Mango Cheesecake...with a swirl!

Ok, so I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything new. The truth is, I just haven't had a chance to make anything post-worthy. I've been too excited about the arrival of five baby kittens in the family! Since I work from home, I took the opportunity to travel over to mom's house and visit the little furballs twice this week.

All five kitties are adorable! They are still so tiny and have barely opened their eyes. I can't wait till they are old enough to romp about on their own. I am definitely excited about the thought of adopting one! Now if only I could get my hubby to agree....

Anyway, I thought I'd share this lovely recipe with you. I made this cheesecake a while, and my mom loved it so much that she's requested I make one just for her! While I used pureed mango from a can (you can find this at an Indian store), this recipe can easily be made using fresh mango... the fresher, the better!

The original recipe has a basil-lemon syrup to serve over the cake, but I thought that would be too sweet for me. I think it tastes fine on it's own or topped with fresh fruit.

Ingredients

•          8 ounces vanilla wafer cookies
•          3/4 cup butter, melted
•          2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
•          1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese, room temperature
•          2 cups mango puree (you will need a little more if you want to create the ‘swirl’ effect)
•          4 large eggs
•          3/4 cup sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lightly grease the inside of a 9-inch springform pan. Finely grind the cookies in a food processor. Add the melted butter and process until the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom (not the sides) of the prepared pan. Bake until the crust is golden, about 15 minutes. Cool the crust completely.
3. Blend the cream cheese and ricotta in a stand mixer, fixed with the paddle attachment. Add the mango puree, eggs, and sugar and mix until the mixture is smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure that everything is well incorporated. Do not overmix!
4. Reserve about ¼ cup of the batter to create the swirl effect. Pour the rest of the cheesecake batter over the crust in the pan.
5. Mix the reserved batter with additional mango puree to make darker, thinner batter. [Note: I kept adding mango puree because it wasn’t getting dark enough to stand out against the original batter. You can also use orange food coloring if you like.] Drop this new batter by spoonfuls in small batches right on top of the mixture in your springform pan. Run a knife through the batter in circular motions to create a swirled design. Be careful not to scrape the crust.
6. Once you are satisfied with your design, place the springform pan in a large roasting pan on the center rack of your oven. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack to cool for 30 minutes. Place in the refrigerator and cool completely, at least 8 hours and up to 2 days.

Original recipe by:

Giada DeLaurentis