Raspberry Ricotta Cake

This cake is downright delicious. I’m being all straightforward here. I’ve been looking for THE recipe for butter cake for the longest time (months I think). Yknow the typical moist, semi-dense kind of cake that is perfect for breakfast or an afternoon tea. Or a snack. Or dessert. Okay basically perfect for everything. When I saw this simple recipe in a dessert magazine that I happened to be browsing through, I wanted to lick the pages. It looked like an ordinary butter cake with some pretty raspberries thrown it, but wait a minute – it has ricotta in it!?

Now I was hungry AND confused. I wasn’t sure whether it was a cheesecake I was going to make, or a regular butter cake. But let me tell you – ricotta cheese is the secret ingredient to the moistest butter cake ever. This was light, fluffy and moist, with just the slight touch of dense-ness in the middle that really hits the spot. In all honesty, it could be eaten plain. At the back of my head I was also thinking of spreading a dark chocolate ganache over it for a little birthday dinner party. The addition of the raspberries added a tiny touch of acidity and sourness, and made it look all pretty.

And speaking of pretty, let’s talk about how the cake looks. It is, first and foremost, a simple cake. Nothing fancy, not tiered, no outstanding designs. The edges are a golden brown and peel off the cake pan beautifully. It’s a little soft and jiggly in the centre (like a cheesecake!) because of all the ricotta in it. The raspberries make the cake look gorgeous when they were a little broken, with their juices leaking out just a little and staining small parts of the cake red. The surface had small cracks but it adds to the rustic look perfectly. When you cut a slice out, the edge of the knife comes out clean and steaming. It’s pale and fluffy inside, only becoming denser towards the centre.

I used raspberries because I love them. But feel free to use all sorts of other berries and do let me know how that worked for you!

Raspberry Ricotta Cake

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Makes a regular 9-inch cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups ricotta

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 stick butter, melted

1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Line a 9 inch cake pan with parchment/baking paper

2. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Separately, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and ricotta. Combine the dry and wet ingredients together and gently stir in the melted butter. Mix until just combined and fold in the raspberries.

3. Pour the batter into the cake pan (it should be a little thick) and bake for approx. 50-60 minutes in the middle shelf of the oven. Test with a tooth pick in the middle – the cake is done when the tooth pick comes out clean. It should also be slightly jiggly in the middle. Let cool in pan for about 15 minutes and transfer to cooling rack after. Serve slightly warm with fresh raspberries if desired.

PS: This cake keeps for 1-2 days in an airtight container. Feel free to refrigerate it and eat it cold if that’s what you like as well!

XO,

C