Sometimes you just get too busy...

So I kind of fail at this whole regular blog update thing, I apologize. Believe it or not I do have a life outside the kitchen! Well, sometimes. No, with the end of summer and the beginning of school, my baking productivity did not decrease but my picture taking/uploading and then snarky comments of said pictures took a spin on the back burner.

While I made a plethora of goodies at the end of this summer including a strawberry tiramisu, apple-cinnamon turnovers, and yummy angel food cake the one thing I remembered to document was an orange-ricotta cheesecake.

Start off with a simple pastry dough recipe:

• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• pinch of salt (usually a pinch means between an 1/8 and 1/4 tsp.)
• 1/2 c. chilled butter (1 stick), diced
• 1 egg yolk

To bang out the pastry:

Sift the flour, sugar and salt together on a cold, clean work surface. Make a well in the center. (In this case, the well is not the thing that Lassie needs to save Timmy from, it's simply making an indent in the center of the flour mixture. Kind of like the mashed potato volcano your mom told you not to make because you weren't supposed to play with your food.) In said well, add the butter and egg yolk and gradually work the flour into the diced butter and egg yolk using your fingertips.

See, the mashed potato volcano metaphor wasn't too off-base

Once the dough is formed, gather it together and press it into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and chill the pastry shell for roughly half and hour.

Now it's time for the yummy filling!

Mmm...cheese product

• 2 c. whole milk ricotta cheese
• 2 8-oz. packages of cream cheese (I used Neufchâtel cream cheese instead, makes the cheesecake a little less guilt ridden)
• 3/4 c. of sugar
• 1/4 c. orange blossom or clover honey
• 1 Tbsp. orange zest
• 4 eggs

Blend the ricotta in a food processor (I just used an immersion blender, it seemed to do the trick) until it is very smooth. If you don't blend the ricotta enough, the cheesecake will not have that smooth, yummy-delicious texture. Add the cream cheese and sugar, blend well. Don't forget to occasionally pause and scrape down the sides! Add honey and orange zest, blend. Then add the eggs and blend.

This recipe calls for a lot of blending, by the way.

After you've chilled the pastry shell, prick the bottom with a fork (this allows for even baking and so your shell doesn't puff up leaving less room for the yummy filling). Line the shell with aluminum foil and fill with baking beans (any dried beans will do). Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Remove the foil and beans. Let tart cool.

Stick a fork in it!

Caution! These beans are now no longer for human consumption, unless you like really, really dry beans...

Kinda looks like the surface of the moon?

After the shell has cooled, pour the filling to the tart shell. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden and set. (Set means that when you nudge the tart pan, the middle doesn't look liquidy). Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool. Then carefully remove the side of the pan, leaving the cheesecake on the bottom of the pan. (Unless you've got serious kitchen ninja skills, it's best to leave the bottom on the pan). Eat and enjoy! Note: If you want to be super fancy, you can add candied peel on top to decorate or even add it to the filling before baking.

Delicious.