Little Bear and Little Sal’s mother and Little Sal and Little Bear’s mother
were all mixed up with each other among the blueberries on Blueberry Hill.
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey (1948)
Flower: Devil In The Bushes, Nigella Damascena
This recipe was inspired by Imen McDonnell, my favorite American lass who left behind her big city job to marry an Irish farmer and live on a fabulous Farmette. More on Imen’s story and The Farmette cookbook here.
Ricotta Cheesecake with Blueberries
Author: Yvonne Cornell
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups crumbled graham crackers or whole grain biscuits
- 6 TBSP soft unsalted butter
- 10 oz ricotta (store bought or homemade *)
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Honey
- * For Homemade Ricotta:
- 4 cups whole milk
- 4 cups low-fat milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1½ tsp kosher salt
- 3 TBSP lemon juice
Instructions
- Process crackers or biscuits in food processor into large crumbs, add soft butter and pulse just until mixture comes together (I find using your fingers to press together in a small bowl works best.)
- Press this mixture into a single 8-inch springform or five 3-inch cheesecake tins with removable bottoms, pressing a little up the sides to create a small ridge.
- Beat together the ricotta, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
- Whip the cream and fold into the cheese mixture.
- Spoon the cheesecake filling onto the cracker base and smooth with spatula.
- Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
- Cover cake(s) with blueberries tossed in a honey mixture of 4:1 honey to room temperature water.
- Drizzle honey on top of each cake to finish.
- To make ricotta: Line a large colander with 2 layers of cheesecloth and place over a large bowl. In a 5 to 6 quart pot over medium heat, heat milk, cream and salt, stirring occasionally to avoid scorching, until mixture foams and comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and add lemon juice. Simmer, stirring, until the mixture curdles, usually in 2-3 minutes. Pour mixture into cheesecloth-lined colander and drain to desired consistency. Ricotta will keep in the fridge for 1 week.
[…] career for that of an Irish farm lass. Inspired by Imen, I first learned how to make cheese and butter, pretending I too lived on a farm and not in the Silicon Valley tech suburbs. It […]