• Italian Mascarpone Ricotta Cheesecake with Nutella
  • Almond Granola Bar Crust
  • Italian Mascarpone Ricotta Cheesecake with Cherries
  • Italian Mascarpone Ricotta Cheesecake with Caramel and Shaved Chocolate
  • Italian Mascarpone Ricotta Cheesecake with Raspberries

Italian Mascarpone and Ricotta Cheesecake

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat oven to 325˚F.
  • 2. For the crust: Grind oatmeal bars and almonds together using food processor or a mortar and pestle. Add melted butter and salt and press into bottom of a completely greased springform pan.
  • 3. Bake for 10 minutes at 325˚. Let cool. Mix sugar and flour together and sprinkle over top of crust. (This prevents crust from getting soggy)
  • 4. Prepare the water bath: wrap the bottom of your springform pan with a single sheet of foil, going all the way up the sides and fold over along the top edge or the springform pan. This will block water from coming in. Place the springform pan into a roasting pan and set aside.
  • 5. For the filling: Beat cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, ricotta cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in lemon juice, vanilla and almond extract. Mix in eggs one at a time. Pour cheesecake mixture into the springform pan overtop of the crust layer.
  • 6. Fill your roasting pan with hot water, half way up the side of the springform pan. Here's a great video from allrecipes.com if you need some visuals for preparing a water bath for your cheesecake!
  • 7. Bake at 325˚ until the center of the cheesecake is no longer wobbly when shaken, about 1hr and 5 mins. Let cool then refrigerate, preferably overnight.

Published on November 1, 2019 | In , | By |
13 Comments
    • Prep Time
    • Minutes
    • Cook Time
    • Minutes
    • Yield
    • 1 cheesecake

    • Ingredients

    • CRUST
    • 4 honey oat granola bars (2 individual packages)
    • 1/4 cup almonds, ground
    • 1 tablespoon butter, melted
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 tbsp sugar
    • 1 tbsp flour
    • FILLING
    • 16oz cream cheese, room temperature
    • 8oz mascarpone cheese, room temperature
    • 8oz ricotta cheese
    • 1 cup sugar
    • 1 tbsp lemon juice
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 1/2 tsp almond extract
    • 4 large eggs, room temperature
    • TOPPING IDEAS
    • Heat Nutella w/ a little milk and drizzle over top
    • Cherry pie filling
    • Caramel sauce drizzled with shaved chocolate
    • Fresh raspberries or other fresh fruit
    • Lemon curd
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I have only three words to describe this Italian mascarpone and ricotta cheesecake: To. Die. For.

Ok, I lied. I have more words. And pictures.

This ricotta cheesecake is very light and almost fluffy thanks to the texture of the ricotta itself. It’s not as dense and what you’d expect from a traditional cheesecake, which for me is fabulous! So if you sometimes feel put off by the density of a traditional cheesecake, you’ll love this lighter version.

What ingredients are needed to make this mascarpone ricotta cheesecake?

This cheesecake is made of a blend of three creamy cheeses — cream cheese, ricotta, and mascarpone. You’ll also need sugar, eggs, vanilla and almond extract and lemon juice to give this a really nice depth of flavor. Of course, you’ll need a crust as well and I’ll be sharing with you my favorite type of homemade yet very easy crust to use with this cheesecake.

Mascarpone Ricotta Cheesecake Ingredients

How is this mascarpone and ricotta cheesecake different than traditional cheesecake?

The flavor is a bit different too as you might expect. The mild flavor of the ricotta blended with the mascarpone makes for a much less rich cheesecake than what you may be familiar with.

I personally don’t love such rich desserts. I’m usually pretty full from dinner when I get to dessert so a rich dessert can just be too much.

You’ll love the flavor boost that comes from a subtle blend of almond extract, vanilla, and lemon juice!

Almond, Vanilla and Lemon

It’s all about the cheese—Mascarpone and Ricotta. Cheesecake’s new BFFs.

The use of these two less common cheeses blended with familiar cream cheese is what really make this stand out from other cheesecake recipes. However, it’s just as easy to throw together as any other cheesecake you may have prepared before.

Mascarpone Ricotta Cheesecake

You can even cheat and use a pre-made crust if you’re short on time. However, the almond crust is really good and really not too hard to make.

Watch step by step how to make this cheesecake.

This is an easy recipe to make if you follow the directions. Check out this quick video that shows each step and the various topping ideas:

What kind of pan do you need to make a cheesecake?

There is a special pan you’ll need to use to make a proper cheesecake — a springform pan. They look like this:Springform Cheesecake Pan RedFor this recipe, you’ll want to use a 9″ springform pan. A springform pan has a bottom that releases from the sides after the cheesecake is cooked.

This special pan is what gives your cheesecake the perfect, low-profile, flat-topped shape you see at restaurants but to really perfect your cheesecake, you’ll need to bake the cheesecake in a water bath. 

Water Bath for Cheesecak to prevent cracking

A water bath is an important technique that prevents the top of your cheesecake from cracking. It’s not hard so don’t skip this step!

With a water bath you get a perfectly smooth and flat top to your cheesecake, like this:

How to prevent cheesecake cracking

Read through the recipe directions below for more explanation and watch the video to learn you how to set up your water bath. It’s pretty easy once you have the right tools and you’ll really feel like a pro after you have done it once or twice.

How to Make an Easy and Delicious Honey Oat Crust with Almonds

For the crust, here are the granola bars I start with as a super helpful shortcut:
Honey Oat Granola Bars
You can find these at most grocery stores in the snack aisle or near the breakfast bars. Most popular stores like Walmart and Target carry these. If you can’t find them, a traditional graham cracker crust works well too. Or you can order them on Amazon.

Then just add almonds for added nutty flavor and use a bit of butter and a pinch of salt to bind it all together and an easy and delicious homemade crust!

Granola bar and almond crust

Other helpful tools for making this mascarpone and ricotta cheesecake:

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This mascarpone and ricotta cheesecake recipe was featured on Sew It Cook It Craft It and Sweet Little Bluebird!

 

Italian Mascarpone Ricotta Cheesecake

Ingredients

  • CRUST
  • 4 honey oat granola bars (2 individual packages)
  • 1/4 cup almonds, ground
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • FILLING
  • 16oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 8oz mascarpone cheese, room temperature
  • 8oz ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • TOPPING IDEAS
  • Heat Nutella w/ a little milk and drizzle over top
  • Cherry pie filling
  • Caramel sauce drizzled with shaved chocolate
  • Fresh raspberries or other fresh fruit
  • Lemon curd

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat oven to 325˚F.
  • 2. For the crust: Grind oatmeal bars and almonds together using food processor or a mortar and pestle. Add melted butter and salt and press into bottom of a completely greased springform pan.
  • 3. Bake for 10 minutes at 325˚. Let cool. Mix sugar and flour together and sprinkle over top of crust. (This prevents crust from getting soggy)
  • 4. Prepare the water bath: wrap the bottom of your springform pan with a single sheet of foil, going all the way up the sides and fold over along the top edge or the springform pan. This will block water from coming in. Place the springform pan into a roasting pan and set aside.
  • 5. For the filling: Beat cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, ricotta cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in lemon juice, vanilla and almond extract. Mix in eggs one at a time. Pour cheesecake mixture into the springform pan overtop of the crust layer.
  • 6. Fill your roasting pan with hot water, half way up the side of the springform pan. Here's a great video from allrecipes.com if you need some visuals for preparing a water bath for your cheesecake!
  • 7. Bake at 325˚ until the center of the cheesecake is no longer wobbly when shaken, about 1hr and 5 mins. Let cool then refrigerate, preferably overnight.

Recipe Rating

  • (5 /5)
  • (5 Rating)

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat oven to 325˚F.
  • 2. For the crust: Grind oatmeal bars and almonds together using food processor or a mortar and pestle. Add melted butter and salt and press into bottom of a completely greased springform pan.
  • 3. Bake for 10 minutes at 325˚. Let cool. Mix sugar and flour together and sprinkle over top of crust. (This prevents crust from getting soggy)
  • 4. Prepare the water bath: wrap the bottom of your springform pan with a single sheet of foil, going all the way up the sides and fold over along the top edge or the springform pan. This will block water from coming in. Place the springform pan into a roasting pan and set aside.
  • 5. For the filling: Beat cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, ricotta cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in lemon juice, vanilla and almond extract. Mix in eggs one at a time. Pour cheesecake mixture into the springform pan overtop of the crust layer.
  • 6. Fill your roasting pan with hot water, half way up the side of the springform pan. Here's a great video from allrecipes.com if you need some visuals for preparing a water bath for your cheesecake!
  • 7. Bake at 325˚ until the center of the cheesecake is no longer wobbly when shaken, about 1hr and 5 mins. Let cool then refrigerate, preferably overnight.

Rate this recipe

Italian Mascarpone Ricotta Cheesecake with Nutella

  • 5 People Rated This Recipe

  • Average Rating

    (5 / 5)

Comments

  1. Genevieve March 26, 2021 at 12:58 am #

    I don’t like almond flavor..can I eliminate that or add more vanilla…and would probably use the graham cracker crust instead…and no crushed almonds…what is your opinion…Not an almond fan..lol

    Reply
  2. Corrine May 10, 2020 at 3:57 am #

    Hi! I currently have this cake going in my oven right now but I too have noticed it’s taking considerably longer to bake. I just bought my ricotta yesterday and I made sure everything was at room temperature. I used hot water from the tap as hot as it would get for my water bath. I do have an oven thermometer and it’s reading the temp is correct. Is this normal? Did I mess something up? I’ve never made a cheesecake before.

    Reply
    • Angela G. May 11, 2020 at 12:27 pm #

      Hi Corrine,
      How did the cheesecake come out? I think the cook time for people will vary depending on how watery the ricotta is. It’s OK to cook a little longer until the center of the cheesecake sets. It shouldn’t hurt anything to cook it longer as needed. Thanks for your feedback! Any tips for have for others making this recipe are super helpful and much appreciated!

      Reply
  3. Joan M Roubicek February 11, 2020 at 7:06 pm #

    I had trouble finding the Honey Breakfast Oatmeal Bars.I live in a big city of Cleveland oh and now market knew what I was asking for please help . I tried several of our big stores

    Reply
    • Angela G. February 11, 2020 at 7:27 pm #

      Hi Joan, I use the Nature Valley brand which you can find at Walmart, Target and most mainstream grocery stores. You can also order them from Amazon. I’ve added a photo of the box with a link above, in the post write up. Thanks for asking about this! I hope you can easily find them now.

      Reply
  4. Randi October 17, 2019 at 6:39 pm #

    what size springform pan did you use?

    Reply
    • Angela G. October 17, 2019 at 6:58 pm #

      Hi Randi, I use a 9″ spingform pan. If you use another size, the bake time may vary.

      Reply
  5. Susan April 21, 2019 at 5:41 pm #

    I am making this cheesecake for a second time and find that the baking time is considerably longer that notes. I checked my oven temp and it is correct. Have the correct size pan. What might be the problem? It is delish.

    Reply
    • Angela G. April 21, 2019 at 6:28 pm #

      Hi Susan, thanks for the feedback. How much longer is it taking until it sets? A few factors I can think would be the initial temperature of the water in the water bath, the temperature of the ingredients, the age of the ricotta cheese – sometimes water pools at the top and could cause the cook time to lengthen. If you can leave some more details for other readers I would appreciate it! And I will revise the recipe as needed to give further instructions if we figure out what’s causing the delay. Thanks again!! Glad you are enjoying the flavor. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Caitlen May 4, 2017 at 1:30 am #

    What size springform for this recipe?

    Reply
    • Angela G. May 4, 2017 at 2:37 am #

      Hey Caitlin, here’s what I use: https://amzn.to/2bpZDxJ

      Though I think you could use any size just keep an eye on it while it bakes. When the center doesn’t jiggle when you gently shake it, it’s set and ready to come out of the oven.

      Reply
  7. Elina April 27, 2016 at 10:30 pm #

    It is absolutely delicious! The only thing…my cheesecake cracked all over the top which didn’t really bother me but I was wondering if baking it in a water bath could prevent it? Thank you for wonderful recipe!

    Reply

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