If your family and friends belong to the Cheesecake Factory Fan Club, then tell them this is a Ricotta Cheese Tart, otherwise they will be expecting something that tastes like a dense and creamy cheesecake and think the texture of the ricotta is grainy.

White Chocolate and Ricotta Cheesecake

Use your favorite graham cracker crust recipe that makes enough to press into the bottom of a 9" or 10" spring form pan. I also added about 1/2 cup of ground almonds to the crust. Pre-bake the crust in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until it is lightly browned.

Line a sieve with cheesecloth and drain 32 oz. fresh whole milk ricotta cheese for at least 8 hours, or overnight.

Puree the drained ricotta in a food processor for a few minutes to make it smoother.

Separate 6 eggs. Beat the yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until it is thick and pale golden yellow. Beat in drained ricotta, 1 Tbsp. flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, and zest from 1 lemon. Stir in 4 oz. melted white chocolate. In a smaller separate bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks, then stir gently into the ricotta and chocolate mixture.

Pour the ricotta batter into the springform pan. Bake the cheesecake for about 55 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. The egg whites make the cake puff up a lot, so don't worry. It will flatten as it cools. 

Immediately upon removing the cheesecake from the oven, run a paring knife around the edge to loosen it from the pan. Let it cool in the pan for about an hour, then remove the sides of the springform pan.

You can serve the cheesecake as is, but the top will be brown and cracked, so covering it with fresh berries or other fruit is certainly not a bad idea. Since there is white chocolate in the batter, I also garnished with white chocolate.

Other recipe sources for ricotta cheesecake:

• Giada de Laurentiis's Honey Ricotta Cheesecake in a biscotti crust, that also includes cream cheese
• A basic Ricotta Cheesecake without a crust from Instant Gratification
• George Stella's New York Ricotta Cheesecake made with mostly cream cheese, Splenda, no crust
• Another basic Ricotta Cheesecake from Epicurious (Gourmet Magazine, 1999)
• Food and Wine Magazine's Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake with a pastry crust