Amaretti and coffee cheesecake

ALTHOUGH CHEESECAKES DO NOT BELONG TO THE CLASSIC ITALIAN BAKING REGISTER, THEY HAVE FOUND THEIR WAY INTO PRETTY MUCH EVERY FAMILY RECIPE BOOK. THIS ONE, BY GIUSEPPE DELL'ANNON, DOES NOT REQUIRE BAKING – HURRAY – AND COMBINES TWO FAVOURITE FLAVOURS; COFFEE LIQUEUR AND AMARETTI. FOR A NON-ALCOHOLIC VERSION, YOU CAN SWAP THE KAHLÚA FOR STRONG COFFEE

SERVES UP TO 12 PREP TIME: 25 MINUTES SETTING TIME: 5 HOURS

Ingredients

NEEDED: 23cm springform cake tin

FOR THE BASE

 90g unsalted butter

 200g amaretti biscuits

 1/₈ tsp salt

FOR THE CREAM

 4 platinum-grade gelatine sheets (about 8g)

 4 tsp instant coffee granules

 100g hot water

 250g mascarpone, at room temperature

 120g ricotta, drained and at room temperature

 100g icing sugar

 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

 40g Kahlúa coffee liqueur

 200g (¾ cup plus 1 tbsp) whipping cream, cold

 12 amaretti, to decorate

Method

1 Line the base of the tin with baking paper. Place the gelatine sheets in a small bowl and cover them with cold water; leave to soak for about 10 minutes.

2 Put the butter in a small microwave-safe bowl and melt it in the microwave: 30–40 seconds should be enough. Set aside to cool.

3 Put the amaretti and salt in the bowl of a food processor and blitz until they resemble sand. Transfer to a medium bowl and add the melted butter. Mix to moisten the crushed amaretti fully, then tip the mixture into the lined tin. Press it down firmly using the back of a spoon or the bottom of a cup. Put in the fridge to set.

4 Dissolve the coffee in the hot water, drain the soaked gelatine and dissolve the sheets in the hot coffee by whisking energetically for a few seconds. Set aside to cool.

5 Put the mascarpone, ricotta, sugar and vanilla in a bowl large enough to accommodate all the ingredients, then whisk by hand or with a handheld electric whisk until smooth and homogeneous. Add the cooled coffee mixture and the coffee liqueur and whisk again until well combined.

6 Put the whipping cream in another bowl and whisk until it forms soft peaks. Do not overbeat or it will curdle: stop as soon as the surface changes from shiny to dull. Use a silicone spatula to gently fold the cream into the mascarponecoffee mixture in three batches.

7 Pour or spoon the mixture over the biscuit base, level it off with the back of a spoon or, better, with a small offset spatula, then chill in the fridge for at least five hours or overnight.

8 When ready to serve, loosen the sides of the cheesecake with a small knife, remove the ring of the tin and transfer the cake to a serving plate. Decorate the top with amaretti.

This wonderful cheesecake will keep for up to three days in the fridge.

Giuseppe Dell’Annon, winner of the Great British Bake Off, introduces a whole selection of sweet Italian treats in Giuseppe’s Easy Bakes (Quadrille, €26, FNAC). Great tastes, photographed by Matt Russell. The upside down mandarin cake in the book is another winner.