Lemon Ricotta Cake
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: One loaf cake
 
Elevate a regular vanilla cake with the addition of bright lemon and creamy ricotta cheese. The texture and flavor of this lemon ricotta cake is simply to die for! Topped with freshly whipped cream and beautiful blueberries, this is the perfect spring/Easter brunch cake.
You will need:
For the cake,
  • All-purpose flour - 1½ cups
  • Baking powder - 1¼ tsp
  • Baking soda - ¼ tsp
  • Salt - ½ tsp
  • Butter - ½ cup, softened
  • Sugar - 1 cup
  • Eggs - 3, large
  • Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
  • Ricotta cheese - 1 cup, full-fat preferred
  • Lemon juice - ¼ cup, freshly squeezed
  • Lemon zest - 1 tbsp
For the topping,
  • Heavy cream - 1 cup
  • Powdered sugar - 2 tbsp
  • Blueberries - 1 cup
  • Rosemary sprigs - for decoration, optional
  • Lemon slices - for decoration, optional
How to:
  1. Lemon Ricotta Cake: Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg.F. Liberally grease a 81/2" x 41/2" or 9" x 5" loaf pan, line the bottom with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Sift the dry ingredients together a couple of times and set aside.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar on high speed till pale and creamy, 2 minutes.
  4. Add eggs one by one, beating well after each addition. Beat on high speed for at least a minute till mixture is fluffy.
  5. Add vanilla extract and ricotta cheese and beat till incorporated. Add lemon juice and zest and bat well to incorporate. Mixture will look curdled at this point, but that's okay.
  6. Tip in the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula till just mixed in. Do not over-mix. Batter will be light and airy.
  7. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
  8. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 deg.F and bake the cake for 50-55 minutes or till it passes the toothpick test.
  9. Remove pan from oven and cool cake in pan for 10 minutes. Carefully remove cake from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
  10. Whipped Cream Frosting: Meanwhile, make the whipped cream frosting. Using a cold bowl and cold beaters, beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar till it thickens and stiff peaks are formed. You may add a few drops of vanilla extract or lemon zest for flavor. Cover with cling wrap and keep refrigerated till needed.
  11. Decorating the cake: Frost the top of the cake with whipped cream, decorate with blueberries, rosemary and lemon slices.
  12. Keep leftover cake covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Notes:
1. I baked this cake in an 81/2" x 41/2" loaf pan for a tall loaf cake. The batter will fill almost ¾th the pan but I didn't have any spill-overs. You can use a 9" x 5" pan too.
2. To make this cake as a 2-layer 5-inch cake, divide the batter between two 5" round pans. Check for doneness at 30 minutes and bake cakes till they pass the toothpick test.
3. Ever since making this recipe a couple of times, I have found that baking the cake at a slightly lower temperature (325 degF) is better for even baking. Reduce the oven temperature after pre-heating the oven to 350 degF.
4. You may double the amount of whipped cream if you want to frost the sides as well.
5. If you cannot find blueberries, you may use any other berries like strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.
6. Since this cake has a whipped cream frosting, it must be refrigerated. Cake can be brought to room temperature before serving.
Recipe by At The Corner of Happy And Harried at https://www.happyandharried.com/2017/04/07/lemon-ricotta-cake/