Italian Cheesecake
Usenet Newsgroup posting by Stephen Amerige (1984)

Having been prompted for an Italian cheesecake recipe--I immediately thought of the recipe which my great grandmother from the Sicilian tradition created (Maria Jo Anna Mirabella's). It is simple, yet very good and hard to make a mistake. Included is the basic recipe:

2 cups sugar (a little shy is ok)
6 eggs (grade A large): *separated* and whites beat stiff
1 lb. Ricotta cheese (Whole is better than part skim)
1 lb. cream cheese
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract (or try substituting orange or lemon)

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix all ingredients *except* the egg whites. Fold in the egg whites until *just* completely mixed.

Into a 9-inch buttered (butter is best; margarine or shortening are, at best, second choices) and *lightly* floured spring pan, pour in the entire mixture.

Bake at 325 degrees F. for 1 hour--do not open oven door. Without opening oven door, turn off oven and let remain in oven for an *additional* hour. Remove from oven: the cheesecake should be lightly browned and should have several cracks in the center. The center will also be slightly lower than the edges--if you do choose to use a glaze, you will see that this cheesecake forms its own rim. If your oven runs hot or cold, change the temperature by + or - 25 degrees rather than changing the cooking and idle time.

Insert knife around sides of pan to insure easy removal of spring pan sides. Remove the spring pan sides and place cheesecake and bottom of spring pan on a plate to catch the liquid which will exude during the 3 hours the cheesecake is in the refrigerator. The longer the better in this case--do not cover.

Well, this recipe costs about $4.00 to make and takes about 5 1/2 hours from start to eating (much of it free time for other tasks), but is definitely worth the effort! Enjoy.