Glance
at this recipe and you may be surprised to see ricotta in the list of
ingredients. In the past I have always used
ricotta traditionally; in an Italian cheesecake, a filling for cannoli, or mixed
with a little sugar and vanilla to serve with fresh fruit. But that was before I
found
all the different recipes that contain ricotta in Mollie Katzen's book "Sunlight Cafe". She definitely opened my eyes to this soft cheese's versatility. One
excellent recipe is these cherry
ricotta muffins, where just by adding ricotta to the batter you may think you
are eating a slice of
Italian cheesecake.
Besides ricotta, I love how these muffins contain chunks of fresh sweet cherries.
For too brief a time during the summer months we are blessed with an
abundance of ruby red Bing cherries. Oftentimes we eat them raw but you
will definitely want to keep a few aside to make this recipe.
As always, it is important to choose our fruit carefully. So look for
sweet cherries that are dark red, shiny, plump, and quite firm and make
sure there is no browning around the stems. Do not buy cherries that are soft or
have brown spots, cuts, are wet or sticky, or have shriveled stems.
The cherries do need to be pitted and cut into pieces for this recipe. Because cut cherries
immediately start to release their juices, it is important to use them right
away so they don't bleed into the batter.
Ricotta is a soft cheese made
with milk and the whey that has been drained off when making other cheeses.
I guess you could say it is not a real cheese, rather it is a cheese by-product.
Ricotta means 'recooked' or 'cooked twice' which is appropriate as it is the second time
the whey has been cooked. The one disadvantage that ricotta has is
that, unlike other
cheeses, it is highly perishable. After opening, it only takes a few days
for its flavor to turn
bitter. I mention this because ricotta is usually sold in one pound containers,
so you will have leftovers. To solve the problem of what to do with leftover
ricotta, I suggest the Chocolate Ricotta Muffin
recipe on the site or the Breakfast Tiramisu.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177
degrees C). Place rack in the middle of the oven. Line 12 muffin pans with
paper liners or
spray with a non stick vegetable spray.
In a medium sized
bowl, whisk the ricotta cheese and then add the eggs, one at a time, beating
well after each addition. Add the buttermilk, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and
cooled melted butter, mixing well. Set aside.
In another large mixing bowl,
whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon
zest.
Add the ricotta mixture to the flour mixture. Stir
just until combined and then fold in the chopped cherries. Do not over mix this mixture
or the muffins will be tough when baked.
Divide the
batter amongst the 12 muffin cups using two spoons or an ice cream scoop.
Place in the oven and bake about 20 minutes or until
lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out
clean. (The baking time will be a little longer is using frozen cherries.)
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
Makes 12 regular-sized muffins.
Source:
Katzen, Mollie.
'Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Caf?. Hyperion. New York: 2002.
1 1/2 cup
cherries (fresh or frozen), pitted and sliced (If you frozen cherries do
not defrost before using). When fresh cherries are out of season use
dried cherries.
Lemon Zest
- The yellow outer rind of the lemon that contains the fruit's flavor
and perfume. The rind being the outer skin of the lemon which
consists of both the yellow zest and white membrane (pith).
s
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