You can prepare the batter and filling a day in advance and assemble it just before baking. The original recipe called for 1 cup of butter – but my version has a fraction of the fat! Serve this with sour cream or Greek yogurt and top with mango or orange slices.
Batter:
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
dash salt
1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)
1/2 cup milk (skim or 1%)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Filling:
3 cups (1 1/2 lbs) ricotta cheese (low-fat is fine)
2 cups (1 lb) light cream cheese
2 eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)
1/4 cup sugar
juice of a large lemon (3 1/2 Tbsp)
1 tsp each grated lemon and orange zest
dash salt
1. Spray a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish with nonstick spray. (You can also use two 9-inch pie plates.) Use a food processor fitted with the steel blade to process all ingredients.
2. Batter: Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl once or twice. Transfer batter to a 4 cup measuring cup or bowl. (Don’t bother washing processor bowl. Just scrape it out well with a spatula.)
3. Filling: Process ricotta cheese and cream cheese until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add remaining filling ingredients and process 30 seconds longer.
4. Assembly: Pour half the batter into prepared dish. Spoon filling overtop, gently spreading without mixing it into the batter. Pour remaining batter over filling.
5. Bake in preheated 300°F oven about 1 1/2 hours, until set and nicely browned. (If baked in two pie plates, baking time is about 1 1/4 hours.)
Reheats and/or freezes well.
Note: Cottage cheese can be used instead of ricotta cheese. I’ve also made this using 4 cups ricotta cheese and 1 cup cottage cheese, with excellent results.
alauren