Chocolate-ricotta Icebox Cake

Total Time: 7 hrs Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 6 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• nonstick cooking spray
• 14 ounces semisweet chocolate (do not use chips)
• 2 (15 ounce) containers part-skim ricotta cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 (9 ounce) package chocolate wafers (about 44 cookies)

Recipe

• 1 prepare pan: remove sides from a 9-inch round springform pan (see note, below). place a sheet of waxed paper over bottom, leaving an overhang; lock sides onto bottom, firmly securing paper. spray inside of pan with cooking spray; line sides with a strip of waxed paper 28 inches long and 4 inches wide.
• 2 make chocolate-ricotta mixture: break 12 ounces of chocolate into pieces. place in a heatproof medium bowl set over, not in, a pan of simmering water. cook, stirring occasionally, until chocolate has melted, 8 to 10 minutes.
• 3 in a food processor, blend ricotta until very smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl. add warm chocolate; blend until smooth. in a large bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form. with a rubber spatula, gently fold in chocolate-ricotta mixture.
• 4 assemble cake: arrange half the cookies in an overlapping pattern to cover bottom of pan. spoon half the chocolate-ricotta mixture on top of cookies; smooth top. cover with remaining cookies; top with remaining chocolate-ricotta mixture, and smooth top. cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 6 hours and up to 2 days.
• 5 before serving, release sides of pan and remove waxed paper from sides. using bottom piece of waxed paper, pull cake onto a platter; with a metal spatula, lift cake and remove waxed paper. using a vegetable peeler, shave remaining 2 ounces chocolate over top of cake. with a knife dipped in hot water, cut cake into 10 slices (wipe off knife, and dip in hot water after each slice).