Chocolate ricotta cheesecake recipe

First of all, spread the almonds out on a small baking tray and toast them in the oven for 7 minutes, using a timer. After that, chop them quite finely. Next, place the biscuits in a plastic food bag and crush them, using a rolling pin. Then tip the crumbs into a mixing bowl and add the nuts and Grape-Nuts. Now add the butter to bind it all together, then press the mixture into the base of the tin, pop it into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. After that, remove it and leave it to cool.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate for the cheesecake in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water, then remove it from the heat and let it cool as well. Next, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the Ricotta, crème fraîche, egg yolks and sugar until smooth and well blended.

Now soak the leaves of gelatine in a small bowl of cold water for about 5 minutes, and while that’s happening, heat the milk in a small saucepan up to simmering point before taking it off the heat. Squeeze the excess water from the gelatine, then add it to the milk and whisk until it has dissolved. Now stir the gelatine and milk, along with the cooled chocolate, into the Ricotta mixture, until it’s all thoroughly blended.

Now, in another, grease-free bowl and using clean beaters, whisk the egg whites to the soft-peak stage. Then, first fold a tablespoon of egg white into the cheesecake mixture to loosen it, and after that, carefully but thoroughly fold in the rest of the egg white. Next, pour the mixture on to the cheesecake base, cover with clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or, preferably, overnight – the longer the better.

To make the chocolate curls, melt the chocolate as before, then pour it on to the base of the plate to form an even layer about ¼ inch (5 mm) thick. Place the plate into the fridge for 45 minutes to chill and set. (The chocolate should be hard enough so that, if you press the surface, it doesn’t leave an indentation, but not rock hard.) Then, using a large-bladed knife held carefully at either end with both hands (or a cheese slice), pull the blade across the chocolate, pressing down slightly. As the blade comes towards you, the chocolate will form curls. (If it is too hard, it will be brittle and will break rather than forming curls, in which case, leave it at room temperature for 5 minutes before trying again.) Store the curls in a sealed container in the fridge until you are ready to use them. You probably won’t need all this chocolate to make enough curls to top the cake, but as the layer of chocolate gets thinner, it will be harder to form nice curls, so the remaining chocolate can be lifted off the plate and melted again for another recipe (or simply eaten!).

To unmould the cheesecake, first run a palette knife around the edge of the tin, then release the spring-clip and remove it. After that, carefully lift it off the base of the tin and transfer it to a serving plate. Decorate it with the chocolate curls and give them a light dusting of sifted cocoa powder.