Almond Ricotta Mini Cheesecakes with Lemon Curd

We were supposed to have a dinner party this weekend – it was Italian-themed with homemade pasta and lots of wine and bread and maybe a vegetable or two tucked in for good measure. There’s some epic-for-Seattle epic weather happening here this weekend, and since we can barely drive in the rain (go figure), snow driving definitely isn’t our things. So, no dinner party for us.

 

I had, however, spent a more than reasonable amount of time trying to come up with a dessert that would be light and refreshing at the end of a heavy meal. Since we were going with an Italian theme, I thought about cannoli (who doesn’t want to eat a cannoli?!) but between the equipment and my lack of enthusiasm about having a giant pot of boiling oil in my house (not that I’m above that, just not in the mood), I decided against it. But, I do love me some ricotta cheese, and eventually I settled on these Almond Ricotta Mini Cheesecakes that would be tangy, tart, sweet, and perfect treat at the end of a meal.

 

 

I found a few recipes online that mimicked what I wanted – a light cheesecake that’s rich with flavor, featuring an almond crust. I also wanted some sharpness, so I made a lemon curd for the top, and served it with some blueberries for color and a bit of extra flavor. Since this should be made in advance, it was great for a dinner party where there’s always plenty of running around to be done – it was nice to have a task that was completed.

 

I altered the original recipe (linked here), only slightly, to make less batter. A few other notes:

1. I couldn’t find amaretti cookies so used one box of these that I found at my local grocery store – however, I didn’t include it in the recipe because I’m not so sure how easy they will be to find.
2. Also, here’s the tin I used – it does sound like a pain to individually wrap the each tin in foil, but in reality, it just take a few minutes and is well worth the time.
3. Be sure to secure each tin with a rubber band, too, just to make sure it all stays in place. Also, I chose this tin because it’s got removable disks at the bottom (not a springform but the same concept), and I very much liked the idea of not having to fuss with the sides sticking.

 

Side note, since we cancelled the dinner party, we ate some of the cheesecakes last night; may plan was one per guest (because of the heavy meal). Though, that may have been off. Brandon easily polished off four mini cheesecakes 😀.

 

 

 

[tasty-recipe id=”8318″]

 

 

[tasty-recipe id=”8319″]

Posted on February 10, 2019
This entry was posted in baking, desserts and tagged cheesecake, italian desserts, ricotta.