Orange-Vanilla Ricotta Cheesecake Recipe
An orange-tinged cheesecake topped with vodka-marmalade glaze turns the childhood Creamsicle treat into a sophisticated dessert.
What to buy: Store-bought ricotta is fine to use in this recipe, or you could make your own ricotta cheese.
Making homemade pecan shortbread cookies for the crust would be the icing on this cheesecake, but we used Keebler Pecan Shortbread Sandies with much success.
Special equipment: You will need a 9-inch springform pan for this recipe.
This dish was featured as part of our Homemade Vanilla Extract project.
For the crust:
- 1 1/4 cups pecan shortbread cookie crumbs, from about 11 cookies
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick), melted, plus more for coating the pan
For the filling:
- 2 pounds good-quality ricotta cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons packed orange zest (from about 1 medium orange)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup orange marmalade
- 1/3 cup vodka
- Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 9-inch springform pan with butter.
- Place the cookie crumbs and melted butter in a medium bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Place the crumb mixture in the prepared pan and, using a measuring cup, press it evenly into the bottom. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack.
For the filling:
- Place the ricotta in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the sugar and flour and pulse until well incorporated, about 10 (1-second) pulses, then scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the motor running, add the eggs and egg yolks one at a time until well incorporated. Add the vanilla, orange zest, and salt and blend until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan/crust and smooth the top.
- Bake until the center of the cheesecake is set and the edges are golden brown, about 1 hour. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.
For the topping:
- Place the marmalade and vodka in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, simmer, and reduce the sauce by half, about 10 to 15 minutes. Cool slightly (about 5 minutes) and pour over the cooled cake. Let set before cutting, at least 15 minutes.

I made this last night and it was delicious. For those who don't like traditional cheesecakes for their density or sweetness this is the perfect diversion. It was light and not too sweet. Everyone loved it and it was gone pretty quick!
easy to put together if you have the time, and makes an impressive dessert to bring to a party. nice and light texture. thanks for sharing this one, glad I made two cakes - one to bring, and one to keep!
queenscook, the usual cheesecake crust is graham crackers and butter, so that would certainly suffice. I wonder if chocolate graham crackers (brands like Teddy Grahams make them) would be good since there's plenty of orange in the recipe. I love that taste combo, and just the little hint of chocolate shouldn't overshadow the creamy, orange cheesecakiness. :)
Instead of pecan shortbread cookies, why not just use plain shortbread cookies, if you're allergic to the pecans. Or just any other cookies you'd use as a crust; for ex., I would think Oreos would go nicely with the orange in the cheesecake.
Wow, this sounds amazing, but I am deathly allergic to pecans. What would you recommend as a substitute crust?
If you're really not going to use the egg whites, just toss 'em down the disposal. It's not like 2 egg whites are worth their weight in gold. You may be wasting all of 11 cents.
Thanks for letting me know! I've been checking the site to see if anyone answered the yolk question. I may try it later and use the whites for omelet. I did make an orange-ginger cheesecake from paneer recently (my own recipe with whole eggs--couldn't find ricotta cheese or cream cheese here in India), and while the taste was great, the texture was dry and crumbly. I had tried a mango cheesecake in the past with paneer and it had a good texture. My guess is that for successful cheesecakes here, I have to make paneer at home and not drain the whey too much; or add some other liquid such as fruit pulp.
Adirao, definitely not. If you won't use the egg white for another purpose, give it to a neighbor or pitch it, but you can't put it in a recipe like this or it will screw up the texture.
Sounds good! Wife not sure of ricotta cheese. Egg yolks are to add for more creaminess of the cake itself, so that might be why the yolks only. Use leftover whites for an omellette.
I made this recipe twice. LOVE IT!
Looks yummy and I'd love to try it...but I'm put off by the idea of using only egg yolks (not the type of person who's then going to use the whites for meringue or omelette). Is it okay just to use 5 whole eggs?