SMS: Agave Sweetened Ricotta Cheesecake with Blueberry Compote

This week's SMS recipe was for a lemon blueberry cheesecake with cornmeal crumble crust. That is not what I made. I had been wanting to make a ricotta cheesecake for some time, so this seemed like a good opportunity to try one out. I also wanted to sweeten it with agave so that my son could eat it. I researched ricotta cheesecake recipes online, and drawing from several different recipes I sort of made it up as I went along. The result was amazing. Amazing. Smooth, creamy, light, oh my. I will be making this again and again and again and again and again... Oh, and it was fast, too. About 10 minutes of prep tops! 

I'd like to try Melissa's cheesecake recipe one day soon, but for now, here's mine:

32 oz ricotta

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla 

zest of 1 lemon

3/4 c agave nectar

3 c walnuts

1/4 cup agave

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9 inch spring-form pan.

Crust:

Place walnuts, agave and salt in food processor. Pulse until crumbly in texture. Press into buttered 9 inch springform pan.

Filling:

Blend ricotta in food processor until silky smooth - about 2 min. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer. On low, add agave 1/4 cup at a time, blending well with each addition. Add eggs 1 at a time, blending well with each addition. Stir in zest and vanilla. Pour into pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes (I baked for 70), covering with a foil tent at around 35-40 min. Bake until deep golden brown, and still slightly jiggly. 

Blueberry Compote:

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

3 tablespoons maple syrup or agave nectar

1/8 - 1/4 tsp salt

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook on med low heat for about 20 min or until blueberries break down and mixture thickens.

Thanks to Eliana of A Chica Bakes for choosing this week's recipe. You can find the cheesecake recipe on her blog.