The kitchen gods were good to me this week. Just as I was noodling on what to do with an almost full container of ricotta cheese in my fridge (leftover from making these seafood ravioli), this gorgeous recipe for a ricotta based cake arrived at my doorstep courtesy of my friends at Bon Appétit Magazine.
This one comes together quickly, would be delicious with any kind of berry fruit you have on-hand, and presents beautifully for an elegant (yet easy) dessert. You could dress it up with fresh berries, a spoonful of fruit compote, or a little pillow of whipped cream, but its really tasty as-is so there’s no shame in serving it up naked.
Perhaps the best thing about this cake is that it calls for frozen berries, so regardless of what season you happen to be enjoying where you live, this little taste of spring is only as far away as the frozen food section of your favorite market.
Cheers – Steve
Ingredients
- Nonstick vegetable oil spray
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1½ cups ricotta
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup frozen raspberries or blackberries, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9”-diameter cake pan with parchment paper and lightly coat with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- Whisk eggs, ricotta, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth; fold into dry ingredients just until blended. Then fold in butter, followed by ¾ cup raspberries, taking care not to crush berries. Scrape batter into prepared pan and scatter remaining ¼ cup raspberries over top.
- Bake cake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50–60 minutes. Let cool at least 20 minutes before unmolding.
- Do Ahead: Cake can be made 2 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.