Ricotta Cheesecake

• 1kg strained Floridia ricotta cheese
• 250g mascarpone cheese
• 1.5 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 200g finely chopped 80% chocolate
• 200g dried fruit chopped into small pieces
• 90g pure icing sugar
• 300g ginger nut biscuits crushed
• 130g melted butter
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted pistachio nuts
• 1/4 cup honey

1. Prepare your cake tin by lining it with baking paper.
2. First we need to crush the ginger nut biscuits. I find that the best method for this is to place 1/2 of the biscuits between two towels and crush them using a rolling pin. This is a great form of stress relief, banging away at the biscuits. Repeat with second half, you want to reach a rough breadcrumb consistency. Alternatively, if you have a large mortar and pestle this is a good method also.
3. Place the crumb into a bowl and mix through the melted butter.
4. Press your cheesecake base into the bottom of the lined tin, trying to keep it as even as possible, so that it’s easy to cut.
5. Rest the base in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
6. In a food processor, place the strained ricotta cheese and pulse until you have a smooth paste.
7. Add vanilla, mascarpone and sifted icing sugar and blend until it is silky smooth, approx 2-3 minutes. Make sure to scrape down the sides to avoid any lumps. Transfer your cheese into a large mixing bowl and add the delicious chocolate & dried fruit, folding it through lightly.
8. Next step is to fill the cake tin with the cheesecake batter. Smooth the fruity cheese mix evenly over the biscuit base and place in the freezer for 1-1.5hrs to firm the cheesecake up so that it is easy to cut.
9. When you’re ready to serve, remove your cake from the tin making sure that all of the baking paper has been cleared. Scatter the crushed pistachios on top of your cheesecake and drizzle golden honey over it.
10. Cut and enjoy with your guests, friends and family.

Note: I used dried cranberries, mulberries, barberries & golden raisins. Apricots, figs, mango, blueberries any type of dried fruit is suitable as long as it is diced into small pieces so that you can cut the cake without big clumps ruining the form of the creamy cheesecake filling.

If you need your cheesecake to serve more people I recommend using a 22-24cm tin as it will be a shorter cake in depth & much easier to slice for your guests. I have used a 20cm cake tin.

You could also use crushed nuts in your cheesecake batter. Omit 1/2 of the fruit or chocolate and replace it with a crushed nut of your choice.