Well well. Who knew crust-less cheesecake could be so effin’ incredible. Not gonna lie, I am a fan of decadent cheesecake, and whenever I get presented with a “no bake” option I respond with a “no fucking way” answer – you know? You gotta do it right!
This recipe in particular creates a cake that’s somewhat of a merge between a flan and a cheesecake – not too rich, not too runny – just perfect! Add some red wine and orange glazed dried figs to the equation and, no joke, you’ll be licking the plate!
Full recipe of this wintery treat after the jump
Blood Orange Ricotta Cheesecake with Red Wine Glazed Figs
Serves6-8
Ingredients:
For the cake:
– 5 large eggs
– 3/4 cup sugar
– 3 cups good quality ricotta (try to find an imported one at an Italian shop)
– Zest of 1 lemon
– Zest of 1/2 orange
– 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 1/4 cup maple syrup
– 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
– 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the glazed figs:
– 1 1/3 cups dried turkish figs, stemmed and halved
– 2/3 cup dry red wine
– 1/2 cup blood orange juice
– 2 tablespoons sugar
– 1 cinnamon stick
– Segments of 2 blood oranges.
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter an 8″ springform pan and place it on a baking sheet
2. Whisk together eggs and sugar until sugar dissolves. Whisk in the ricotta, zests, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon and vanilla and mix until combined. Slowly whisk in flour just until incorporated – no need to mix like crazy.
3. Pour batter into greased pan and bake until golden brown for about 60-75 minutes. You can gently giggle the pan a bit to test for doneness, if it’s mostly firm, you’re good to go – don’t over bake as it can get dry. Remove from oven and let it cool for about 15 minutes. Run a knife along the edges and remove pan.
For the glazed figs:
– Place all ingredients – except the orange segments – in a pan over medium heat. Simmer for about 20 minutes until liquid has reduced almost by half and looks somewhat syrup-y. Add orange segments and let them simmer for a couple minutes. Remove from heat and cool down.
ASSEMBLE:
Place the glazed figs over the cake and drizzle the liquid all over it. That’s it! Now let your taste buds get a winter trip to the land of “holy shit I love this cheescake!”.
CREDIT:
Photography and Styling: Artful Desperado
Recipe adapted from: Gather Journal Issue 6
J.S. @ Sun Diego Eats says
I feel like all your pictures of food need to be immortalized in a chiaro escuro oil painting.
Gabriel says
that’s totally where I drew inspiration from! Thanks JS, I’m flattered ;)
aimee @twigg studios says
Wow your photos are amazing x
Gabriel says
Thanks Aimee! Big fan of your work! :)
Aleksandra (Vanilla&Staubzucker) says
I’m attrachted by the atmosphere, the darkness and the flavours (even if I don’t like ricotta&figs at all!).
Dena@ Gathering Flavors says
This looks amazing. Yum. Yum. YUM!
Gabriel says
Thanks Dena!
pamela says
Long time admirer and fan, first time trying out your recipe!
For the cheesecake section….when and where do you add the ground cinnamon? I am assuming with the salt, vanilla etc?
Love love love your work!
Thanks!
All the best,
Pam
Gabriel says
Oops! Forgot to add that, yep you add it with the salt, vanilla, etc. and thanks Pamela! :)
Rochelle @ Oh So Sweet Baker says
This cheesecake is unbelievably gorgeous. Love it!
Gabriel says
thanks Rochelle!
Rachel says
Ok, I have been obsessing over blood oranges for months now and you are making me drool with this recipe. I don’t even like cheesecake (seriously, I know…) and I want to sink my teeth into this beauty.
Love it!
Rachel
http://rachelinflight.com
Gabriel says
haha whaaat? Yah i know cheesecake is one of those things. and get those blood oranges while they’re here! thanks miss :)
June Burns says
OMG, the flavors in here–amazing! The wine-glazed figs sound incredible, such a great combination :)
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
This is gorgeous! I love the idea of making a cheesecake with ricotta. Yum!
Gabriel says
It’s the best!
ATasteOfMadness says
This cheesecake is absolutely gorgeous :)
Gabriel says
Thank you!
Loui says
Hello, I’ve been converting this recipe from cups to grams/oz this morning (I live in London) And I’ve managed to do each ingredient except the dried figs. As a professional can you recommend any online conversion websites that would convert figs? I’ve tried about 15 different ones! Thank you in advance for any help you can give, I’m looking forward to trying this recipe out.
Lou
Gabriel says
Hi! I don’t know of a site that would do such specific conversions (in this case specifically for figs) but I would say 300g would be a good amount to use. If it’s a bit more or less it won’t make a huge difference as the figs are the topping and you can add as much or as little as you want. Enjoy!
Raluca says
Hi! :)
I found this recipe to taste more like creme brulee than cheesecake, probably because of the 5 eggs. And you can really feel the egg taste, which was a bit too much for me. Was it the same for you or am I doing something wrong?
Gabriel says
Hi Raluca! If you can taste the egg it means it may have “scrambled” in the oven, meaning, it was too hot. I would double check the temp! This definitely tasted rich like a cheescake and I didn’t find an eggy tasty in it. Let me know if you have other questions!