An oven full of naughty

Call me crazy, but at the moment I am experimenting with a diet free of sugar, wheat and dairy. So what should I choose to make but cheesecake? It could have been worse, I was contemplating tiramisu and I'm off coffee as well. Why exactly I should choose to restrict my diet so aggressively is anyone's guess. Perhaps a need for order and control in a seemingly chaotic and violently random universe. Anyone else feel an overwhelming need to organise their underwear draw? OCD aside, an occasional descent into loss of control is healthy and normal, that's why nothing could stop me from licking the bowl to my heart's content.

This cheesecake is of the baked variety and the ricotta gives it an unexpected lightness. It is not too sweet and the salted butter in the crumbly biscuit base adds to the slightly savoury quality. I am serving it with sliced strawberries macerated for about an hour in balsamic vinegar and a little sugar. Stopping at just once slice is sure to be a challenge, that's why I'm getting the damn thing out of the house as quickly as possible. 

Baked Ricotta Cheesecake

Recipe adapted from Breakfast Lunch Tea, Rose Bakery

butter, for greasing

800g ricotta

200g cream cheese

2/3 cup caster sugar

grated zest and juice 2 lemons

pinch ground cinnamon

5 eggs

1 egg yolk

200ml pouring cream

180g digestive biscuits

60g melted butter

pinch ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 180°C

Butter a 25cm springform tin and line with baking paper on bottom and sides.

To make the base process biscuits, butter and cinnamon in a food processor until crumbs. Press onto base of tin.

Mix ingredients for filling together in the following order, mixing well after each addition: cheeses, sugar, lemon zest and juice, cinnamon, eggs and yolk, cream and flour. 

Pour into tin over biscuit base. Bake about 45mins or until just set, not browned but just beginning to puff up. Remove from oven and cool in tin before taking out.