Cheesecake, Mmmm… who doesn’t love this sweet?
I’ve been looking for a lighter texture cheesecake recipe for a while, and I’ve finally found it!

I made this cake for one of our good friend’s birthday in February.

INGREDIENTS & EQUIPMENTS

Equipments

One 8-inch springform pan (or regular cake pan & parchment paper)
Mixer or food processor
Stand Mixer

Ingredients for Graham Cracker Crust

10-12 graham crackers
2 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Ingredients for Cheesecake

2/3 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 lb cream cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp bread flour
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and kept warm

HOW TO MAKE

Making the Crust: Preheat the oven to 350 F.

1. Mix graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter with a rubber spatula.
2. Press into an even layer by using a flat-bottomed glass and bake about 5 minutes.

Making the Cheesecake Batter:Reduce the oven down to 325 F.

3. Puree the ricotta cheese and sugar in a food processor or regular mixer until smooth.
4. Soften the cream cheese in a stand mixer.

5. Add the ricotta mixture on medium speed until smooth – about 5 minutes.
6. Add the eggs and mix on low speed until they are well blended.
7. Add the vanilla extract, lemon juice, cornstarch, and flour to the batter and blend until smooth. (I tripled the amount of lemon juice that the original recipe called for, be sure to adjust the recipe to your liking.)
8. Add the melted butter until evenly blended.

Baking the Cheesecake by Using Water Bath Method

9. Spread the batter in an even layer over the crust & drop the pan onto the counter from the height of 1 inch to release any air bubbles.
10. Place the pan in a baking sheet and place the sheet on a pulled-out oven rack. Add about 1 inch of hot water. (Water bath is a simple method to have moist cheesecake.) Bake about 50-60 minutes until the edges are set.

11. When the cake starts to pull away from the sides, the cake is done. Remove it from the water bath and cool the cheesecake in the pan on a wire rack until it gets a room temperature. Then, refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to overnight before unmolding.
12. Separate from the pan and it is ready to decorate.

13-14. I used whipped cream, lemon, and mint to decorate the cake.

And, of course, I couldn’t forget to pipe “Happy Birthday” on a birthday cake!

ALEXA’S TIPS

1. There is a cake pan that was designed for cheesecake, called springform. You can separate a cheesecake easily by unlocking side of pan. But, I couldn’t find mine that day. So, I just used a regular cake pan, but cut some parchment papers-long rectangle shape and place them across. when I separated the cake from the pan, I just lifted those 4 papers up. It worked pretty well!
2. It is very important to mix ricotta cheese and sugar well until well blended to get a soft smooth texture.
3. After thought, it would be also tasty if I made some lemon glaze and drizzle on top before I serve!

A very light texture cheesecake with a hint of lemon!

Little dots for an extra touch.

Enjoy it! =]

Is there something in between shortbread cookies and Christmas? I don’t know why, but I must have shortbread cookies for Christmas.
I made these cookies for this Christmas and everyone who tried loved them!
If you love shortbread and citruses, you’ve got to try this recipe.

INGREDIENTS & EQUIPMENTS

Equipments

Stand Mixer
Rolling Pin
Sifter

Ingredients – Makes about 30 cookies

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
1 cup cornstarch
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp grated orange zest
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest

HOW TO MAKE

1. Sift the flour, cornstarch, and salt into a bowl and set aside.
2. Cream the butter on medium speed until light in texture and smooth about 2 minutes.
3. Add the orange and lemon zests.

4-5. Add the confectioners’ sugar (shift it if you can). Cream until the mixture is light and smooth about 2 minutes. (Scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed)
6-7. Add the sifted dry ingredients and mix on low speed. (I forgot to sift ahead, so I was sifting directly into the bowl.)

8-9. The dough is doen when it is just blended well. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface (I used a wooden cutting board.).
10-11. Shape the dough in a square and roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into
3 x 2-inch (for wide shortbread) 1 x 2-inch (for narrow shortbread) rectangle

12. Grease the cookie sheets with butter or flourless cooking spray and place the cookies on the prepared cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Cover and chill for 30 minutes before baking.
13. While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 F. Then, bake for 20-25 minutes.(Rotating the pans as necessary to bake evenly.)

14. When the edges of the shortbread are a very light gold, they are done. (They feel very soft and breakable, but they will harden while they are cooling down.) Transfer to wire racks and let cool completely before serving.

15. If you desire, dip the shortbreads into a soft ganache and let them harden and serve.

Alexa’s Tips

1. Chill the dough for 30 minutes before rolling, if it is too sticky.
2. Shortbread tend to spread out while it is baking, so make sure you cut them smaller than
the size that you want when they are baked.

I came up with the idea of making tuxedo shortbread cookies while I was dipping them into the ganache!