If necessity is the mother of invention is it safe to say then that random leftover ingredients are the building blocks to great recipes? Just a thought! And when I say leftover, I mean leftover, half finished, not wanting it to go bad, and somewhere in the middle of all that ingredients. That’s pretty much how this Banana Ricotta Cheesecake came about. I had a container of ricotta cheese in the fridge that was quickly approaching its expiration date and two bananas on the table that were quite ripe and I just didn’t feel like making pasta or a banana bread. After some Google searches I couldn’t find anything that I really wanted to make or I found recipes that required ingredients I just didn’t have on hand and didn’t want to buy. So, I figured since I bake enough it was about time that I tried going without a recipe, okay, not completely without one. I did some major tweaking to a Ricotta Cheesecake I had made before. But, I think this is still somewhat original.
Unfortunately, my cheesecake did crack in the middle. It wasn’t so bad when I first took it out of the oven, but, as it cooled it got bigger. Oh well!
But, after slicing it and plating it with chocolate sauce and whipped cream that unfortunate crack was nothing to be bothered by as I am happy to say I was quite pleased with how the cheesecake came out. The banana flavor was subtle but still detectable, not as strong as banana bread but not as faint as a hint. And no, in case you are wondering there were no traces of banana in the cheesecake itself since I was sure to blend the mashed banana, sugar and cream cheese until they were smooth.
Banana Ricotta Cheesecake
Ingredients:
18 graham crackers
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 ripe bananas, mashed
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups whole milk ricotta
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Process the graham crackers in a food processor until they become fine crumbs. Add the butter and process until blended. Pat the crumbs into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. All to cool completely.
In a large bowl, beat the mashed bananas, cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the ricotta and vanilla extract and continue beat until smooth. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each one.
Pour the mixture into the cooled crust and bake for 50 – 60 minutes. Until a cake tester inserted in the middle come out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 45 minutes, then refrigerate and chill for at least 2 hours. Serve at room temperature.
Bead Yarn & Spatula 
I was making banana cheesecakes and the batter wasn’t banana tasting enough I had a box of s/f banana pudding mix in cupboard that I added to the mixture before baking. I also replaced the sugar with monkfruit sweetener and added a sprinkle of cinnamon. Delicious
I was making banana cheesecakes and the batter wasn’t banana tasting enough I had a box of s/f banana pudding mix in cupboard that I added to the mixture before baking. I also replaced the sugar with monkfruit sweetener and added a sprinkle of cinnamon. Delicious
Sounds good!
I was making banana cheesecakes and the batter wasn’t banana tasting enough I had a box of s/f banana pudding mix in cupboard that I added to the mixture before baking. I also replaced the sugar with monkfruit sweetener and added a sprinkle of cinnamon. Delicious
I was making banana cheesecakes and the batter wasn’t banana tasting enough I had a box of s/f banana pudding mix in cupboard that I added to the mixture before baking. I also replaced the sugar with monkfruit sweetener and added a sprinkle of cinnamon. Delicious