lemon » Kavey Eats

I recently found myself with some beautiful fresh buffalo ricotta and a plump Amalfi lemon. Courtesy of The Sauce, they were part of a Campania taster box that also contained buffalo mozzarella, fennel salami, sopressata di Gioi (a cured pork sausage with a core of lard) and a Bagnoli truffle.

I wasn’t sure how best to use them but when Pete suggested a cheesecake, I was immediately excited. I had the remnants of a packet of digestive biscuits to use up and it’s the kind of recipe that I knew I could make up as I went.

The result was well balanced in both taste and texture and very quick and easy too.

I opted to make 6 mini cheesecakes in individual glass ramekins but you could make one larger cheesecake if you prefer.

(No Bake) Mini Lemon Ricotta Cheesecakes

Ingredients
120 grams digestive biscuits
50 grams butter
240 grams ricotta
100 ml lemon juice (from 1 large lemon or two medium lemons)
75 grams icing sugar
Optional: lemon zest

Method

Crush the digestive biscuits into crumbs. I use a clear bag (so I can see how I’m progressing) and a wooden rolling pin. Don’t be too aggressive or you’ll burst the bag and get biscuit crumbs everywhere!

Melt the butter. I do this by heating in the microwave for 20-30 seconds but you can also use a saucepan on the stove.
Mix the melted butter into the digestive crumbs thoroughly.

Divide the cheesecake base evenly between 6 individual ramekins and use the back of a spoon to press down and smooth evenly around the ramekin.

Zest the lemon and then juice. I recommend using a finer grater than I did, to produce much smaller zest.

In a large bowl combine the ricotta, lemon juice and icing sugar. You may prefer to hold some of the sugar back and add more after tasting.
Mix thoroughly until the ricotta has broken down completely and the ingredients have formed a thick cream. You may need to beat the mixture a little to make it smoother.
Taste and add more sugar if necessary.
Divide the mixture between the ramekins and tap to distribute evenly.
Sprinkle lemon zest over each dish.