When I was in high school, one of my friends was a girl that wasn’t very popular. People would do all sorts of mean things to her like tease her mercilessly and tie her pigtails to the bus poles. At times, even adults joined in this behaviour. She lived on the top of a hill and every day she would run down the hill to the bus and one day the bus driver saw her coming down the hill, running as fast as her legs could carry her and just when she got to metres from the bus, he closed the door and drove away laughing and waving. The poor thing was mortified and humiliated in front of a bus-full of jeering peers.
Her mother would try and comfort her and many mornings, she would have a slice of cheesecake for breakfast. This ended up being part of the cycle of teasing as kids with weight issues aren’t often looked upon kindly at school, especially at an all girl’s school and the teasing continued. What my friend had in her arsenal however was a great personality. She could talk to anyone and make them feel as if they were interesting. People loved talking to her and she was interested in people in a teenage world where being cool and disinterested was de rigueur.
She ended up being friendly with some of her then tormentors (no, I wasn’t one of the mean bunch!) but even then, she never quite trusted them after the way that they had behaved. She hardly ever showed up to school reunions and the one time she did, she came up to me with a smile on her face. “Did you see Hermione?” she said. “She looks about 100 years old!” It was true, her tormentor Hermione had no aged well. In fact, it looked like the excessive high school tanning had finally turned into a wrinkled shade of walnut.
I thought of my friend as I was eating a slice of this baked ricotta for breakfast and musing aloud how much this tasted like cheesecake. Sort of like a crustless version of it easily whizzed up with a preparation time of less than 5 minutes. It’s great for when you’re entertaining and can be served with a nice crusty bread, crackers or even sweet biscuits. What I loved was the light, creamy, smooth texture and I won’t lie, the fact that it only took 5 minutes prep time was also another reason to love it.
So tell me Dear Reader, are you still in touch with your friends from school? And were you part of the popular crowd, middle crowd or geeky crowd?
Baked Ricotta With Honey
Adapted from the Coffs Coast “Harvest” cookbook
Degree of difficulty: very easy
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes
- 1 cup ricotta cheese (low fat or full fat) (see recipe on how to make your own ricotta cheese in 15 minutes)
- 1/2 cup low fat cream
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons corn flour
- 1/4 cup vanillin sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons honey (I used Maya Sunny Honey)
1. Preheat oven to 160C/320F. Line a 10 cms baking dish with baking parchment on the base and sides. In a food processor, add the ricotta cheese, cream, eggs, cornflour, vanillin sugar and 2 tablespoons of the honey (reserve the other two tablespoons to drizzle over at the end).
2. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the centre is no longer wobbly. Cool in tin and then carefully upturn on a serving plate and drizzle reserved honey on top. Serve with crackers, sweet plain cookies or bread.
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70 Comments | Add your own
At school, I also had a few friend who were bullied by the other kids. Quite understandable, as I was a misfit myself and hated people who ostracized others (I still do)…
That recipe is great! I really have to make baked ricotta.
Cheers,
Rosa
Gorgeous, what a lovely appetizer! I have some olallieberry honey waiting to be used that would be just perfect here!
I do keep in touch with some friends from school, but mostly with my right.out.of.highschool friends.
Sorry, can’t concentrate. The photos look too delicious!
Yum! I would definitely try this one.
I was a geek, kind of a little too smart for my britches, captain of the scholastic team…
Not popular, I’m afraid and I have no idea where any of my former classmates are now!
Wow how easy is this! and that’s so mean of the bus driver and adults too! That’s terrible.
As soon as I saw the first photo, I thought “that looks like it could be similar to cheesecake, but without the stupid crust part I’ve never liked!”
I can’t understand bullying. I can’t understand how some people have absolutely no empathy and only cruelty within.
I love baked ricotta and why I’ve never made it with honey is now beyond me – looks so delicious. That poor girl and to think her mother ‘helped’ her in the worst possible way. I’m glad things have turned around for her at the reunions. We had lots of cool mean girls at school too and it’s quite true that they’re often the ones who don’t age well xx
What a coool ricotta recipe Lorriane! Looks delicious. And quite easy to make, at least looks like it.
I feel bad for the little girl…..I can’t imagine adults behaving in that abhorring manner. That bus driver should have been fired.
However, one thing I have realized over the years. There used to be mean people everywhere all the time. And they did unbelievably mean things time and again. But the kids were tough, and they learned to have a mechanism to deal with it. But it did leave a bad taste in the mouth for the rest of their lives. Today,the standards have risen. I am sure such mean adults still exist, but they are now more fearful to make a show of it.
I am still in contact with school friends and still manage to catch up with them when back in the UK. I wonder what your friend is doing now?
Ooh this looks delish. Why were they so mean to your friend if she was so nice. I was a geek and proud of it.
That bus driver was horrible. What a terrible thing to do. I think I was part of the bookworm clique — not popular, not out-going, but just a group of rather quiet girls who were nice to each other.
Good Morning Lorraine
Oh no! I don’t understand how and why teenage girls can be so mean. My best friend back in High School was also teased and bulled >_<
And even though I tried to stand up for her, it was a bit hard. I think I was in the middle group definitely not popular hehe
Ohh baked ricotta with honey hmmm yummmmm gotta try this soon!
Now this is what I call breakfast, so wonderful indeed! I’m having a hard time getting my daughter to east breakfast at the moment, but I bet she’d scoff this down in seconds
I would have had that bus drivers job- and his hide- for that behaviour. I was teased all through school as we moved often, and we have zero tolerance if we catch someone bullying our (or any one elses) kids. I’m glad your friend kept her sweetness of spirit, but I would never fully trust them again either!
Ooh yum! Would this be something you could serve as a dessert or more a starter?
Oh Lorraine, I love baked ricotta… I need one…
this looks so yum and easy to make i have the perfect thing sitting in my cupboard at home to go with this might make it for my birthday weekend.
I would like to think i was apart of the ‘middle crowd’ at high school, but i only speak to 2 or 3 people from high school. I definitely DO NOT miss my high school days despite popular opinion that they were some of the best days of your life. I can’t wait to have one of my own ‘Hermione’ moments – I already love heading to my home town and seeing all those skinny popular girls are already piling on the weight!
Ugh, your poor friend, kids are so cruel. I don’t miss teen years or school AT ALL! I didn’t go to my 10-year reunion 2 years ago. I was friends with the girls in the year above me – and us 9 are still tight-knit
Now THIS baked ricotta & honey looks wonderful
I’m sure eating it would create happy memories to erase school 
I moved freely between the groups at school without belonging (or wanting to) to any group. I am still not a joiner.
I love baked ricotta.
I’ve only been to 2 reunions. They seemed to be nothing but an exercise in point scoring as everyone checked out how well everyone else had done. I feel very sorry for your friend. My daughter was bullied at high school and still bears the scars – I doubt that she will bother with high school reunions.
Ohhhh…be on the popular group helps a lot at school, everybody said is the better part of our lives, but it is? I guess it’s not if you are in the other side.
Oh my, thats my kind of food. I love baked cheesecake too. My class from a catholic girls school is so slack that they haven’t even had any reunions
I’ve only tried baked brie and that’s about it. This sounds like a perfect appetizer for holidays and dinner get together. It’s so unique that it sounds and looks very special.
I love savoury baked ricotta but have never even considered sweet baked ricotta with honey. What a wonderful twist and well worth trying over this long weekend. We moved back to my hometown nine years ago so I regularly run into ‘old’ school friends. Many are also facebook contacts, possibly growing up in a town of 6,000 people makes for close connections (population is now 23,372). People who bully others should have to do community service with the disadvantaged to teach them respect and how to be humble.
Interesting but oh so easy recipe! Shall try when friends arrive! Yes, I am still in contact with a lot of people from school and uni days, going back to a primary school pal who wrote in his biography that he had been crazy about me when we were ten
! Well, I had to look him up, didn’t I!! And hasn’t email made things so much easier! I suppose I was very much seen as a geek in high school: I thought it totally unfair that so many girls thought that it all came naturally: I worked very hard indeed! At uni I discovered boys [oops, or should this be the other way around?] and moved out of geekdom in quite a hurry 
!
Lorraine, that poor girl. I hope she gets cheesecake the rest of her life. I never considered myself part of any crowd (mainly due to me having divorced parents when no one else did. I could write a book on that, but suffice to say that I had my pleasure at the reunions when all the “cool” guys wanted me and they didn’t know me in high school. Ha.
This looks unbelievably good! What a gorgeous dessert.
I was in the popular crowd but was always highly sensitive to human emotion so could never be cruel – not like that anyway. I wonder if I would have joined in the laughter or just frowned as my heart sank for the person. Nor have I ever been bullied, well not until I became an adult! But I do know I could never have been so brave as you to befriend an under dog!
Though these words made me cringe at the time!
I am now in love with a nerd – my mother always said they grow up to be the best of men
Wow, that looks like such a great breakfast alternative, I’ll be giving that a try for sure!
I was a bit of a loser until year 10, but it wasn’t my fault that my hair was (is) horrible and my dad bought my clothes!
This must be delicious! I’d love to try it!
I love baked ricotta. Yours looks too delicious with honey. In fact it has started my brain working in a greedy way x
That’s so mean, kids just don’t understand how enormously bullying can affect a person, but certainly that school bus driver should have known better.
This baked ricotta sounds delightful.
Hi Lorraine, I’m salivating at your photos! wow.
So I wanted to ask is there anything that the extra cream (I just read your recipe on baking ricotta from scratch too) can be substituted with and same with the vanillin sugar?
I often substitute a portion of, or all the dairy, sugar and wheat out of recipes… so just seeing how much this could be tweaked & still work.
Sounds like your friend is and was resilient. School is the cruelest time of life to some people unfortunately. So sad.
Yum! Ricotta and honey is one of my fave combinations..looks like a dreamy brek
Hi Kim! Thanks! Hmm I don’t know, perhaps you could replace the cream with extra milk and the vanillin sugar with more honey?
I hope that works, plmk how it turns out 
Omg I live ricotta and am going to bake some this weekend . Thanks for the inspiration
What a perfectly easy recipe
I was in the ‘in’ crowd for half of high school.
I love this, Lorraine! I usually eat fresh ricotta with honey as a snack, but I’m ging to try this next time! It looks exquisite!
I was pulled from a geeky crowd by a popular crowd but they weren’t true friends and I wish I had stuck with the geeky crowd because I have no doubt in my mind they would still be my friends today
I’m a geek..and I love being a geek 
By the way..that bus driver should have been fired! He was the adult – what a horrid thing to do to a little girl!
Oh, that poor girl! Good for her, though, as she sounds like she will win the game of life. I can’t believe that bus driver story; these days he’d appear on the front page of the paper. He’s probably a sad, lonely old man by now.
My brother was teased at school. Unfortunately for him, home was no sanctuary either. He never go over either one.
Yum… once I’m off my sugarban, I’m making this!
I was actually part of the popular group but the slightly geekier one of the group haha We don’t really keep in touch anymore coz we’ve all gone our separate ways but keep in touch via facebook every now and again
I never fitted in at my tough school. I was the picked on girl. But I got my revenge by doing well in life. Through FB I’ve seen a few old classmates, who without exception have apologized for their treatment of me. It made me strong to be treated so badly.
This looks brilliant.
There’s no excuse for bullying like your friend experienced. None whatsoever. It’s not clever or funny. Poor thing.
Hi Loreaine, that ricotta looks great, you know I’m quite into my ricotta. And I recently tried this in a savoury version with pesto in the middle. Quite nice. Oh, and I’m not in touch with anyone from my Australian school… But whenever I go to Poland I catch up with 4 of my best friends from middle school. Fun times!
I love ricotta and cheese! Yum! This looks beautiful! I am going to put this on my to make list!
Oooh, yum. This would be good with a lavender honey too!
I went from popular to shunned for a while when I tried to include an unwelcome newcomer into the cool crowd. After that I learned to hang with pretty much anybody. I have been to a few high school reunions and am always surprised how all the differences and ganging up between groups melted away over the years and we just ended up having had a good time all together.
Beautiful recipe, Lorraine. I love love love ricotta and baked ricotta. Ha, about keeping in touch with school friends. My best friend turned out to be horrible… she contacted me when we were in our mid forties to apologise. I heard her out and accepted her apology. We talked about the direction our lives had taken. Her only claim to fame in life was that she had slept with a well known cricketer before he was famous. Needless to say, we had one catch up only. I didn’t want to hear from her again.
Yummmmmm! I love baked ricotta! I have a recipe for baked banana ricotta on my blog and it’s one of my favourite desserts!
My best friend growing up used to get bullied sometimes for being Filipino. Kids can be so cruel. We are still friends nearly 30 years on & I keep in touch with a few others too
The ricotta looks great although i can’t stand honey so would probably swap it for something else.
I love baked ricotta & I love , love your sweetened version too!
MMMMMMM! I love to use fresh sheep’s hard ricotta in here: added flavour & mild too!
Another beautiful recipe! Looks like a perfect appetiser
Bookmarked in less than 6 secs. Looks so delicious smeared on some raisin bread…. thanks for the recipe!
I’m not sure how I looked to my classmates….. probably just a weird kid who hung out in the music room too much, oh and i remember being teased for wearing those great construction workers-style coveralls (free samples from my father’s business, free clothing!) and never being fast enough to come up w/ a good retort (still can’t, i love those coveralls).
Love the recipe! With the addition of eggs and flour, I’m afraid you can’t avoid the fact that this IS a crustless cheesecake! Still happy to eat it at breakfast though.
I was one of those fat kids, I know it well. Then, as if by magic when I turned 13 I was thin! I didn’t try at all, just happened. Suddenly, everyone was nice to me. It’s sad. I was the same person just the package had changed. Kids can be vile, can’t they?
Unlike cheesecakes… they are always splendid. I made an ancient version last week and loved it… yours looks marvelous and covered in honey…. mMMMMMM. There’s something about it that is so good! It would make a bad day of teasing go down a little easier.
Your poor friend, what a dreadful bus driver. Love baked ricotta but have always had the savoury version, going to make this on the weekend. Looks delicious!
Love the thought of eating your luscious baked ricotta for breakfast. xoxo Mum
I love ricotta any way, so I’m sure I’ll love trying this recipe Lorraine, looks delish!
It should be stamped out once and for all, if only someone brilliant could come up with a solution!
Bullying, why does it have to exist? I feel so sad for kids that are the victims and lately some have taken their own lives to escape it
In primary school, I was called the usual names eg wog, dago, salami but as I grew older I learned to stick up for myself. In high school , a girl in our year who was unattractive and overweight ,was the recipient of many pranks, the boys were the meanest. One day they were sitting behind us in Science and poking her in the backside with compass needles, horrid boys. I told them to stop and when they didn’t , I told the teacher , so they all got into trouble,Yay! From that day she saw me as a friend, we would go to her place for lunch sometimes and she married as soon as she finished school. I still see her every now and then,we chat and I’m happy to say that her marriage is rock solid, she has four children and now has grandchildren to love as well.
I’ve been to two reunions and have enjoyed catching up with old school friends. I still see a handful,my BBF, and one guy who is a Veterinarian and looks after all our domestic pets, he even does house calls at no extra charge! hehehe but I do make him a coffee and offer sweets and on his birthday bake a cake and drop it off at the surgery , ( he was my primary school crush after all
WOW, looks amazing
Love your blog
Oh my goodness, a crustless cheesecake that can be whipped up in 5 minutes and eaten for breakfast?! I’m sold! This is gorgeous, Lorraine!
This looks so good and anything mini is a winner in my book
Yum yum, that’s gone onto my must try list
I have to admit I didn’t go to my reunion. Couldn’t stand the thought of everyone competing over who was thinner richer and who married better. But I may have been able to stand the ordeal if this cheese was being served! I definately wouldn’t be thinner though!
So awful
I do love this recipe Lorraine. Its so gorgeous and just the right amount of sweet 
oh that is terrible to hear how people treated your friend – glad she fought back with her personality – I have only been to one all school reunion and none of my class were there – I had thought one or two might be. I am not a huge fan of ricotta but love anything with honey so this would be the way I would like to eat it for breakfast
What a fab idea, looks delish. I love catching up with the girls I went to school with, they always make me smile.
What nasty kids (and adults). A few years ago I attended my first school reunion and reconnected with a few lovely friends and found them just as lovely as ever. None of the nasty ones attended. Most people had been through some tough times, but everyone had pulled through and done well for themselves. One of my old besties and I even took a trip to Thailand together where we stayed with another old school friend and his partner. We toured, shopped, had massages and pedicures, and partied, and caught up on gossip, and it was just like old times. One of the best holidays of my life and we’re still in touch.
i was part of the popular crowd, but looking back, i think they used me for my brains.
My highschool friends and I, 8 years out, are still great friends and catch up whenever we can (we’re spread across the east coast a bit now
)
This ricotta looks incredible, sounds like the perfect addition to a snack platter for a summer evening
such a gorgeous recipe!! I am making this and soon!!!
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