Blood Orange Ricotta Cheesecake with Red Wine Glazed Figs

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