One of the challenges of trying to make food from some other country is finding the “right” ingredients. Following is the fruit of many experimentation.
You must follow the baking and cooling in the oven instructions. Do not open the oven before the cake had time to cool properly. The cake will collapse/lose its height.
Ingredients
Crust:
200 gr. finely crumbed Petit Beurre Biscuits (I use Leibniz)
60 gr. (½ Cup) almond meal/ finely crushed almond
1/2 tsp almond extract
66 gr. (1/4 cup or 1/2 stick) melted butter
2 tablespoon honey
Cheesecake layer:
6 eggs
3/4 cup (“Baker’s”/superfine) sugar
15 oz Ricotta Cheese
16 oz Sour Cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
Fresh Lemon zest (½ teaspoon should be enough) + Juice from one lemon (2tbsp)
2 tbsp corn flour/cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Prepare the crust:
- Mix the crust ingredient in a large bowl.
- Pour into a buttered 9” round cake springform pan (I use a silicone pan, so I don’t butter the pan).
- Using your hands press the mixture evenly into the bottom.
Set aside.
- Mix the batter:
- In a large bowl add to the eggs, Ricotta, and Sour Cream. Mix in sugar, vanilla extractand lemon zest well. When all ingredients are well mix, add both the cornstarch. Mix well. Make sure it is lump free.
- Pour the batter on top of the crust in the cake pan.
- Insert the pan into the oven. (middle rack)
Important baking steps!
- Bake for 15 minutes at 400°F. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR!
- Lower the oven temperature to 300°F. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR!
- Bake for 1 hour. Turn off the oven. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR!
- After at least 2 hours in the cooling oven you may take the cake out.