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lemon ricotta and honey cheesecake

Italian style lemon honey and ricotta cheesecake topped with fresh honeycomb and nut clusters
Course Dessert

Ingredients
  

For the base

  • 170 grams digestive biscuits or amaretti biscuits
  • 5 tbsp ground almonds
  • 55 grams sugar (1/4 cup)
  • 100 g unsalted butter melted

For the filling

  • 295 grams caster sugar approx 1 and 1/3 cup
  • 250 grams mascarpone or other soft cream cheese (full fat)
  • 500 grams ricotta (drained and full fat)
  • juice from half a lemon
  • 4 eggs
  • half a cup of runny honey (170g or 6oz)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tbsp corn flour mixed with 1 1/2 tbsp water to make a paste

Nut clusters

  • 1/2 cup flaked almonds
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 1 tsp lemon zest

Instructions
 

To make base

  • To make the base, preheat the oven to 180c 350f
    Add the biscuits, sugar and ground almonds in a food processor and pulse until a fine crumb is achieved. Mix with melted butter and press into greased 24cm (9 inch) spring form pan lined with baking paper. Using the back of a spoon firmly press the base mixture into the pan and up the sides of the tin and bake for 15 minutes.
    Turn oven down to 150c 300f and leave the door open for 5 minutes so it cools right down.

To make filling

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the cream cheese, ricotta, eggs, honey. sugar, lemon juice, zest and vanilla. Once whipped and creamy add the corn flour mixture and mix again.
    Pour oven cooked base and bake for 40 to 60 minutes (I checked it at 40 minutes but it needed a lot longer almost 65 minutes)
    it is ready when it is firm around the edges but has a slight giggle in the middle. Turn off oven and leave it in their with the door closed for 40 minutes.
    Allow to cool completely and then place in the fridge until ready to serve.

Nut clusters

  • Mix all the ingredients together and spread on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes then toss and mix the mixture and then bake for another 2 minutes and stir them again so they will be evenly browned and bake for another 2 minutes. Once golden remove tray from the oven and while the mixture is still hot arrange the almonds into clusters and leave to cool.

To assemble cheesecake

  • Place on a few chunks of honeycomb and a drizzle of honey and add the nut clusters then grate on some lemon zest and if you have some add some fennel pollen. Finish with some lemon thyme.
    Alternatively you can dust it with icing sugar and serve it with berries.