Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake

Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake is one of many delicious traditional Italian desserts. This cake is light, fluffy, and full of flavor. Made with ricotta cheese and fresh lemon, you're going to love this traditional Italian dessert that's also great served as a breakfast or brunch treat.

The key to making a fluffy (not dense) ricotta cake is to beat the ricotta with the butter and sugar, before adding the other ingredients. It can take up to five minutes of beating to get the desired texture, so a handheld mixer or stand up mixer is ideal here.

Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake

Prep Time: 12 mins

Cook Time: 55 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 7 mins

Servings: 12 servings

Equipment

9 inch springform pan

Ingredients

¾ cup butter, softened 1 ½ sticks (170 g)

1 ½ cups sugar

15 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large lemon, zested and juiced

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups flour

powdered sugar for dusting top of cake (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch springform pan using butter and powdered sugar; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl or stand up mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until combined. Add in the ricotta cheese and blend until light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes. (Don't shorten the mixing time at this step.)

3. Mix in the eggs, one at a time. Add in the vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice and mix to combine. In the same bowl, stir in the baking soda and salt. Lastly, add in the flour and mix until just combined, scraping down the sides of bowl to full incorporate all of the ingredients. (Don't over mix the flour.)

4. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the cake is set and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

5. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing the collar and base of the pan. Cool on a wire rack and dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Store covered at room temperature for three days. To keep it fresh even longer, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake

Baker's Notes:

1. Ricotta cheese: I recommend using whole milk ricotta cheese in this recipe. The extra fat in the whole milk version ensures the cake is moist and tender.

2. Lemons: Fresh lemon is a must in this recipe as you need both the juice and the zest to give the cake its bright citrus flavor.

3. Butter: I typically use unsalted butter when baking. If you only have salted butter, consider reducing or omitting the amount of salt specified.

This recipe is reposted from the The Italian Kitchen