Q: I'm hoping you can persuade the folks at Mangia 101 to share their recipe for the sinful Ricotta Cheesecake. I'm not much of a cheesecake fan, but this dessert was one of the finest I've had.

— Katie K. Bell, Decatur

PHIL SKINNER/AJC (ENLARGE)
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A: Mangia 101's executive chef, Linda Harrell, was happy to provide the recipe. Ricotta cheesecakes often have a grainy texture, but this cake is creamier than most because of the addition of cream cheese and sour cream. Harrell uses ricotta impastata, a lower-moisture ricotta especially designed for commercial use.

To keep the texture, Harrell recommends draining your ricotta of excess water in a fine strainer for about an hour. Don't overfill your springform pan, since it can be a bit tricky maneuvering it to the oven in the water bath. If your pan has a tendency to leak, wrap it in foil before putting it in the water bath.

— Jeanne Besser, for the Journal-Constitution

DESSERT

Ricotta Cheesecake

Makes 12 servings Preparation time: 25 minutes, plus 4 1/2 hours to cool

Cooking time: 45 minutes

For the crust:

2 cups ground graham crackers

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For the filling:

1 1/2 pounds cream cheese

1 cup ricotta cheese, strained of excess water

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup honey

5 eggs

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

To make the crust: In a bowl, combine graham crackers, butter and cinnamon until moistened. Cover the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with crumbs (crumbs may not go all the way up the sides). Store in refrigerator while making filling.

To make the filling: In a separate bowl, blend cream cheese and ricotta until there are no lumps, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Gradually add the sugar and beat until creamy, scraping down sides as needed. Add the honey and beat until incorporated. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed. Add lemon juice and vanilla. Add sour cream and beat until just blended, scraping down the sides as needed. Be careful not to work the ingredients too much.

Pour the batter into the crust. Do not overfill. Place pan in a water bath and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 30 minutes. Refrigerate for 4 hours before serving. Run a knife around cheesecake before removing the sides of the pan.

Per serving: 532 calories (percent of calories from fat, 60), 11 grams protein, 43 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fiber, 36 grams fat, 176 milligrams cholesterol, 313 milligrams sodium.

Is there a restaurant recipe you'd like to make at home? Tell us what you're looking for and perhaps we can help you get it. If we succeed, we'll have the recipe tested and adapted for the home kitchen, if necessary. Because of volume, we can't answer all inquiries. Send your request, along with address and phone number, to: Mail: Betty Parham, Food Department, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 72 Marietta St. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30303. E-mail: menu@ajc.com. Fax: 404-526-5509.