More Italian Cheesecake – 4 Ways

I got a little carried away on the cheesecake thing. After the part-skim vs whole milk ricotta experiment and the delectable chocolate sauce, I “needed” to continue and make a strawberry version and an orange-honey version. I am really excited about the results! And I’ve never heard anyone say, “oh no… hold the cheesecake”! Haha! Although it’s the same cheesecake recipe from my last posting, I didn’t want you to have to flip back and forth to create the new varieties! 

Here’s how:

INGREDIENTS:
The Cake:
• 2 lbs ricotta (part skim or whole milk), room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the Varieties:
• 1 orange segmented, with skin and pith removed
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup chocolate sauce
• 1 cup strawberries, chopped
• 1 tsp sugar
• a few strawberries for garnish
• powdered sugar for garnish

DIRECTIONS:
1) Grease and flour four 4.5” small springform pans.
2) In a medium bowl, gently mix ricotta and sugar. Add and combine the flour.
3) Add the eggs one at a time, whisking in each well. Mix in the vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.
4) Spoon into 3 out of 4 of the pans. Reserve the rest of the mixture.
5) To make the strawberry variety, mix the strawberries and sugar together and gently spoon over the top of one of the cakes.
6) To make the orange-honey variety, mix the zest into the remaining mixture and spoon into the final pan. Place the orange segments over the top and drizzle on about half of  the honey.
5) Bake at 325° on a center rack in the oven for 50-60 minutes or a tester comes out clean. The cake should be firm and a light golden brown. Cool completely.
6) Spoon the chocolate sauce over the top of one of the plain cakes.
7) Slice remaining strawberries and arrange on top of the strawberry cakes.
8) Drizzle the remaining honey on top of the orange cake and spread evenly.
9) Sprinkle powdered sugar over the last plain cake.

Now that you know how to create 4 incredible smaller cheesecakes, you can make 4 large ones – or make one at a time! The cake recipe works for a larger 9″ springform pan. Increase the strawberries, chocolate sauce, honey, orange zest and segments, respectively.

Thanks again to the lovely Barbara Falcone DeBisschop for the great suggestion. And yes, I will be making whichever she likes and heading over to her house for an indulgent visit!

Annette