Limoncello Cheesecake

I’m well known for not being able to stop myself tinkering with a recipe – the first time I follow a recipe, I try my hardest to keep to the rules but surely the beauty of baking is that the second time around you have a play? Dr. Oetker have given me permission to do just that. I was asked to try out making their divine Limoncello Cheesecake with my own personal twist.

This is a real luxurious, light yet rich tasting cheesecake. I don’t normally use ricotta as a cheesecake filling (I’ve always thought it would be a little too ‘cheesy’) but was pleasantly surprised. I will definitely use ricotta again (I’ve got another 2 pots left in the fridge for a start).

My version of the Limoncello Cheesecake contains crunchy crushed Amaretti biscuits – the flavours balance so well and the crunch is a welcome addition – I even use more crushed biscuits for decoration.

To make the Limoncello Cheesecake:

Ingredients:

(Sponge)
1 x Large Egg
40g (1.5 oz) Caster Sugar
2.5ml (1/2 tsp) Dr. Oetker Sicilian Lemon Extract
25g (1 oz) Plain Flour

(For the cheesecake)
400g (13.5oz) Dr. Oetker Fine Cooks’ White Chocolate
5ml (1tsp) Dr. Oetker Madagascan Vanilla Extract
275g (9.5oz) Ricotta Cheese – At room temperature
75ml (5 tbsp) Limoncello
Dr. Oetker Sunshine Yellow Gel Food Colour
5g Icing Sugar
1 x Lemon for decorative rind

Optional – 7 (+2 for decoration) crushed Amaretti biscuits

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190C, grease & line a 7″ square cake tin
2. Using an electric mixer, whisk together the caster sugar, egg and lemon extract for at least 3 minutes until pale and thickened
3. Sift & fold in the flour with a metal spoon – be careful to fold not stir and you want all the air you have just whisked in to stay
4. Spoon this mixture into the cake tin and bake for 10 mins until golden and a skewer comes out clean – Leave to cool on a wire rack
5. Line a 500g (1lb 2oz) loaf tin with cling film (see tip below) – cut a large enough piece of the now cooled sponge to fit snugly into the bottom of the loaf tin
6. Melt 100g of the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of boiling water – be careful that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Remove the bowl from the heat
7. Mix in 75g (3oz) ricotta and the vanilla extract and mix thoroughly – Place it in the tin on top of the sponge. Bang on the surface to get rid of any air pockets and chill for 30 mins (see tip below for speedy chilling)
8. Continue by melting the remaining White Chocolate using the previous method. Place the remaining ricotta, Limoncello and a good quirt of the yellow food colouring to make a vibrant yellow (it will dilute later when the White Chocolate is added). You need to use nearly the full tube for an effective yellow colour
9. Add the White Chocolate to the ricotta mix and beat together thoroughly to ensure well mixed – If you are making the Amaretti biscuits version, you would also add the crushed biscuits at this point
10. Spoon out on top of the other layers in the loaf tin and smooth down the surface – Chill for at least 2 hours
11. To serve, remove from the fridge, dunk a sharp knife in boiling water and cut quickly for a clean slice – Alternative decorations can be sprinkling the icing sugar (or cocoa) on top, sprinkling the remaining crushed biscuits to form a line or cut lemon peel spiralled around a chopstick

Tips for #EvenBetterBaking

• For a child friendly, non-alcoholic version – the grated zest of 2 lemons & 1tsp Sicilian Lemon Extract gives a wonderful lemony flavour to the cheesecake mix
• To make sure the loaf tin is properly lined with cling film – Grease first with a thin layer of butter/vegetable fat then use 3 layers of cling film for strength
• For an ultra quick set, try placing the loaf tin in the freezer – takes half the time

Disclosure: This post was commissioned by Dr Oetker.