Vanilla Bean Ricotta Cheesecake

Recipe by The Gourmet RD

And what’s extra cool about this cheesecake, is that it’s made with cream cheese and ricotta, so it has a creamy, yet wholesome texture. And it’s sweet, but not too sweet.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup salted butter (melted)
• 8 oz low fat cream cheese (room temperature)
• 4 eggs
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 cups ricotta (or Greek yogurt)
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1½ tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour or cornstarch
• berries (for serving)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make the crust: Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter in a medium bowl. Press into the bottom of a greased 8-inch springform pan. Set aside.
   
   To make the cheesecake filling: Beat the cream cheese until very smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, and ¾ cup sugar until the mixture is smooth.
   
   Whisk in the ricotta and lemon juice until smooth, then add the vanilla extract, vanilla bean and flour/cornstarch until thoroughly incorporated.
   
   Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake 40-50 minutes or until barely set. Turn the oven off and cool cake in the oven for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. Remove springform pan sides, slice and serve with berries.

View the recipe instructions at The Gourmet RD