Bay Nut Ricotta Cake

Cake in foreground, my brother’s art in background.

Here’s the deal: everyone likes coffee and chocolate. Okay, so that may not be entirely true, but who are we kidding? I probably don’t want to associate with those individuals anyway.

For those of us with *good* taste, the knowledge that there is a wild edible commonly found on the West Coast (the bay nut - more including foraging info here) that, when roasted, produces a flavor that can be likened to a combination of coffee and (bitter) chocolate is mind blowing. Now think about taking that amazing ingredient and adding it to a ricotta cheesecake - not bad. This brings us to the bay nut ricotta cake. 

“A graham cracker crust also works, but doesn’t have the same rustic qualities as buckwheat flour. Buckwheat is also gluten free - make the dessert gluten free by replacing the all purpose flour with a gluten free substitute. An entirely buckwheat crust can work, but is a little too crumbly. ”

Crust Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coarsely ground bay nuts - I used a coffee grinder for several pulses. You could also chop with a knife.

• 1 cup buckwheat or other flour of choice

• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

• 1-2 tablespoons roasted bay nuts, finely ground

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon orange zest

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1-2 tablespoons cold milk or water

I forgot to add citrus zest to the crust, so I threw it into the ricotta mix, as seen here:)

Filling Ingredients

• 16 ounces ricotta cheese

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup roasted bay nuts, coarsely ground

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 2 teaspoons juice from an orange (optional)

Topping Ingredients

• 8 oz. sour cream

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Mix flours, 1/3 cup sugar, salt, 1-2 tablespoons bay nuts, and zest. Cut in butter, mix until pea-sized crumbs. Add water or milk until dough comes together when pressed, but is not too wet. Press into greased 9” springform pan and bake for 10-15 minutes until browned. Remove from oven and cool.

Blend filling ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Pour onto cooled shell, bake in oven for about 40-50 minutes, until cake is set and jiggles only slightly. You make need to cover with foil if top gets too brown. 

Remove from oven and let stand for 15-20 minutes while you mix together the topping ingredients. Spread out topping mixture and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove and cool until served.

Crust me! I like to smash the crust up higher than the filling will be for a more dramatic rustic look.