Week 13: South of France Lemon Cheesecake

This week's cheesecake is different from the other cheesecakes I've made up until this point.  No cream cheese used, rather, ricotta cheese.  On a positive note, this was by far the easiest cheesecake I've made to date!  On the other hand, and to be quite blunt, it is my least favorite cheesecake.  The texture was gritty, and the taste bland.  It's possible I overbaked the cheesecake, as the way to check for doneness of this cheesecake is different from those with the cream cheese base. 

Here is George Geary's South of France Lemon Cheesecake recipe:

2 lbs ricotta cheese, drained overnight (want to drain the ricotta cheese, otherwise there will be too much liquid)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
6 eggs
2 tsp orange zest
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl, stir ricotta cheese with a rubber spatula until creamy.  Next, add sugar and flour, mixing until blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, until each egg is mixed in thoroughly before adding the next.  Stir in orange zest, lemon zest, juice, cinnamon and vanilla.  Pour batter into prepared cheesecake pan (make sure to grease bottom and sides of pan).  In a 300 degree oven, bake for 75 - 90 minutes or until the tip of a knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool for two hours and then refrigerate for 6 hours.

So, a few things:

• Do not look for a jiggly center and browning edges as a sign of doneness
• Keep a close eye on the cheesecake.  I baked mine for 75 minutes (the min requirement indicated in this recipe), however, it still came out a little overbaked.
• This cheesecake has no crust, so make sure to grease bottom of cheesecake pan.