Published: · Modified: by Chef Dennis Littley
4.96 from 21 votes
Jump to Recipe
My Blood Orange Ricotta & Mascarpone Cheesecake is perfect for the holiday season.
I remember my first encounter with blood oranges, we were in Rome and it was Christmas day, and had gone down to breakfast in our hotel before heading out to the Vatican to see Pope John Paul.
It was a continental breakfast with delicious pastries, cheese, fruit and of course juice. I decided to start with juice and the offerings were a reddish juice that assumed was pink grapefruit, and a normal orangish juice, that I of course assumed was orange juice.
After tasting what I thought was orange juice, I knew had made a mistake because it was grapefruit juice, and when I questioned our server, I was told the other red tinged juice was, in fact, blood orange juice. It was love at first taste!
After all these years, I still wait for blood oranges to come into season, they’re available in the US from November to May and are grown in Texas and California, the cooler fall and winter nights help develop thedistinct marooncolor.
The varieties grown in the US seem to vary in sweetness, but It really doesn’t matter to me if they’re not as sweet as I remember, because the memories are…..sigh
The best blood orange juice I ever had was in Pompeii from a little cart where it was freshly squeezed while we waited, it was so good I went back for more. So you see even if our blood oranges aren’t as sweet as those grown in Italy, my memories add more sweetness to them!
This year’s blood oranges proved to be a little on the tart side, but the color was beautiful and having bought more than I would eat, I knew I had to come up with a good use for the remainder. It really was an easy decision, they would be a wonderful addition to a ricotta cheesecake!
The tart-sweet orange with its hints of raspberry would be the perfect compliment to my ricotta cheesecake, and the color of the blood oranges would be a delicious contrast from the pale creamy color of the cheesecake!
Ricotta cheesecakes are not for everyone, and honestly, I do still enjoy a New York style cream cheese cheesecake, but every now and then I miss that flavor and texture of a good ricotta cheesecake!
I find that by using mascarpone it smooths out the texture and adds some richness to the dessert. Feel free to use cream cheese if you can’t find mascarpone it will still be a delicious alternative to the New York style cheesecake.
But I promise you’re friends and family will love my Blood Orange Ricotta & Mascarpone Cheesecake!
More Recipes You’ll Love!
- Italian Ricotta Cheesecake with Berries
- Classic New York Cheesecake Recipe
- Mascarpone Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe
- Torta di Ricotta Recipe {Italian Cheesecake}
Did you make this? Please RATE THE RECIPE below!
Please SUBSCRIBE and FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST!
Blood Orange Ricotta & Mascarpone Cheesecake
the perfect blend of ricotta and mascarpone make up this classic Italian cheesecake. Serve up deliciousness with my Blood Orange Ricotta & Mascarpone Cheesecake.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr 25 minutes mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 12
Calories: 410kcal
Author: Chef Dennis Littley
Ingredients
Crust
- 12 lemon creme cookies* or traditional graham cracker crust
- ½ stick of butter melted
Cheesecake
- 16 oz ricotta cheese
- 16 oz mascarpone
- 8 oz Greek yogurt
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons flour
- grated peel of one Lemon or lime
- juice from one-half Lemon or lime
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Topping
- 3 blood oranges skin removed, and sliced (remove seeds)
- 2 tablespoons 0range marmalade peach or apricot preserves will also work
US Customary – Metric
Instructions
preheat oven to 375 degree’s F
Crust
in the bowl of a food processor pulse your choice of cookie for crust until smooth
add melted butter and combine.
press crust into the bottom of prepared springform pan, and partway up around the sides of the pan.
Bake crust for 7-10 minutes, and allow to cool.
Cheesecake
In the bowl of your mixer blend together the ricotta cheese, mascarpone, and Greek yogurt blend until smooth.
Add eggs one at a time until well blended.
Add sugar, flour, salt, grated lemon peel, lemon juice, and vanilla.
Blend well until very creamy.
Pour mixture into a prepared springform pan and Bake at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until the cake has set in the middle.
The top of the cheesecake can get brown, if you are not topping it or prefer a lighter top, cover with foil for half of the time in the oven.
Remove from oven and allow to cool
Topping
place the orange marmalade in a small pan and over low heat allow it to liquify
after allowing the cheesecake to cool, place the orange slices on the top of the cheese cake.
using a pastry brush, brush the marmalade on the oranges and all exposed areas on the top of the cheesecake.
Use enough of the marmalade so it has a nice glaze.
allow the cheesecake to set up in the refrigerator overnight for best results*
Notes
* I used Italian lemon cream cookies for my crust. Normally I use digestive biscuits, but you can also use graham crackers, or go crustless.
*Cheesecake needs time to set up, I would recommend a minimum of 6 hours refrigerated before serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 410kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 141mg | Sodium: 242mg | Potassium: 112mg | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 830IU | Vitamin C: 1.9mg | Calcium: 170mg | Iron: 0.9mg
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @askChefDennis or tag #askChefDennis!
More Restaurant-Style Cakes
- Italian Cream Cake
- Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Pudding Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake
About Chef Dennis
Chef Dennis Littley is a classically trained chef with over 40 years of experience working in the food service industry. In his second career as a food blogger he has made it his mission to demistify cooking by sharing his time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen. Let Chef Dennis help you bring the joy of cooking into your home.For more details, check out his About page.
Reader Interactions
Comments
Halimah
This looks great! Can this cheesecake be frozen after it is made? Thank you.
Reply
Chef Dennis Littley
Yes it can be frozen. I would wait until defrosting to add the topping.
Reply
maria nestro
hi chef Denniscan you tell me the size pan to use for this ricotta cheesecake? can the recipe be doubled for a larger cake? and if so what would be the cooking time? I have made your tiramisu and it was a hit at a holiday dinner. thank you so much and have a Happy and Blessed Holiday!
Reply
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Maria
I use a 10-inch springform pan. You can double it for a larger cake but it can affect how it cooks and you can end up drying out the outside while the middle cooks. If you want to make it larger I would suggest using a baking rectangular baking pan so it cooks more evenly.
As for cooking time if its a rectangular pan, it shouldn’t take too much longer but the best bet is to check the middle with a toothpick to make sure its done.Reply
Sheelagh@anirishvillagepantry
Ooh, this looks right up my citrus alley. Love blood orange juice and as we have a lot left over from marmalade making – this delicious cheesecake sounds like an ideal candidate. Thanks Dennis 🙂Reply
Alida
I love ricotta and use it a lot in my cooking. This cake looks amazing and I like the combination with the oranges.Reply
Cheryl and Adam @ pictureperfectmeals.com
Chef, you have our hearts in your kitchen. Cheesecake and blood oranges, how is it possible to have anything so good this side of heaven? Congrats on the Top 9 yesterday, beyond well deserved! Hope you and yours are well and the back’s not giving any problems.
Reply
FreeSpiritEater
This is an absolutely gorgeous dessert! Beautiful use of your product. I first heard of blood oranges when my fiance was a line cook at One if by Land in NYC, he would come home with stories of blood orange vinaigrette, blood orange sorbet, blood orange beet chutney and blood orange granite. I’ve been hooked ever since, but have never tried it in a ricotta cheesecake. Sounds like the balances of textures and flavors are exquisite. When I can have cheesecake again, this is the recipe to indulge in. Congratulations on a well deserved Top 9 Chef Dennis. Have a good one! =]Reply
Joan Nova
I don’t normally comment on ‘dessert’ posts because I don’t bake and I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but this stopped me dead in my tracks. It not only promises to be delicious, it’s gorgeous to look. Way to go, Dennis!
Reply
Caitlin
i’ve never even heard of ricotta cheesecake! sounds like it would be lighter than the normal (too dense for me) cheesecake. gotta try this!!
Reply
Megan @ Pip and Ebby
Blood oranges are so beautiful. I always get excited when they are in season, too. And I can honestly say that I have never tried a ricotta cheesecake. Sounds intriguing!!
Reply
jane
The recipe is just wonderful for the crust and expecially the cheese cake. i love it .. with greek
yogart omg that is awsome lower fat and sugar as well as calories.. cant wait to try it..Reply
Gursahiba @ Exquisite Niche
Chef Dennis!
This is absolutely a cracker! I love the oranges, ricotta and cheese cake!! YUm!!
I really like your blog! Buzzed you too!
Do stop by mine!Reply
Culinary Cache
This looks delicious AND amazing! I love ricotta based cheesecake, so light and the addition of blood orange sets it off beautifully. Excellent post!Reply
Jessica @ Cajunlicious
This is beautiful and sounds so delicious!
Reply
Becky
Chef,
This another gorgeous cheesecake from you. I love the Blood orange topping which pairs well with the cheesecake.Congrats on the Top 9 today!
Reply
Liz
I just found blood oranges in Indy last year!!! So delicious…as must be your gorgeous cake. We’re having thunderstorms at 7 AM here….55º, wind and torrential rains. Crazy for January! Have a great day and congrats on the Top 9!Reply
Leave a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
« Older Comments
