Recipe: Blueberry Ricotta Cups

I came to a conclusion the other day, whilst Jesse was away... I totally couldn't be a crazy cat lady, I'd be the crazy baking lady. 

Whenever I'm bored or Jesse is away or I have nothing to do - I bake. I hate cats so baked goods seem like the next best thing (and puppies - always puppies). 

Actually that's a lie. I bake whenever I have the chance because I love it - especially in winter when it's cold and the oven warms up the entire kitchen. 

These Blueberry Ricotta cups were one of my baking successes and I've made them 3x since! They're the perfect dessert for winter as you can serve them warm - and they won't pack on that winter insulation... if you know what I mean. Best of all, they're super simple and use only a few ingredients! 

Blueberry Ricotta Cups makes 4-5         
gluten free, low fat, clean eating friendly 

2 cups low fat ricotta

1/4 cup egg whites or one egg

1/4 cup plain flour/gluten free flour

2-3 tbsp honey/maple syrup

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 200°C/395°F. 

In a bowl, combine all of your ingredients except the blueberries. 

Divide the blueberries among each of the ramekins**, adding just enough to cover the bottom. 

Pour your ricotta mixture over the top of the blueberries. 

Bake until set and the ricotta starts to turn golden. 

Serve warm in ramekins or chill in the fridge. 

*If you don't want to use honey or maple syrup, try mashing a banana and adding it instead - deeeelicious. You can also use regular sugar.
**I don't usually grease the ramekins as I found it doesn't make much of a difference - but feel free to do so if you prefer.

So tell me, what's your favourite warm dessert?

At the moment, I have three - these, my banana ricotta cups and my chocolate banana souffles. Scrum-diddly-umptious!

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Recipe: Baked Apple Cinnamon Ricotta Cups

So you know all about my love of Baked Banana Ricotta, but even though that's my hands down all time favourite - why not make another flavour?!

I've been experimenting with flavours for my baked ricotta cups and came up with this delicious Apple Cinnamon version! Best of all? It's so simple to make! It's a healthy, single serve version of a crustless ricotta cheesecake.

I was inspired to make this Apple Cinnamon version after making baked apples stuffed with ricotta. This baked ricotta cup version is much simpler and easily freezable for a quick dessert.

The recipe can be tailored to suit your tastes. I don't like things sweet so I don't use any sweetener, however my family do and 1-2 tbsp of maple syrup was all it needed to please them! 

Feel free to add added chopped apple (I did this in my second batch and it was so much better), extra spices or some other mix ins. Raisins are a great addition to the Apple Cinnamon Ricotta cups and I bet nuts would work really well also - don't be afraid to play around with different combinations!

Baked Apple Ricotta Cups

makes 3 delicious low fat, gluten free baked ricotta cups

250g/9 oz ricotta cheese (use whatever kind you like - full fat, low fat or fat free)

1 egg

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 

~1/2 tsp cinnamon (this depends on your tastes - add more/less if you like)

~1-2 tbsp maple syrup

Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F

In a bowl mix the egg and add in the ricotta, applesauce, cinnamon and maple syrup (if using). 

Add in any other mix ins if using and pour mixture into three greased ramekins or large silicone muffin tins.

Bake for around an hour or until set and the tops start to brown. 

Leave to cool slightly and serve warm or chill in the fridge. 

If freezing: wrap ricotta cups individually and then store together in a zip lock bag. 

So tell me - what's your favourite type of apple?

I'm a granny smith girl but I love pink lady apples as a treat! yum :)

    

   

Recipe: Baked Banana Ricotta Cups

When the weather is cold, I always seek out warm foods. It was on one of these days I discovered just how delicious baked ricotta is. For a long time I've been baking ricotta for an afternoon snack or warm dessert, but it takes around an hour for it to bake completely and sometimes I just don't have the time - or the patience. 

I decided I needed a warm dessert for winter nights - so I broke out my silicone baking cups, grabbed the ricotta and got to experimenting. What came out of my experiments was one of the simplest, but most delicious recipes I have made. It can easily be multiplied and made into a full sized cake and if you prefer a crust on your cheesecake, that can be added too! 

This version has only three ingredients and each ricotta cup has around 10 grams of protein! They're a delicious and healthy dessert or snack option that's so simple to make! The banana caramelises, making the ricotta sweet and full of flavour.

 Baked Banana Ricotta Cups - makes 3
A quick and healthy dessert that can easily be multiplied for bigger batches and freezes well. It's like a healthy gluten free cheesecake - add a crust if you prefer!

1 medium ripe banana
250g/9 oz ricotta cheese (I've used both full fat and reduced fat with equal success)

1 egg 

Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F.

In a mixing bowl, mash the banana thoroughly. 

Add ricotta and egg and mix until combined. 

Pour mixture into silicone muffin cases or greased tins*

Bake for around an hour, or until edges caramelise and the ricotta cups are set. 

Leave to cool slightly, serve warm or chill in the fridge. 

Notes: When you take them out of the oven, the do shrink a bit - but this is normal!

*I haven't tried making them in anything other than the silicone cups as they are the easiest to get the delicate cheesecakes out of. If you try this recipe in muffin tins or any other tin, let me know!

Dessert doesn't get much simpler than that - does it? Plus they're healthy too, so what more reason do you need to give them a try! Feel free to add sugar if you have more of a sweet tooth - or whatever other additions you might feel like.

 

I have other versions of these ricotta cups that I make that I will be posting in the future, let me know if you have any ideas that you'd like me to try! 
 

But first tell me, What's your favourite wintery dessert? 

Also, my new ipad arrived, so I've signed up to instagram - follow me by searching @southerninlaw