Orange Ricotta Cheesecake - no crust!

I have always loved recipes with soft cheeses, but this 6-ingredient ricotta cheesecake simply blew me away! Soft and very creamy, it leaves the most wonderful aroma in your kitchen, lasts for several days and cuts like a dream.

I'm a huge fan of cheesecake, both baking and eating them, no doubt. My favorites being the Brown Sugar Cheesecake, and the Baked Cheesecake, hands down. 

Some years ago I would've said that if it didn't have cream cheese it couldn't be called a cheesecake, period. Nowadays I'm more flexible and don't need to be such a purist.

But my strong Italian heritage and food culture made me love all things ricotta - lemon ricotta pie, baked ricotta, berry squares, you name it - and especially this cheesecake recipe I'm sharing today.

Besides, if you look at how this gorgeous cake comes out of the oven, deeply golden, smelling amazing and with just the right firmness to it, you'll understand that it belongs in the cheesecake category. Not a pie, not a cake, but a ricotta cheesecake. Probably the best one ever.

About ricotta

Ricotta is a soft, grainy cheese made from cow's milk in this case (though it can also be made with goat, sheep or buffalo milk). The type I use for all of my recipes is the regular soft ricotta (image below) sold in supermarkets or specialty stores. It's creamy, moist and has an almost sweet taste.

Quality varies according to brands and you can find some with additives to make it thicker or whatever. I try to buy original ricotta sourced from good small producers. It tastes much better and I like the consistency more.

Ricotta vs. cottage cheese

Though they might look somewhat similar, ricotta and cottage cheese are different.
Ricotta is made from the whey that is left when the curds are separated in the milk or cream to make cheese, while cottage cheese is made from the curds.

Their textures are different as well as their flavors.

Substitution

Though for this recipe you should absolutely get the ricotta cheese (it is, after all, a ricotta cheesecake), you can use cottage cheese that has been processed with some cream cheese. If it has too much water you should let it drain a while on a strainer with cheesecloth or clean kitchen towel over a bowl.

It cuts like a dream. You can see that in the pictures. The cake was almost room temperature and still hold its shape amazingly.

The simplicity part is that the ingredients are everyday staples and, apart from beating the egg whites separately, you just mix everything together without much detail. And it has no crust! 

Beating egg whites

The whites can be stiffer or not so stiff, and they are incorporated without the excessive care that other recipes sometimes need. Like the best flourless chocolate cake ever (the photos are old but the recipe is amazing!).

I like to beat the whites to medium-soft peaks; that way the batter is more fluid and the cake is creamier.

And have them at room t°, that is the way to maximize the volume when they are beaten.

Watch how to achieve the medium peaks below 👇🏻 

If you love cheesecakes as much as I do, this is a different recipe that you will love for its versatility (flavorings) and simplicity - no crust, cuts easily.

Other flavorings 

• Citrus, use your favorite: lemon, lime, tangerine, a mix of all of them, you name it.
• Ground spices, such as cinnamon, cardamom, maybe nutmeg, pumpkin spice mix. Whatever you love more.
• Extracts (coffee, aniseed, almond, maple, there are so many to choose from)
• Liquors like Cointreau or Grand Marnier (orange), Frangelico (hazelnut), Amaretto (almond), Limoncello (lemon) or any other sweet or fruity one you like.
• A combination of the above, maybe almond extract and spice, or cinnamon with orange zest.

Let your imagination flow. So many options, I know.

Lemon ricotta cheesecake

I know lemon is a huge favorite when it comes to cheesecakes. I know I am a raving fan. So I'm leaving you the simple way to make this a lemon ricotta cake.

• Substitute the orange zest for lemon zest. 
• Adding lemon juice: the combination of both zest and juice gives it a more intense and balanced flavor. But don't overdo it with the juice or you'll change the texture. You can add up to 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. If your cheese is dry this would be perfect, but if your ricotta cheese is on the wetter side, I suggest you let it drain for a while.

This ricotta cheesecake lasts for several days in the fridge.

I ate it after almost a week and I have to say it was delicious. The coldness of the refrigerator dries it up a bit every day (it's what refrigeration does to all baked goods), so my advice is no more than 3 days well wrapped in plastic.

Freezing 

It can be frozen, well wrapped, for about a month. Defrost in the refrigerator for best results. 

Recommendation: if you want to make it for freezing I suggest you use half ricotta cheese and half cream cheese. The same total amount of cheese as stated in the recipe. Ricotta tends to be grainy and holds more water than cream cheese. This variation will make for a smoother cheesecake after it's thawed. 

All in all a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful recipe for a different cheesecake adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook and is phenomenal. I urge you to try it!

Other similar recipes you might like:

Brown Sugar Cheesecake
Cheesecake Brownies
Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Polenta Cake
Summer berry ricotta squares
Easy Baked Cheesecake
Oreo Cheesecake
Complete Guide to No-Bake Cheesecake
Homemade Pumpkin Ricotta Gnocchi

Let me know if you make this recipe! I'd love to hear what you think about it.
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Orange Ricotta cheesecake

★★★★★ 4.9 from 17 reviews

• Author: Paula Montenegro
• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 55
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x
• Category: Cakes
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: Italian

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Description

A fabulous take on cheesecake, with ricotta cheese. Only 6 ingredients!

*The estimated time does not count the cooling and refrigeration times needed.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• ¾ cup (150g) sugar + more for the pan
• 1 ½ pounds (750g) whole milk ricotta, at room temperature
• 6 eggs, at room temperature
• ¼ cup (30g) all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Zest of 2 oranges, any size

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF /180ºC.
2. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan with removable bottom and dust with sugar, shaking off excess.
3. In a large bowl mix ricotta and orange zest. You can beat this for a minute or so if you want a smoother texture. I don’t do it.
4. Add the flour, HALF the sugar, salt, and mix well.
5. Separate eggs, one by one, putting the yolks into the bowl with the ricotta mixture and the whites in another clean (very clean and dry, with no traces of oil or grease) bowl. I use the stand mixer for the whites and put them directly in the mixing bowl.
6. Try using an extra small bowl for cracking each egg so you don’t run the risk of the tiniest bit of yolk getting into the whites since it will prevent them from beating as they should.
7. Beat whites for 30 seconds and gradually add the remaining HALF of the sugar while beating at medium speed.
8. Keep on beating at high speed until it foams and triples in volume, but medium soft peaks form when the beater is lifted.
9. With a spatula, add the beaten egg whites to the ricotta mixture in 3 parts. Add the next part after almost incorporating the last part.
10. After the third part is added make sure the mixture is combined. Don’t over mix it so it rises well in the oven and the texture is airy.
11. Put in the prepared pan smoothing the surface and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until it’s golden but the center of the cheesecake still wiggles when lightly shaken, similar to brownies.
12. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes on a wire rack, then run a smooth knife all around the sides to make sure it is not stuck.
13. Let cool completely in the pan before transferring it to the serving plate. I like to wrap it in plastic and put it in the fridge for a few hours or until the next day.

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Notes

Flavoring ricotta cheesecakes (or cakes)

• Citrus, use your favorite: lemon, lime, tangerine, a mix of all of them, you name it.
• Ground spices, such as cinnamon, cardamom, maybe nutmeg, pumpkin spice mix. Whatever you love more.
• Extracts (coffee, aniseed, almond, maple, there are so many to choose from)
• Liquors like Cointreau or Grand Marnier (orange), Frangelico (hazelnut), Amaretto (almond), limoncello (lemon) or any other sweet or fruity one you like.
• A combination of the above, maybe almond extract and spice, or cinnamon with orange zest.

Egg whites

I like to beat the whites to medium-soft peaks; that way the batter is more fluid and the cake is creamier.

And have them at room temperature, that is the way to maximize the volume when they are beaten.

Substitutions

If you must substitute ricotta, you can use cottage cheese that has been processed with some cream cheese.

To turn this into a lemon cheesecake, simply substitute the orange zest for lemon zest.

• Adding lemon juice: the combination of both zest and juice gives it a more intense and balanced flavor. But don't overdo it with the juice or you'll change the texture. You can add up to 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. If your cheese is dry this would be perfect, but if your ricotta cheese is on the wet side, I suggest you let it drain for a while.

Freezing

It can be frozen, well wrapped, for about a month. Defrost in the refrigerator for best results.

Recommendation: if you want to make it for freezing I suggest you use half ricotta cheese and half cream cheese. The same total amount of cheese as stated in the recipe (1 ½ pounds) . Ricotta tends to be grainy and holds more water than cream cheese. This variation will make for a smoother cheesecake after it's thawed. 

Keywords: ricotta cheesecake

Paula Montenegro

I'm Paula, a baker for more than 30 years and your designated recipe finder, sharing the best ones on this blog, with simple ingredients + easy-to-follow instructions.