By popular demand, we’ve shared Quest for Life head chef Leanne’s mouth-watering and original baked orange ricotta cheesecake recipe, which was served to staff and guests for the first time in February 2022.
This recipe – which was created especially for program participants and the Quest for Life Board’s luncheon in February – is crafted from only nine ingredients and is easy to make even for beginners in the kitchen.
“I love citrus flavoured things but I really love the mix of orange and vanilla bean together,” Leanne said.
“I love cheesecake, especially baked. A baked cheesecake is more ‘cake like’, whereas one that’s just set with gelatine, it’s more like a panna cotta or mousse, it’s a lot smoother. So it’s mainly about the difference in texture.”
“I love all cheesecake, but I prefer the flavour and texture of baked cheesecakes.”
Ingredients – Base
200g hazelnut meal
20g quinoa flakes
20g raw sugar
75g melted Nuttelex or butter
Ingredients – Filling
3 x 375g punnets of smooth ricotta cheese
150ml sugar free maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
150ml orange juice
Zest of two oranges
Ingredients – Orange & Vanilla Drizzle Syrup
400ml orange juice
1 tsp vanilla essence
Zest of two oranges
100ml sugar free maple syrup
Baked Orange Ricotta Cheesecake Method
Mix base ingredients together and press into a spring form pan.
Process all filling ingredients together in a food processor until combined.
Pour filling mixture onto base and cook in low degree oven (150 degrees Celsius) for approximately 40 minutes.
Remove cake from the oven and leave it to cool.
Combine syrup ingredients and bring to boil, then turn down the heat and leave to simmer until reduced by half.
Pour reduction over cooled cheesecake.
Leave cake for several hours at least before serving.
Serving suggestion: after drizzling the orange and vanilla syrup onto your baked cheesecake, sprinkle almond flakes generously on top as a garnish.
Quest’s chefs Leanne and Carol create the smorgasbord of delicious recipes that participants are treated to on our 5-day residential programs at the Quest for Life Centre in beautiful Bundanoon, New South Wales.
The Quest kitchen team are more than happy to accommodate individual dietary requirements for participants. They love to treat anyone whose birthday falls during their stay with us to a delicious birthday cake made with love, from scratch.
