious moments from childhood, the countless times Mum put us first in her life, her persistent encouragement through all these years and the lessons that she taught us for life. Some of my fondest memories growing up were when I would watch her in the kitchen cook with deft and skill with a handful of ingredients and turn them into a delicious 5 course meal. She was (still is) a clever cook, always ready with some useful tip or trick up her sleeve. ‘Cooking doesn’t have to be cumbersome.’ she would say whilst entertaining a large number of guests every weekend who were always in awe of her. The most important culinary lesson I’ve learnt from her that I embrace all the time in my kitchen- simple ingredients and lots of colour. Today Mum is far away back in India but I feel closer to her by recreating her ‘sondesh’ with a modern touch to it for my little boys.

I’m absolutely delighted to be partnering with Western Union for this very special day. As a result of moving money across 200+ countries, Western Union’s customers are incredibly diverse-just like the world we live in and the food we eat.
One of the simplest ways that we can appreciate and express cultural diversity is by sharing food. Meals are much more than food on a plate. They are ways we can find common ground. The comfort that comes with a delicious recipe lovingly prepared by Mom is universal. Western Union believes in celebrating the little things like the food we eat, places we’ve been, our Mums or the reason why we send funds because they are important part of what makes us, who we are.

‘Sondesh’ was a popular delicacy in Bengali households when I was growing up. Three simple ingredients (chana/ricotta cheese, sugar and ground cardamom) and whoa! You have a dessert that is light and just melts in your mouth. Mum would go about garnishing them with various nuts like pistachios, dried orange peel, spices and they would look like they could give the local sweet shops a run for their money. Yes, it’s obvious I inherited my sweet tooth from her! This Cardamom Ricotta Cheesecake is inspired by my Mum’s ‘sondesh’ recipe. It has the same ingredients except that it is baked and uses eggs to set the filling. Thanks to the rise of global citizenship, we can find new ways all over the world to add a unique touch to our Mother’s traditional recipes while sharing with friends. To decorate the cheesecake, I’ve used strawberries that have been soaked in rosewater (another favourite from childhood). It’s a really simple, light-crust less cheesecake that is so refreshing to taste.

So, tell me dear readers, what is your favourite dish cooked by your Mum? Do you make it just the way Mum did or do you have a version inspired by it? I’m really excited to know!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the beautiful Mums, Grandmums, would-be Mums and anyone who plays this role in your life!

Cardamom Ricotta Cheesecake
Makes an 8 inch round cheesecake that serves 6-8 people

750 g smooth ricotta
1/3 cup castor sugar
1 tsp powdered cardamom
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Method : Preheat oven to 170 degrees C (150 degrees C for fan-forced ovens). Grease the base and sides of an 8 inch Springform pan. With an electric mixer or a hand mixer, beat the ricotta, sugar and powdered cardamom together till smooth. Add the egg, a little at a time and continue to beat till fully blended.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth the top and tap the pan gently a few times on the bench top to get rid of air bubbles.

Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until a crust starts to form all over the cheesecake (the top will become light golden brown) and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn off oven, leave the door ajar and let cheesecake cool completely before releasing the sides.

Refrigerate until serving. When ready to serve, top with rosewater macerated strawberries. Decorate with edible flowers.

Rosewater Macerated Strawberries
1 punnet strawberries (250 g), hulled and sliced
1 tablespoon castor sugar
1 tsp rosewater

Method : Combine strawberries, castor sugar and rosewater in a medium bowl. Cover with cling film and place in the refrigerator for an hour.
Note : Powdered cardamom is available at most local supermarkets as well as Indian stores. Rosewater can be bought online as well as in Indian supermarkets.

Baked Ricotta Cheesecake

19|08|2017

What do you do when you have left-over lemon curd and ricotta cheese at home? It happens, right? Especially the lemon curd. You throw them together, add in a few other ingredients (all of which are in your pantry) and voila…you have a cheesecake! It looks and tastes every bit like a lemon cheesecake but it’s lighter, healthier and a whole lot simpler. Notice the golden crust all around? It’s created by baking the ricotta. In other words, you completely skip the cookie crust or shortbread base and all the butter that goes with it and you still end up with a golden crust and a soft, creamy interior.

This Baked Ricotta Cheesecake is truely a delight to make and eat. If you’ve ever tasted baked ricotta otherwise, it’s a healthy breakfast or dessert option. However, it is a bit bland and does not really have any flavour by itself. By adding lemon curd to the recipe, not only does it taste lemony and delicious but it’s way more convenient than juicing and zesting lemons. I’ve used store bought lemon curd for mine to keep it quick and easy. You’ll be done with the mixing in 10 minutes but the cheesecake takes a bit of time to bake. I don’t remember last when I’ve opened my oven door to take a peek as many times I’ve done for this one to see the golden crust. And then you patiently wait for it cool and set which is such a torture I tell you. But hang in there for you will be rewarded soon. Top the cheesecake with fresh fruit, fruit coulis, nuts, chocolate shavings or anything you like.

I’ve noticed that the cheesecake hardens up a bit if kept in the refrigerator, so it’s best eaten at room temperature. If you are planning on making it ahead of any occasion, you could store in the fridge but let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before you serve.

Baked Ricotta Cheesecake
Makes an 8 inch round cheesecake

1 kg fresh ricotta (full cream or low fat)
1 cup lemon curd (home made or store bought)
1 cup castor sugar (or more if you like it sweeter)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 eggs, lightly beaten
Fresh strawberries, to serve
Strawberry coulis/sauce to serve

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C (150 degrees C for fan forced ovens). Grease the base and sides an 8 inch springform pan.
With an electric mixer or an hand mixer, beat the ricotta, lemon curd, sugar and vanilla together till smooth. Add the egg, a little at a time and continue to beat till fully blended.

Pour the mixture in to the prepared pan. Smooth the top and tap the pan gently a few times on the bench top to get rid of air bubbles. Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until a crust starts to form all over the cheesecake (the top will become golden) and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn off oven, leave the door ajar and let cheesecake cool completely before releasing the sides.

Served best at room temperature with fresh strawberries. and strawberry coulis.

Eggless Chocolate Cake

27|05|2016

Many times when I go to a gathering, I’m introduced to people who are new to me as the ‘one who makes cakes!’. I am pretty sure, if you are a blogger, you can relate. You’ll probably be the one ‘ with a food blog’ or the ‘great cook’ or one who ‘knows everything about food’. After that there are so many questions. I’ll share the ones I get asked the most. Who eats your creations? Do you sell your cakes? Why don’t you? Do you make gluten free, fat free, sugar free, eggless cakes? Well honestly the first few cannot be answered in a word or two. Sometimes I explain, sometimes I just give them a smile. The last one, I am happy to answer. Gluten free, yes, fat-free, yes, Sugar free, never!, Eggless..?? That gets me thinking. I come from that part of the world where being vegetarian or vegan is not uncommon. Though my immediate family is not, throughout my growing up years I have come across people who don’t eat eggs. Yet, I was always the one to advocate for eggs in cakes. Cakes need eggs, I would tell myself! Then one day I was invited to someone’s house who happened to be a non-egg eater and treated to chocolate cake. ‘Try it’ they said ‘It’s quite nice’. I didn’t want to be rude but I didn’t like it. The hostess sensed my displeasure and said to me’ Why don’t you come up with a good eggless chocolate cake. You are the baker!’ I thought about it and thought of the number of times people have requested me for an eggless cake recipe. It is true! I bake almost everyday, I play with ingredients all the time, If I am not able to crack this, what’s the point in me doing what I do? So I took it upon myself to test out recipes for a good egg-free cake recipe. Not just a recipe that is made without eggs and is edible but a recipe that can measure up to a great chocolate cake. After a few attempts and failures, I found my Eggless Chocolate Cake!

Like most of my recipes, the focus has been to keep it simple and as easy as possible. The cake is moist, dense and fudgy. This is not a sponge cake but it is not rich either. It is actually like a warm hug of chocolate and incredibly delicious. The core ingredient that gives the cake it’s amazing texture is Ricotta Cheese. The cooking time is a bit long as it is cooked slowly over a low temperature. The Eggless Chocolate Cake is great even with a dusting of icing sugar if you want to skip the ganache. The cake tastes best when served warm or at room temperature.

Eggless Chocolate Cake
Makes an 8 inch round cake

200 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
100 g unsalted butter
1 tub (375 g) ricotta cheese
2 cups self-raising flour
1 1/4 cup castor sugar
1 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C (140 degrees C for fan-forced ovens). Grease the base and sides of an 8 inch round cake pan and line the base with baking paper.

In a large saucepan that is placed over a pot of boiling water melt the butter and chocolate together. Alternatively this can be done in short bursts in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl. Mix to blend well, remove from heat and leave aside to cool slightly (about 10 minutes). Add the sugar, ricotta cheese, water and self raising flour and mix well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Stand in the pan for 10 minutes. Then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, serve with a dusting of icing sugar or top with chocolate ganache (recipe below).

Drizzle or slowly spoon ganache over the cake. Decorate with shaved chocolate, chocolate chips, berries, edible flowers or nuts.

Chocolate Ganache

150 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
1/4 cup heavy/thickened cream

Microwave method : Place chocolate and cream in a glass or ceramic microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium (50%) for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds with a metal spoon, or until smooth. Stand at room temperature until thickened.

If cooking on the gas, heat the cream over low heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat, add the chopped dark chocolate and leave aside. After 10 minutes, mix to blend. Stand at room temperature until thickened.