I made home-made ricotta cheese (that will be posted on April 28th), and was trying to decide what to make with it. I knew that I was going out of town soon, and was trying to use the things that were in my refrigerator instead of going to the store and buying more ingredients. I searched Epicurious.com for any suitable recipes, and I came across a recipe for Cannoli Cheesecake. The recipe called for a graham cracker crust, a filling of ricotta, sugar, eggs, candied orange peel, and chopped chocolate. It sounded good, but I didn’t have graham crackers, and didn’t want to candy orange peel. But I did have gingersnaps. candied ginger, and chocolate. So I decided to make a Ginger Ricotta Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust.
The cheesecake was very good. I had never had ricotta cheesecake before, and wasn’t sure what to expect. It is not like regular cheesecake made with cream cheese at all, the texture is totally different. But it is really good in its own way. If you haven’t tried Ricotta Cheesecake, you should give it a try.

GINGER RICOTTA CHEESECAKE
Yield: Makes 8-10 sevings
For crust:
16 gingersnap cookies
1/3 cup slivered almonds
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
For cheesecake:
1 3/4 cup whole-milk ricotta
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 large egg, separated
1/3 cup candied ginger, finely chopped
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
4 large egg whites
2 teaspoons confectioner’s sugar
9″ springform pan
Preheat over to 350 degrees F with rack in the middle.
Pulse ginger snaps, almonds, and sugar in a food processor until finely ground, then transfer to a bowl. Stir in butter until combined.
Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom and 1/2″ up side of pan. Bake crust 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Leave oven on.
Cheesecake:
Stir together ricotta, granulated sugar, zest, and egg yolk in a large bowl until combined, then stir in candied ginger and chocolate pieces.
Beat egg whites(all 5) and a pinch of salt in another bowl with an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks. Fold into ricotta mixture gently but thoroughly.
Pour filling into crust and bake until top if puffed and golden, about 50 minutes.
Cool in pan 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge to loosen cake, then remove side of pan. Cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Dust with confectioners sugar.
Cheesecake can be chilled, covered, 1 day.