This crustless ricotta cheesecake with canned peaches is a lovely alternative to cream cheese cheesecake. Italian ricotta cheese gives this crustless cheesecake a lighter texture. Canned peaches give some extra flavour and the absence of a biscuit base makes this crustless ricotta cheesecake gluten free.
Who doesn’t love a slice of cheesecake? Although I have said many times that cream cheese-based New York style cheesecake is my all time favourite, I’m always happy to make exceptions. Truth be told, I really like all sorts of cheesecakes. My grandma and my mom have been baking cheesecakes throughout the course of my whole life and I grew up eating them. Only, it was not the New York type of cheesecakes, nor had they any cream cheese inside.
Cheesecake in my family is often crustless and it features fruits inside. So in this post I’m sharing a family recipe for crustless ricotta cheesecake with canned peaches.
More fruit cheesecakes? Try this no-bake raspberry cheesecake.
Crustless cheesecake recipe: a family tradition
This crustless cheesecake recipe with canned peaches finds its origins in Poland. You may find it strange for a Polish cake to be ricotta based and your suspicions are very legit. Ricotta is an Italian cheese, and although it is now pretty common to find ricotta cheese in Poland, it was not when the Polish people developed their own cheesecake recipe.
As you may know I grew up in Italy with a Polish mother who loves to bake. As rich as the ingredient availability in Italy may be, one thing that my mom could never find when trying to replicate her mother’s cheesecake at home was the right cheese.
Many variations of cheesecake exist, so ricotta cheesecake in Italy was nothing new. But my mom was adamant on trying to make her own Polish recipe. Through trial and error she figured out the perfect equation: 75% ricotta and 25% mascarpone. Two very Italian cheeses that together could yield something pretty similar to Polish sernik, the cheesecake she used to eat back home.
Sernik: Polish cheesecake
This crustless ricotta cheesecake recipe is developed after Polish cheesecake sernik. In fact, this is a proper sernik recipe, just made with a different cheese. Sernik is a beloved cake in the Polish culinary tradition and many variations of this recipe exist, based on regionality. Such variations may include a crust, which can be featured only on the bottom or also on the top, various toppings as well as the use of various fruits. The most basic recipe often calls for raisins; using canned peaches is a fancier alternative. A common feature is obviously the fact that sernik is a cheese-based cake and the cheese used for Polish cheesecake is a white cheese known as twaróg.
Twaróg is also known as ser biały , aka “white cheese”. It is Poland’s farmer’s cheese, or quark – an acid-set cheese, that is to say a cheese where milk coagulation happens thanks to acidity, as opposed to using enzymes (rennet). Polish twaróg has a rather compact texture and is fairly dry. Traditional Polish sernik recipes call for the use of some heavy cream to provide some creaminess and fat.
My crustless cheesecake recipe uses a mixture of ricotta and mascarpone, since it was adapted in Italy. Ricotta is more moist and airy than Polish white cheese, so mascarpone – a fat and compact creamy cheese – is added instead of heavy cream.
More Polish food to discover in this guide to Polish food in Krakow.
Crustless ricotta cheesecake ingredients list and method
- 750 g ricotta cheese
- 250 g mascarpone cheese
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 5 eggs
- 1 lemon
- 40 g + 1 tsp potato starch (divided)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 200 g canned peaches
Combine the ricotta and the mascarpone in a bowl. Crack in the eggs, add the sugar, potato starch and vanilla extract. Mix at medium speed with a hand mixer for about 5 minutes, so that the sugar dissolves in the mixture. Zest and then juice the lemon. Add the zest from the whole lemon as well as 40 ml of lemon juice to the batter and stir it in.
Pour the batter into a springform pan lined with a sheet of parchment paper on the bottom. Drain the peaches (save the syrup), dice them and gently place them on top of the cake. Bake the cake in the preheated oven at 150°C for 1:15 hours. After the baking time is over, turn off the oven but leave the cake in for another half hour without opening the oven.
The peaches are likely to dry out, so in order to keep a fresh look it’s good to make a simple glaze to lock in the natural moisture of the fruits. In a small saucepan combine 150 ml of the preserving syrup of the canned peaches with 1 tsp of potato starch. Stir to dissolve lumps and bring to a boil; the mixture will thicken. Remove from the heat as soon as the glaze reaches boiling temperature. Gently spread over the top of the cake with a pastry brush, filling the cracks that may have appeared when the cake set.
This crustless ricotta cheesecake does well in room temperature on the first day, but needs to be refrigerated afterwards. I actually like it better at room temperature, or just before it’s reaching room temperature and it’s still somewhat warm.
Crustless ricotta cheesecake with canned peaches
Ingredients
- 750 g ricotta cheese
- 250 g mascarpone cheese
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 5 eggs (room temperature)
- 40 g + 1 tsp potato starch (divided)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 lemon
- 200 g canned peaches in light syrup
Instructions
- Combine the ricotta, mascarpone, sugar, whole eggs, 40 g of potato starch and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix with a hand mixer at medium speed for about 5 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved to the touch.
- Zest and juice the lemon. Add the zest from the whole lemon and 40 ml of the juice to the batter and stir in. Drain the peaches (save the light syrup for later) and dice them.
- Pour the batter into a springform pan lined with a sheet of baking paper. Gently place the peach bits over the top of the cake making sure not to press them down. Ideally you want them to stay on the top of the cake.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 150°C for 75 minutes. When the time is up, turn off the oven and leave the cake inside without opening the oven door for an extra half hour. This will help the cake to set.
- In a small saucepan combine 150 ml of the light syrup from the canned peaches and 1 tsp of potato starch. Stir to combine and set on medium heat. When it reaches boiling temperature, take away from the heat. Gently spread this glaze on top of the cake with a pastry brush. The glaze will lock the moisture in preventing the peaches from drying up.
I have never had a crustless cheesecake before, but this is the one I’ll be starting with!
I hope you’ll love it as much as I do!
I have a can of peaches in my cupboard that needs a home. I think I found it! And love that’s it crustless as well (makes me a little less guilty haha)…can’t wait to try!
Yes, you’re gonna love it! It’s the perfect place to fit canned peaches. And yeah, little less guilt thanks to the absence of a crust. It’s perfect!
A lover of cheese always and peaches are the best seasonal fruits. Love both the combinations to making this cheese cake. I am drooling.
Thank you Veena, I can confirm this is a wonderful combination.
Ricotta cheesecake with canned peaches sounds SO much better than having to peel and cut into fresh peaches! Like it would take half the time…and still, be completely divine!!! This will be perfect for summer entertaining. Thank you for the recipe!
That’s true! And also, I just love canned peaches. It’s maybe the extra sugar kick, but I just can’t help loving them.
This is such a wonderful dessert that’s perfect for the warmer weather. I love it!
Thank you Sharon!
What a different and unique recipe! I love the addition of canned peaches with the cheeses!
Thank you Lori! This combination is not very popular outside of Poland, but it’s a very good one!
Ricotta cheesecake is so delicious and light! I love the addition of the peaches.
Thank you Anne!
This is such a interesting cheesecake and it looks delicious! I love that you made it crust-less and with peaches, something i’ve never tried before and I look forward to trying it soon.
Thank you very much Jo! Hope you’ll enjoy!
Oooooh this might be right up my ally! I don’t like cream cheese in desserts so I’ve never cared for typical cheesecakes, but I do love ricotta. What a perfect alternative!
You should definitely try, the outcome has quite a different texture from classic cream cheese based cheesecake. Hope you enjoy!
Wow this one looks like an ultimate crustless cheesecake recipe! I love peaches and this would be so good on a hot summer day.
It’s such a delightful dessert in the summer!
This cheesecake looks like something my mom used to make when I was a kid. Loving this nostalgia!!
Sweet! It’s amazing how food can really bring us back in time.
I have never had or seen crustless cheesecake, this sounds so delicious and peaches make all the difference in this recipe. A perfect summer dessert to keep.
Thank you so much! Indeed a great option for a summer day.
could I please get the ingredients in US American English instead of grams? I would like to try this recipe but
I don’t know Liters, grams, etc.
Thank you in advance for your help. This looks absolutely delicious and I love Ricotta Cheese!
Hi Dee! Fixed, now you can see the option “US customary” under the ingredient list in the recipe card, so you can just click that and it will convert it for you. Hope you enjoy this cake as much as I do!