| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 7 hr 50 min |
| Active: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (15 crackers)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 16 ounces cream cheese, such as Philadelphia, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese (12 ounces), homemade or store-bought
- 1/2 cup Italian limoncello, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, plus extra for serving (2 lemons)
- 5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray a 9 x13 x 2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- For the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a medium bowl and mix until moistened. Press the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and 1/4 inch up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes and set aside to cool.
- For the filling, place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the ricotta and beat for another minute, scraping down the bowl. With the mixer on low, add the limoncello, vanilla, and lemon zest and beat for one minute. With the mixer on medium-low, add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and mix until the batter is smooth. Pour over the crust.
- Place the baking pan in a roasting pan large enough to hold the baking pan completely flat. Place the pan in the oven and carefully pour enough of the hottest tap water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the baking pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until almost set in the center. (It will still be a little jiggly when you shake the pan gently.) Turn off the heat and leave the cheesecake in the oven in the water bath for 15 minutes to prevent the cheesecake from cracking. Take the baking pan out of the water bath and place on a rack to cool completely. Wrap the entire pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. Sprinkle with extra grated lemon zest, cut in 12 pieces, and serve cold.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 499 |
| Total Fat | 29 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 46 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 33 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Cholesterol | 159 mg |
| Sodium | 283 mg |
Reviews
I made this for a dinner party and served with blueberry sauce. It was light in texture and not too sweet. Per other reviewers, it has a very subtle lemon flavor, so the sauce was a welcome addition. I know I don’t like cheesecake with ricotta so I swapped in sour cream to avoid the grainy texture ricotta can cause. Per the tip of another reviewer, I lined the pan with buttered parchment.
Made a half batch in an 8×8 pan with 3 large eggs. Baked exactly as instructed, and it is delicious! Slightly sweet. But duh it’s cheesecake.
These were so yummy. I halved the recipe and since I did not have lemoncello I used lemon juice and tripe sec. I also used three smaller egg and it was perfect. Definitely a redo!
I love this cheesecake! The first thing I love… no spring form pan needed! The texture is so light and smooth. Like a cloud of cheesecake! I usually serve it with a berry coulis and lemon flavored whipped cream! I own at least 3 of Ina’s cookbooks and have never been disappointed. I also bake a bit extra of the crumb crust and sprinkle the whipped cream with the crumbs and lemon zest! No complaints here!
I own most of Ina’s Cookbooks. I have made many of her desserts with great success and enjoyment. This is the first dessert of hers that we couldn’t eat. The texture is really strange and the flavor is very bland. Not enjoyable.
I really liked this. It wasn’t too sweet, which I loved because I’m sensitive to sweet and I typically reduce sugar in recipes. My husband liked the flavor, but the texture was too much for him and he didn’t care for it. If you’re sensitive to texture, this isn’t a good fit.
This was good but not great. I’m not understanding all the 5 star reviews. I just didn’t care for the texture. I followed the recipe with the one exception of omitting 1/4 cup sugar based on the last reviewer saying it was way too sweet. One cup sugar was certainly adequate. I’ll probably go back to making the denser NY cheesecake which is almost identical to this recipe but calls for sour cream instead of ricotta.
Excellent except it’s way too sweet. I followed the recipe exactly except that I only had 1/4 cup of limoncello so added 1/4 cup of triple sec, and added some orange zest. It has great texture and everything else. Could the listed amount of sugar be wrong?
it’s easy and simply delicious. Second time making is in the oven right now and I’m excited to see if I learned anything from the first time…..
I made this for my family and they loved it. Great lemon flavor and not too sweet. They request it over and over again.