A visit to Pasticceria Papa is a must when in Sydney, because their Baked Ricotta Cheesecake is… OUT OF THIS WORLD! Here’s my replica recipe that, seriously, comes this close to the real thing, you won’t want to stop at one slice!
Update Nov 2012: This recipe has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Eat Drink Blog 2012 Recipe Writing Competition and came overall second! Thank you for your votes.
Warning: this post is photo heavy and the cheesecake highly addictive!
The original Pasticceria Papa Torta Di Ricotta Cheesecake is so good, it has been voted Sydney’s best cheesecake by the SMH. Now, if you’ve ever had a slice of the original cheesecake, you would know that the pastry that envelopes the lightest, most fluffiest and creamiest ricotta filling EVER, seems to be made out of one piece… The ricotta filling is incredibly light and fluffy, heavenly almost. And the whole thing is quite low in sugar too, which is something you don’t normally see with patisserie cakes.
Since I love reverse-engineering my favourite foods, I knew I had to make this cheesecake at home!
So, there were two challenges with making this cheesecake. Firstly how to make the pastry wrap around the whole cheesecake – top, bottom and sides, seamlessly. The second challenge came from the fact that the recipe is a better guarded secret than Colonel’s 11 herbs and spices, which meant that it would take some guesswork. I tackled the first problem by using my fail-proof slice pastry that reminds me a lot of the one used by Papa.
In terms of the ricotta filling, I had a basic idea of what might go in it: ricotta, obviously. Eggs, but not too many, beaten into fluff – yes, that I knew from Mum’s Polish cheesecakes. The ratios would take some guesswork, and a lot of expensive ingredients, I thought.
Luckily, the wonderful Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella has done some of the Papa groundwork before me. She had already baked an Italian Ricotta cheesecake based on a recipe featured in Maeve O’Meara’s Italian Food Safari.
It was good, but since the pastry was a shortcrust one, it was not suitable for the lid. Crumbs were flying everywhere with each attempt to slice the cake. You see, the original pastry is almost a little chewy… I also found the filling to be a little too eggy. One egg didn’t work either, so I settled on two.
Apart from reducing the amount of sugar and eggs a little further, adding vanilla extract and changing the ratio of ricotta and cream cheese, I added the famous “lid” to the cheesecake as well. It was as seamless and as light and fluffy as I had hoped for!
And so, finally, it all came together the third time around although I must say the second attempt was quite close too, but the lid didn’t quite stick and the one egg filling was a tad too firm.
Now, you may be concerned about the amount of fat in this recipe because all ingredients are full-fat. Don’t be. After all, if you are making a cheesecake, you might as well make it the best one there is and that means butter, full-fat cream, cream cheese and ricotta. No low-fat shortcuts here.
And trust me, you won’t want to stop at just one slice!
- 100g butter, softened
- ¼ cup caster sugar
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup fresh cream (35% fat)
- 2 cups plain flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- extra butter and flour for prepping the tin
- 2 eggs
- ⅛ cup caster sugar
- 250g cream cheese (I used full fat Philadelphia)
- ⅛ cup caster sugar (yes, again)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup fresh cream (35% fat)
- 500g full-fat ricotta
- 1 tbsp icing (conferctioner’s) sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon powder
- Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and cream and continue mixing on a lower speed until combined (the mixture might appear separated, but that’s ok).
- Sift flour and baking powder together. Add to the batter and mix on low speed until the pastry starts to come together.
- Knead into a ball with your hands, place back in the bowl and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- For the base and lid: cut about a third of the pastry for each base and lid and roll it out between 2 sheets of baking paper – it should cover the base of your cake tin.
- Transfer one round of rolled out pastry together with the bottom sheet of baking paper onto the base of your tin. Cut excess dough and patch up any gaps with the leftovers.
- Prick around with a fork and bake for 5 minutes, not longer, in the preheated oven. Remove from oven when ready.
- Place eggs and ⅛ cup caster sugar in a mixer bowl and beat on high speed until pale and fluffy. Set aside.
- Place cream cheese and the remaining ⅛ cup caster sugar in another bowl and beat on medium speed until combined.
- Add vanilla extract, cream and egg mixture from step 1 then mix on low speed to combine.
- Add ricotta and mix on low speed to combine.
- Grease the cooled cake tin rim with extra butter and dust with flour. Shake off excess.
- Place rim around the pre-baked base, with the baking paper hanging on the outside of the tin. Close the clasp.
- Roll out remaining pastry into a log and place between two sheets of baking paper. Roll out to about 4mm thick and your cake tin’s height. (You can do this in stages as it’s hard to get the whole side into the tin at once.)
- Transfer the strip(s) into the tin, pressing gently into the base and snug with the side walls of the tin. Continue to work right around the tin.
- Cut off any overhangs by rolling your rolling pin over the top of the tin. Patch up any wholes.
- Pour ricotta filling into the pastry casing and smooth out.
- Using a knife, gently fold the pastry edges over the ricotta filling. Place the remaining circle of pastry over the top and using your fingers, gently “knead” the edges of the lid into the folded over pastry. It should look as if it were one piece all the way around.
- Place cheesecake on a lower middle rack of your pre-heated oven and bake for 45 minutes – the pastry should not crack within this time, but if it does, it will settle down as the cheesecake cools.
- Once baked, leave to cool in the oven with the door ajar for 20 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil and transfer to a cooling rack, then once completely cool, cover with cling film and chill in the fridge overnight.
- Dust cheesecake with cinnamon and icing sugar and serve.
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Oh my God! You have totally outdone yourself and made my day… THAT is the best cheesecake ever – so going to try this tonight!
WOW WOW WOW! you are a genius Martyna. I’ve seen other attempts at making the cake but yours complete with the pastry lid is truly the best. Thank you so much for all your hard work in making this. I am sure you had some delicious times doing so.
Holy Cow, M!! I’d be still on egg carton #45 trying to get this right. Well done! That cheesecake looks amazing.
Thanks Maureen, although I doubt you’d need that many eggs. You are a super talented cook! I believe in you!
That looks fantastic Martyna and thank you for the shoutout and kind words. I would give anything for a slice of your cake right now
Sounds like this cheesecake is something we can’t miss, and your replica version is all I can get for people oversea like me. I also learned your interesting technique to take pictures of cake/cheesecake. Very beautiful…!!!
Wow that thing looks amazing, I love your recipe and your photos! Youve outdone yourself
Another great reason to visit Syndey. I think that looks like my cheesecake heaven. Amazing.
Oh my goodness. This is magnificent.
Hav just made this magnificent recipe BUT had a hell of a time with the pastry. I think chilling the pastry would have been better. Also what flour did U use?
Hi Janet, I used plain flour and made sure to work on a cold surface (granite benchtop but you could use glass cutting board) between 2 sheets of baking paper. You could chill the pastry, wrapped in a plastic bag for no longer than 10 minutes to help it be less sticky.
Oh my goodness! That looks so gorgeous! Well done, Martyna; congrats on your successful breakthrough! Oh, and thank you for sharing your hard-won recipe with us!
I’m a little embarrassed to say I’m yet to try the cheesecake at Pasticceria Papa. I only hear great things. I’m more inclined to try yours as it looks incredible! Great work!
I am so impressed that you tried this three times! I don’t know if I have that sort of patience. Like John, I’ve also not yet tried the cheesecake at Pasticceria Papa. Yours looks spectacular!
Whoa Martyna! That cheesecake is seriously evil… Well done on conquering the recipe though. I can’t wait to make it for my family, I’m sure it’ll go before I get a piece!
This looks divine. Congrats on perfecting the recipe. I recently baked a salted caramel cheesecake with wraparound pastry, so I know how hard that is to perfect. Great photos too!
Thanks Amy, your cheesecake sounds good too… is the recipe on your blog?
I was very fortuntate to actually sample a piece of this cheesecake. It truly is one of the best cheesecakes I’ve ever eaten. A perfect balance of ricotta cheese, pastry and the subtle tase of cinnamon is just perfect. I will definitely try and make this myself!
Oh my gosh! This cheesecake is gorgeous! I can see add some berries to it! It looks scrumptious!!
I tried making the cake and I have the following comments:
1. No issues with the baking and or look of the final product
2. Pastry actually tastes nice but not like Papas. Note make sure you join the top to sides properly casue it puffs up and disconnects from the sides in oven if you dont
3. Filling is nothing like Papas. Papa must have different ingredients.
4. Not sure what to do with this following step. i.e when to add it back in witht he rest. Was a bit confused by the step.
1.Place eggs and ⅛ cup caster sugar in a mixer bowl and beat on high speed until pale and fluffy. Set aside.
If the filling is changed it will be a nice cake and kinda similar. Good attempt though.
Thanks
Thank you for baking it! I’ve fixed #4 now, thank you for pointing it out. Now, I have a feeling you know the secret recipe… Do you have any pointers as to how the filling could be improved? As with all replicas, they can never be the real thing, but I must say, I am quite happy with this one and based on comments I’ve received from those who have tried the 3rd attempt I may be close.
Wow. this cheesecake looks very delish!! and thanks for the recipe
I have had the very same cheesecake from Papa’s, so it is great to have the recipe. Yours looks even better than the original. Never thought the wraparound pastry would be as easy as it is to do.
Cheers,
Robyn.
Here I go tonight is the night to replicate that cheese cake we all have grown to love,I’m so grateful to have found your recipe,I wish you were here with us tonight to prepare it but your not ,I’m going to enjoy this and I’ll let you now how it turns out martyna.
AMAZING!!!! You know what they say, 3rd time’s a charm! I can’t wait to give this a go.
Attempted this cake today!! It looks like a real replica however the filling isn’t as sweet as papa’s.
Thanks for the recipe
Hi Stef, thanks for the comment – glad you liked the cake. As for the sweetness I’m not a big sweet tooth so that’s probably why I went lighter on sugar in my recipe. Feel free to add a little extra to yours next time.
Martyna
I found the longer I left it the more the taste intensified!! Day 2 and 3 tasted better then day one!
I’m addicted
Thanks again!
Hey, is the flour you use for the pastry plain flour?
Hi Charlie,
Yes, it is plain flour. I have updated the recipe now accordingly.
Thanks,
Martyna
Hi Martyna,
the ricotta filling looks devine. If i wanted to make a almond crust instead of your lovely pastry (too difficult for me) would i still cook the cake the same?
Hi just wondering if I can use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract? Will it work with the recipe or does it need to be more liquid?
Hi Jacqueline, yes you can it doesn’t really matter which you use, as long as it’s the real stuff!
Oh great thanks for that! Also haha sorry for asking more questions but what type of cream did you use? Pure cream of double cream?
I made this recipe and the comments were amazing. For instance, better than Papas. I could have eaten all of the filling before putting it in the cake. So yummy. I added nutmeg to the filling. It was a nice touch however I did add slightly too much. My only criticism is that the cake is too small. I wish it made a much bigger cake for special occasions. I might try and adjust the recipe and cooking time for a bigger cake for the next family occasion. Thanks so much.
Thanks for the recipe! Decided to make this a few weeks ago. Pastry was amazing and flavoursome. Filling had an amazing creamy and soft texture which I have never been able to achieve before, however lacked sweetness and flavour. I made it a second time round, added more sugar and some alcohol and also used mascarpone in place of the cream cheese. Texture wasn’t as great as the first try, BUT the filling tasted AMAZING! 3rd time lucky I guess. Will use cream cheese and add the extra sugar and alcohol
determined to nail this one!
Hi Rena, glad to hear you liked the cheesecake and experimented a little to make it perfect for what you were after. As for me, I have a very sensitive sugar radar and don;t like using as much as others – hence probably why you felt the need to add more
Hi there, i just made your recipe, with a few changes, i switched the cream cheese for mascarpone, i think that it would taste more italian
also, i put the cake upside down, cause the upper crust wasnt brown enough, and looks perfect! now i just how to wait, thank you so much for sharing i have been hunting this kind of recipe long time ago, greetings from mexico 
Just made it! Looking forward to tasting it tomorrow…. at family easter dinner (with the whole ext family who love baked ricotta cheesecakes OH O) Silly question but do you leave it in the tin over night until serving?
Didnt really brown on top but I still took it out at 45 mins incase it over cooked (I also used the italian flour 00 )
Happy Easter! No question is silly. Yes, I leave the cake in the tin – while warm it needs to be held in shape by the tin until it cools down. I’d cover it with some baking paper or foul though as it could dry out. Enjoy
i’m looking forward to making this based on the comments. I hope it turns out as fantastic as it has for everyone else. Just one question, the sugar you use for the cheesecake pastry, is that white sugar?
Hi Diane, sorry, it’s caster sugar or you could use white sugar too – I’ve updated the recipe. Hope it turns out for you, it’s an amazing cake!
Hi i have been looking for a recipe for this for ages. I have made it 2wice once i did it as is and the second did use mascarpone instead of the cream cheese, I preferred the first time as it didn’t sink because the second time the cake sunk deeply which wasn’t a problem. I just feel the filling is not quiet there i feel it should be creamer and not so coarse if I nail it i will share. Very nice though and very close.
Hi Martyna, I have tried the ricotta cheesecake from Papa’s and it has a distinct taste of sweetened condensed milk so I will be adding to this to my attemt at your recipe, I’ll let you know how I get on
Pete N from Perth
Hi Pete, that’s a good pick up on your part. Still I’ve found the cheesecake to be less sweeet than others. Looking forward to hearing how it turns out!
Hi Martyna,
Have you tried this recipe with mascarpone cheese instead of Philadelphia cheese?
Hi Flora,
No I haven’t. Have you? It might work too and I guess would be a touch more Italian that way.
I saw “your” cheesecake done by Adobo Down Under and was curious… What a great recipe and it looks delicious. I love your reverse-engineering! Well done.
Thank you
I;ve made it a number of times since, and every time it’s perfect! I was drooling all over Anna’s photos – our house is all packed up for an impending move so I can’t even bake…