Cheesecake is my brother-in-law Steve’s very favorite dessert. When you ask him what he’d like for his birthday, cheesecake is always the answer. Special occasions? Cheesecake, of course. For this recipe, I combined a bit of his favorite cheesecake (the filling) along with Bart’s favorite topping (the buttermilk praline) and Mama’s favorite crust (pecan shortbread). If you aren’t a huge fan of nuts, just omit them from the crust and the topping and this will still make for a crowd-pleasing dessert. Unless you tell them, they probably won’t even guess that you replaced some of the cream cheese with ricotta in this cheesecake.
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ cup finely chopped pecans
Cheesecake Filling
- 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 cups ricotta cheese, at room temperature
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Buttermilk Praline Topping
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter
- ½ cup pecans, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush the melted butter over the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Make the Crust
- In a medium bowl, beat the softened butter, flour, and confectioners’ sugar with an electric mixer. Stir in the pecans. Press the dough into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the prepared pan.
- Bake until light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, set on a wire rack, and let cool completely.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Make the Filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), beat the cream cheese and ricotta until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until just blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and salt and beat until just blended. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the lemon juice and vanilla. Let rest for 5 minutes before pouring into the crust.
- Bake until the edges are set, 1 hour. The middle 2 to 3 inches will still be soft and have a bit of movement. Do not overbake! Do not use a knife or a toothpick to test for doneness. Keep the oven door closed, turn the oven off, and leave the cheesecake in the closed oven for 1 more hour.
- Transfer the cheesecake to wire racks. Let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and as long as overnight.
- Remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator and run the tip of a sharp knife around the edges. Release the sides of the springform pan and run a sharp knife under the cake to remove the bottom of the pan. Using a large spatula, place the cheesecake on a serving plate. (At this point, you can wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days before adding the topping.) For the Topping
- In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine the sugar, baking soda, and buttermilk and stir well. Add the butter and cook, stirring constantly, until it reaches the softball stage or a candy thermometer registers 238°F, about 10 minutes. If you do not have a candy thermometer, you can use the cold-water test: Drop a small amount of the topping into a bowl of very cold water. Using your fingers, form the drops into a ball. The ball should flatten easily when removed from the water.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pecans and vanilla. Remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator and pour the praline topping over the top. Return the cheesecake to the refrigerator and allow the topping to cool and harden, about 30 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before slicing and serving.