A cheesecake recipe can be useful on any special occasion, and especially so on Valentine’s Day. For many people, cheesecake is not cheesecake without the addition of ricotta cheese. While ricotta is included in savory dishes like lasagna or manicotti, it is at home in desserts like cheesecake as well.
Ricotta means “recooked” in Italian, and its production involves reheating the whey left over from making other cheeses, like mozzarella. Its texture is like a creamy/ grainy, thick sour cream.
Ricotta is included in this recipe for “Ricotta Cheesecake With Coffee and Chocolate” from “Nick Stellino’s Family Kitchen” (G.P. Putnam’s Sons) by Nick Stellino, but it is not the only flavorful ingredient in this decadent dish. Coffee liqueur, chocolate and lemon zest add to the complex profile — which only get more pronounced if you prepare this cake a day in advance.
