Heart Shaped Ricotta Cream Cheese Cheesecake

This is my second time trying to bake with ricotta. There was a "disaster" when I baked Ricotta Cream Cheese Cheesecake for the first time, due to my impatient the cheesecake was not long enough in the fridge, it collapsed when I dislodged it from the tray.  Luckily it doesn't happen on my Valentine's Cheesecake!

It should be a raspberry cheesecake in the begining. The idea came from Coffee Beans when one morning I got chance to eat their raspberry cheesecake, it was lovely and beautiful. I love the raspberry pink! Unfortunately, I couldn't get hold of raspberries on the day of baking so I turned the cheesecake into pink using the cherry red food colouring. Bottom layer of the cheesecake is with cherry red food colouring and top layer is by mixing a bit of cheery red into the original cheesecake mixture. I used the recipe from Joy of Baking as I really love the light, fluffy and creamy taste of the cheesecake.

Recipe adapted from Joy of Baking

My heart shaped baking pan is smaller than the one suggested by Joy of Baking, I halfed the ingredients.

Ingredients:
Crust:
50g digestive biscuit crumbs
1 tbsp granulated white sugar
30g unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
250g fresh whole milk ricotta, drained
110g cream cheese, room temperature (use full fat, not reduced or fat free cream cheese)
100g granulated white sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch (I didn't half this ingredient)
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 zest of orange
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
cherry red food colouring

Topping:
White chocolate
pumpkin pie spice

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease the springform pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with two layers of heavy aluminum foil.

For Crust:
1. In a bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter.
2. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom of the springform pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

For Filling:
1. In bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, place the cream cheese and beat until smooth and free of lumps.
2. Add the ricotta and sugar and beat until smooth (about 2-3 mins), scraping down the bowl as needed.
3. Beat in cornstarch. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating about 30 seconds after each addition.
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the orange zest, and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.
5. Take out 1/4 of the cheesecake mixture, add in a few drops of cherry red food colouring, stir until incorporated.
6. Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour in the filling which is pink colour. Place the springform pan in a large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of your springform pan.
7. Bake for 15 mins on the top layer of the oven. Remove the pan from oven, pour in the remaining cheesecake mixture. (Note: I didn't catch the right timing to take out the cheesecake, it was still a bit watery and portion of the cherry red cheesecake mixure mixed with the original cheesecake liquid when I poured in the second layer mixture, I stirred the top layer a bit to make the colour even)
8. Bake for 30 mins or until the top of the cheesecake has lightly browned and the center of the cake move slightly when the springform pan is gently shaken.
9. Remove the springform pan from the water bath and cool on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate until the cheesecake is cold, about 3-4 hours (as my baking pan is smaller, I halfed the cooling time as well)  
10. Decorate the cheesecake with white chocolate and pumpkin pie spice.


 

Cheesecake top with white chocolate and pumpkin pie spice.

I am submitting this post to "Aspiring Bakers #4: Love In The Air! (Feb 2011)", hosted by Cuisine Paradise