Wednesday Recipes: Ricotta Torte

A savory cheesecake? Yes! I was visiting my mother this summer and they watch a lot of television. I don't so browsed through cookbooks while also watching Wheel of Fortune. I'd never seen anything like this recipe and had to try it--so I borrowed a cookbook. Today, I served the torte at my church fellowship hour--so good!

Ricotta Torte

Ingredients:

Crust:

42 butter-flavored round crackers (e.g., Ritz)

4 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut up

1 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups ricotta cheese

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Garnish: Fresh herbs

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. For the crust: place crackers in a food processor and pulse to make coarse crumbs. Add melted butter and pulse until well combined.

3. Spray sides of a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick vegetable spray. Press crumbs onto bottom of pan.

4. For the filling: pulse filling ingredients in a food processor until well mixed. Pour filling into crust and bake until just set--50 to 60 minutes.

5. Cool to room temperature on a rack. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen torte, remove to a serving platter and cut into wedges.

6. Easy to travel--keep in pan until you reach your destination. Then, remove from pan and enjoy.

NOTE: This recipe came from Reader's Digest Kitchen Secrets, published in 1997. And my church family ate it up!