Italian Ricotta Cheesecake.

 This cheesecake is so light and delicious.  It just melts in your mouth.  This traditional Italian cheesecake is the easiest cheesecake to make. 

You don't have to bother making a crust because it calls for store bought pound cake.  The batter is so creamy and rich too.  It has a hint of lemon in it because we use the grated rind of 1 whole fresh lemon. 

I have eaten many cheesecakes throughout my life coming from the New York area and I will guarantee that if the Golden Girls took a break from there store bought New York Style Cheesecake that they would be pleasantly surprised!  No wonder why you never saw Sophia Petrillo (Dorothy's mother), eating those cheesecakes.  The Golden Girls are disgraciable for not getting Sophia an Italian Ricotta Cheesecake!    Ingredients:   Ricotta Cheese-2 pounds. Large Eggs-8. Granulated Sugar-1 cup. Whole Milk-1 1/2 cups. Lemon Rind-rind of 1 fresh lemon. Store bought Pound Cake-3/4 loaf. Sweet Butter-6 tablespoons, room temperature.   Instructions:   In a large bowl crumble up the pound cake into small pieces.  Mix the butter in to the crumbled pound cake.  Line the bottom and the edges of a 9" spring form pan all the way up to the top.  Set aside.  In a large bowl mix the ricotta cheese, eggs, sugar milk and lemon rind until smooth.  Pour the mixture into the pound cake crust spring form pan.  Set the pan in a cookie sheet filled with 1/2" of water.  Bake in a preheated oven for about 1 1/2 hours.  Remove and allow to cool completely.  Refrigerate the cheesecake in the spring form pan over night.  Do Not remove the spring form pan or the cheesecake will rip.  The next day using a sharp knife go carefully along the edges of the spring form pan around the entire cake to release any cheesecake that may have stuck to the sides of the pan.  Remove the spring form pan.  Serve with a hot piping cup of Italian Coffee