This lemon ricotta cake is a light dessert, not too sweet and very easy to bake. We love it as an afternoon snack but I have to admit that for me a slice of this cake with morning coffee is like heaven!!
Are you sure this cake has ricotta?
Yes, ricotta cake for several Mediterranean countries are like cheesecake for the Americans. Ricotta adds richness and texture to the texture while providing some structure. The cakes usually are very moist, almost like you added syrup to them.
Most people who haven’t tried ricotta cake before tend to like them, but there’s a small minority who have a hard time with the texture and flavor differences compared to regular butter/sugar/eggs and flour cake. So I hope you’re in the first group:).
Ingredients you’ll need to bake this lemon ricotta cake
Ingredients are very simple, chances are you have almost all of them in your refrigerator and pantry right now. That’s why I love baking this cake. I rarely have to shop specifically for this recipe.
- Eggs – I tend to use about 4 eggs for this cake. Maybe 5 if eggs are small.
- Sugar – I use 1 cup of regular sugar for a less sweet cake and 1.5 cups of sugar for a sweeter cake.
- Butter – I keep it to 1 stick of butter for this recipe (about 113 grams). Use real butter.
- Vanilla Extract – 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract adds flavor and aroma.
- Orange Liqueur (optional) – 1 shot of an orange liqueur would intensify the flavors of the lemon. Alcohol evaporates when baking.
- Ricotta – usually I use about 15-16 ozs of ricotta. I love to use the whole package and not leave 1 oz in the refrigerator so depending on brand I use the whole package.
- Lemon juice and lemon zest – lemons can vary widely in size and how much juice they have. As a rule of thumb I use juice from 1.5 lemons and zest of 1 lemon. Wash the lemons thoroughly before zesting.
- All purpose flour – I have experimented with different quantities and have settled on 1.5 cups of all purpose flour. 2 cups made for a taller cake but less moist and it was denser.
- Baking powder – 1 tsp baking powder
- Baking soda – 0.5 tsp baking soda
- Pinch of salt – a pinch of salt always balances out sweetness and other flavors in a cake. I always add a pinch of salt on batter for cakes.
Testing different methods to make the cake
I used to make this cake in a regular 8 inch cake pan but it fits kind of snug and sometimes the edges will become darker than I would like them to be. This cake needs to bake for about 45-50 minutes so I couldn’t shorten baking time.
Then I tried to bake the cake in a bundt cake mold. I loved the results and I still use the bundt cake mold occasionally.
Finally, I watched an Italian baker in Youtube use a cheesecake springform mold but instead of making a cheesecake, she baked a regular cake in it. Lightbulb went off and I decided to try it with this recipe. I think it’s the perfect method to bake this cake but you can experiment yourself. I love talking about food, so feel free to dm me in Instagram or comment below with your results and which method you liked better.
Step by Step Process
So I have to admit that I don’t always follow the same method when making this cake. Please remember that I am first a busy mom, a homecook and then a food blogger. So while I’d love to always follow the best methods, sometimes I do take shortcuts even though I do know better.
For me normally the process usually goes likes this:
- Use a handheld mixer to cream eggs and sugar. Then I add softened butter, vanilla extract and orange liqueur. Continue mixing.
- Add ricotta then lemon zest and lemon juice. Continue mixing as you add ingredients.
- Slowly add dry ingredients (ap flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt) to mixing bowl and incorporate slowly. Switch from handheld mixer to a spatula if mixing becomes too difficult.
- Grease the springform or bundt cake mold with butter and then dust with powder sugar. Add cake batter.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes up clean.
Lemon Ricotta Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup sugar for a sweeter cake use 1.5 cups
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 oz orange liqueur optional but adds so much flavor
- 1 stick butter about 113 grams
- 15 ozs ricotta preferably whole milk
- 1.5 lemons juice and zest
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 0.5 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
Greasing the cake pan
- 1 tbsp butter or baking spray of your choice
- 1 tbsp powder sugar
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients and set them aside. I mix all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and pinch of salt. At the same time set oven to 350 degrees F so it can pre-heat while you prepare batter.
- Add eggs in a glass mixing bowl. Use a handheld mixer to start whisking the eggs until creamy. Add sugar and continue mixing for about a minute or so.
- Then slowly add vanilla extract and orange liqueur. Mix to incorporate. Add ricotta and continue mixing.
- Add zest of 1 lemon and juice of about 1.5 lemons. Continue mixing.
- Finally add the dry ingredients slowly. When the handheld mixer is slow to work, then use a spatula to incorporate everything.
- Grease a springform pan (or feel free to use a bundt cake mold) and dust with powdered sugar. Pour cake batter on the pan, even the top with spatula.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for about 45 minutes. If top is getting too dark, cover with aluminum foil. Cake is done baking when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let cake cool before removing the springform collar. If you try to remove too fast, cake can break. Dust cake with powdered sugar when it is cold. Serve as desired with tea or coffee:). Enjoy!
Notes
- Leftovers – First day I let cake stand covered in room temperature. If I need to store for longer (rarely happens because my family makes the cake disappear), then I place slices of cake in an airtight container for few days in the refrigerator.
- Substitutions – I haven’t tried this cake with gluten free flour or coconut/almond flours. But I have tried the cake with pizza flour on a day when I thought I had more ap flour available. Cake came out a lot softer but delicious too.
Nutrition Label
Nutrition
If you would like to save this recipe for later, please pin one of the pictures from this post to your dessert boards in Pinterest for easy access in the future. Let me know in comments if you have any questions or feedback. Thank you:).
More Citrus Recipes
I love baking with citrus fruit. It brings back memories of my childhood in the Mediterranean and I love the lighter flavors in these baked desserts.
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