Ricotta Cheesecake

I left you on Friday night having just made my first batch of ricotta cheese, with the plan of turning it into a cheesecake in time for Sunday lunch. I just couldn't resist sharing the results with you. As proud moments go, this is right up there.

I started off by soaking 3 tablespoons of large sultanas in 1 tablespoon of boiling water and 2 tablespoons of sweet Pedro Ximenez sherry for 15-20 minutes.  Meanwhile I mixed most of the cheese (750g - I must have ended up with about 800g) with 150g of icing sugar and then 5 eggs were added, one by one. To the cheese mixture I then added 50g of chopped candied peel, 125g of pine nuts and whole blanched almonds (an equal mix of each), the finely grated zest of a lemon and two oranges, and the drained sultanas. The mixture then went into a 23cm diameter springform cake tin, lined with baking parchment and into the oven (gas mark 4, 160 - 180 C) for an hour.

Whilst it was cooking I had a think about decoration.  The recipe suggested more candied fruit, caramelised oranges or fruit compote. I had the lemon and two oranges left from being zested and the sherry that the sultanas had been sitting in. It seemed a shame to waste any of it so decided to add some sugar and a bit more water to the sherry mixture, slice one of the oranges and cook them up in a non-stick frying pan.  The idea was that they'd be slightly caramelised but super-tasty from the sherry, which has a distinctly raisiny flavour.

The cheesecake came out of the oven looking a bit browner than I had imagined, so perhaps next time I'd take it out sooner or lower the oven temperature a bit, but also looking like the Millennium Dome - a huge puffed up bake. However, it didn't take long to deflate. I imagined this would happen having studied the picture that came with the recipe, but its downfall was still quite remarkable. It almost aged before my eyes, getting more and more wrinkled.

I cooled it in the tin and then popped it in the fridge overnight.

They say the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and I'm very pleased to say it didn't disappoint. The citrus really punched through the creaminess of the cheese.

The sherry-cooked oranges may look better on a paler cake

No prizes for food styling but I wanted to show the inside

My lunch guests enjoyed it as much as I did, with someone opting for a second helping and with third helpings going home in a doggy bag!

Also this weekend, I finally finished the scarf for my work colleague. It took three attempts to knit the final few centimetres - on the first two attempts I ran out of wool before I had finished the vital last rows. Anyway, all done. I just hope she'll be pleased.

And two weeks on from sowing my first seeds of 2015, I am the proud owner of 18 tomato seedlings. Sadly, no sign of any chillies yet but there may be a glimmer of life appearing from the tray where I sowed some sweet peppers.