This no-crust cheesecake has a light texture and a rich, eggy flavor. It will rise like a souffle in the oven and then fall during the last 10 minutes or so of baking. To save time, I utilize the food processor and the electric mixer — a little extra cleanup, but I’m able to whip the egg whites and mix the batter without washing and drying the bowl of my mixer during preparation.
| Total: | 1 hr 35 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Yield: | Makes one 9-inch cake; 8 to 10 |
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Two 15-ounce containers whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray the springform pan with cooking spray. Separate the eggs, placing the whites in one of the large bowls and the yolks in the work bowl of a food processor.
- Add the sugar and vanilla to the work bowl of the food processor and process until thick and light yellow, about 1 minute. Add the ricotta and zest and process until smooth, another 30 seconds. Scrape the mixture into the other large bowl.
- Beat the whites on high speed with the mixer until they hold stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the ricotta mixture and scrape into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula.
- Bake until the cake is deep golden brown and the sides begin to pull away from the pan, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Transfer to the rack to let cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving, at least 6 hours and up to 1 day. To serve, release the sides of the springform pan, dust with confectioners’ sugar using the strainer, and cut into wedges.
Reviews
Easy and light. I added one more egg and also some candied orange peel.
Easy and delicious! I actually cut the sugar a little bit and it was still just as good! I love how light the texture is as well. Not your typical heavy cheesecake. Very satisfying and my whole family loved it!
Not at all what I was expecting and nothing like a classic Italian ricotta cheesecake. This is more like a cross between a soufflé and a frittata.
Cake is very good. Made it last week added a little bit more sugar than it called for the second time. It is easy to make and taste’s so good. The ricotta without cream cheese gives you a bit more choices for flavoring the cake with extra lemon juice or whatever you prefer. Great cake.
Delicious! Fairly easy to make (hardest part is separating 6 eggs) and relatively inexpensive ingredient list as compared to other cheesecake recipes that require cream cheese and sour cream. It is so light and fluffy. I used the zest from 1 lemon and 1 orange. Everyone loved it! It was a really nice dessert served with fresh berries. After a heavy holiday meal nobody wants to eat a rich and heavy cheesecake. So this light and fluffy cheesecake was perfect. Several people thought it would taste good flavored with amaretto, so I will try that next time I make it.
If I ever get a springform pan, I’ll have to try this. No flour? Hmmm…sounds different.
gross eggy cake, if you bake it for that long you will find a piece of charcoal in the oven, not a cake
Am I wrong or does that picture show a CRUST ?
I liked it but my family and guests did not so I guess I won’t make it again
Too eggy. Didn’t care for the consistency and texture. Will not make again.