Ricotta Cheesecake

Cook Time 2 hours

Servings 8

Ingredients

Pastry

250g of Lighthouse Cake, Biscuit & Pastry flour

50g macadamia meal

100g of icing sugar

Pinch of salt

125g butter, cold and cut into cubes

1 egg

Filling

850gm of full fat ricotta

½ cup cream

2 tbsp Lighthouse Cake, Biscuit & Pastry flour

4 eggs, separated

80g icing sugar

Zest of 1 orange

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

½ tbsp brandy

30g butter, melted

Cinnamon, for dusting

Icing sugar, for dusting

Method

For the pastry, place all the dry ingredients into a food processor. Pulse so it combines. Add the butter and blitz until a fine crumb forms. Whisk the egg lightly and pour into the flour and butter mix and blitz until a ball of dough forms. If the dough is too dry add a tablespoon of water. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Grease and flour a sponge cake tin. Roll the pastry out between two pieces of baking paper to form a 3mm thick round disk. Carefully line the tin with the pastry, ensuring there are no holes or air bubbles. Cut excess pastry off and prick the pastry base with a fork. Refrigerate for a further 30 minutes.

In the meantime make the filling. Place the ricotta, cream and yolks into a mixer and whisk until combined. Now add the flour, 50g of the icing sugar, zest, vanilla and brandy. With the mixer still going drizzle in the butter and keep mixing until smooth.

In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy and then slowly add the remaining 30g of sugar. Keep whisking until firm peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the ricotta mix.

Pre heat the oven to 160C. Pour the ricotta mixture into the pastry base and bake for 1½ hours. Once cooked cool slightly before turning onto a wire rack to completely cool. Sprinkle with cinnamon and icing sugar.