Tina: I really enjoy making this cake and eating it too! It can be a lovely afternoon treat with a coffee, or served as a dessert just by itself.

 

I decided to make this cake a few years ago, when I was in Sydney working for an Italian cheese monger. Quite often at the end of the week we had a lot of left over fresh ricotta cheese so I decided to create a cake using the ricotta drawing inspiration from Sicily as I had been there previously and loved all the bijou like candied fruits on display in the pastry shops and my favourite gelato flavour is by far cassata. Yum!

 

This baked cheesecake is quite exotic in its flavours, yet easy to make.

 

Baked Sicilian Ricotta Cheesecake

500g fresh ricotta cheese
150g caster sugar
5 eggs- seperated
3 Tablespoons of plain flour
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 teaspoons of orange blossom water
Grated zest of 1/2 a lemon
75g (1/3 cup) diced candied orange and lemon peel

Method:
Preheat oven to 160 degrees. Butter a 22-24cm round springform cake tin and line with baking paper.
In a food processor process ricotta cheese, sugar, egg yolks, orange blossom water and lemon zest.
In a seperate bowl beat egg whites until they are white and stiff.
Fold cheese mix into egg whites along with flour, cinnamon and the candied diced peel.
Tip cake mix into prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes.
Serve warm or cold with a dusting of icing sugar.