Ricotta cheesecake squares with apples & blueberries

After my not so positive encounter with ricotta in the form of honey cheesecake I took the bull by its horns again and made another recipe with ricotta right after it. I found an easy recipe on allrecipes.com and decided to try it out.
The bottom part is a cake layer and the upper part is ricotta cheesecake. This time no honey and no cornflour. Instead of using fresh blueberries the original recipe called for I used apples from my best friend's garden and added some homemade blueberry jam (also from her garden). And what do ya know, it was delicious! Ricotta is my friend ;)

This was one from the archives again but I hope that soon I can start baking again. The nausea is very slowly getting better but the smell of cookies is still a bit too much though. I did try baking a cobbler the other day and I could stand the smell :) I plan on making a spinach quiche this weekend. I think we're getting somewhere ;)

This is my contribution to Maninas Eating with the Seasons November edition.

Ricotta cheesecake squares with apples & blueberries (adapted from this recipe on allrecipes.com)

makes a 9 in (23 cm) square

1 cup flour
¾ cup sugar
1 ¼ ts baking powder
⅓ cup milk
¼ cup butter, softened
1 egg
½ ts almond extract
1 ½ cups diced apples
about 5 tbs blueberry jam
2 eggs, beaten
1 ¼ cups ricotta cheese
⅓ cup sugar
½ vanilla bean, seeds only

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9 in (23 cm) square baking dish.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, ¾ cup of sugar, and baking powder. Add the milk, butter, 1 egg, and almond extract. Use an electric mixer to mix on low speed for 1 minute, then on medium speed for 1 minute. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and spread evenly. Sprinkle the diced apples over the batter. Drop small teaspoons of blueberry jam over the batter.
In a medium bowl, stir together 2 beaten eggs, ricotta cheese, ⅓ cup of sugar, and vanilla bean seeds. Spoon this mixture over the blueberries, and spread evenly.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean (it won't brown very much). Cool completely before cutting into squares.