By Kathryn Washburn Breighner
My friend Sherry mentioned a family cheesecake recipe that has passed down through several generations. I love family recipes so I asked her for it. And I'm so glad I did--what a great recipe.
A few generations ago, Sherry's grandmother made this cheesecake with dry cottage cheese which was pressed through a sieve. Now it is made with ricotta. There is a secret ingredient to this recipe: crushed pineapple. No, this is not a pineapple cheesecake. The pineapple is so subtle that if you don't know it is there, you can't identify the unique flavors. The pineapple adds sweetness and texture.
This is a simple recipe and the refrigerated cheesecake gets better each day (if it lasts that long!).
For the crust and crumb topping:
1 lb graham crackers, crushed
1 stick melted butter
1/4 c sugar
Blend these together with a fork. Reserve 1/4 c of the crumbs. Press the crumbs into 2 9-inch pie plates or 1 9x13 baking pan.
For the filling:
Mix together:
2 lbs ricotta cheese
4 eggs
1 c sugar
8 oz evaporated milk
1 c drained crushed pineapple (in heavy syrup)
Pour the filling into the pie plates or pan. Sprinkle the remaining crumbs on the top. Drain a small bottle of maraschino cherries and place the cherries on the cheesecake.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until the center jiggles but is not firm. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for several hours before serving.
Enjoy!
Showing posts with label Ricotta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ricotta. Show all posts
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Homemade Ricotta Cheese
By Kathryn Washburn Breighner
It's strawberry season in Northern Michigan and one of my favorite, and simple, desserts is fresh strawberries on top of ricotta cream. Ricotta cream is 2 c ricotta blended with 3/4 c powdered sugar and 1 t vanilla. It is oh, so tasty. And even better with homemade ricotta which is what I did today. It's so easy, so good and much less expensive than purchased ricotta.
To begin, put a large saucepan in the freezer for about 5 min. Chilling the pan keeps the milk from scalding. To the chilled pan, add 1 gallon milk and 1/4 t salt. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking and simmer until the milk reaches 180-185 degrees F or until steam rises from the milk and it just begins to bubble.
Remove the pan from the stove and add 1/3 c of white vinegar and stir for one minute. Immediately, curds will begin to form. If you've never seen curds and whey, you will as soon as you add the vinegar!
Cover the pan with a dish towel (this lets it air while keeping it covered) and let it sit for at least 2 hours.
Line a colander with dampened cheesecloth and using a slotted spoon, remove the curds from the pan into the colander. Let this drain (I just put the colander in the sink) for another 2 hours.
Gently squeeze the remaining whey out of the mixture by gathering the cheesecloth together. That's it!
One gallon milk, which today costs about $3, will make a quart of ricotta cheese. In my grocery store, 16 oz of ricotta is about $5 so with this recipe, you will make the about $10 worth with only about $3 in cost. Total time of actual effort is about 10 minutes. And worth it!
It's strawberry season in Northern Michigan and one of my favorite, and simple, desserts is fresh strawberries on top of ricotta cream. Ricotta cream is 2 c ricotta blended with 3/4 c powdered sugar and 1 t vanilla. It is oh, so tasty. And even better with homemade ricotta which is what I did today. It's so easy, so good and much less expensive than purchased ricotta.
To begin, put a large saucepan in the freezer for about 5 min. Chilling the pan keeps the milk from scalding. To the chilled pan, add 1 gallon milk and 1/4 t salt. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking and simmer until the milk reaches 180-185 degrees F or until steam rises from the milk and it just begins to bubble.
Remove the pan from the stove and add 1/3 c of white vinegar and stir for one minute. Immediately, curds will begin to form. If you've never seen curds and whey, you will as soon as you add the vinegar!
Cover the pan with a dish towel (this lets it air while keeping it covered) and let it sit for at least 2 hours.
Line a colander with dampened cheesecloth and using a slotted spoon, remove the curds from the pan into the colander. Let this drain (I just put the colander in the sink) for another 2 hours.
Gently squeeze the remaining whey out of the mixture by gathering the cheesecloth together. That's it!
One gallon milk, which today costs about $3, will make a quart of ricotta cheese. In my grocery store, 16 oz of ricotta is about $5 so with this recipe, you will make the about $10 worth with only about $3 in cost. Total time of actual effort is about 10 minutes. And worth it!
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