A Lemon-Raspberry Ricotta Cake that is equally delicious for dessert, with afternoon tea, or with a dollop of yogurt for breakfast. Bright lemon flavoured cake with juicy raspberries scattered throughout. A dreamy ricotta cake recipe.
I am a big fan when the line between breakfast foods and desserts gets really blurry. Crisps, cobblers, and this cake all walk a fine line between an amazing dessert topped with ice cream or whipped cream and breakfast served with a nice cup of coffee and perhaps even some thick Greek yogurt.
By adjusting the sugar content against the eggs, flour, and fruit ratios make me feel great about eating this for breakfast. I’ll leave it up to you – breakfast or dessert?
For me, this is going to be my breakfast and possibly my mid afternoon snack. Hey, a lady’s gotta eat. And apparently, eat a lot of lemon-raspberry ricotta cake. I may even been eating a piece as I type. I do need to say, it’s really good.
This recipe would work really well if you divided it up between little loaf pans and enjoy this cake as a loaf. That may also ease any guilt you have about eating cake for breakfast.
This cake might bring with it some technical foodie questions. Such as, does ricotta cake need to be refrigerated?
No and yes are the short answer. No if this ricotta cake recipe is consumed within a day or 2 – counter top will work well.
If this cake needs some time to be devoured, then the fridge is probably the best place for it (up to a week). The crumb / texture of the cake might change slightly, but it’s still delightful.
If I was more of a planner and some who prepped a bit better, I would let this cake cool completely, sliced it and then freeze the slices to be pulled out later for easy snacking and entertaining. Basically, this cake is just as tasty if it makes a layover in the freezer.
And speaking of freezer … the raspberries called for in the ricotta cake recipe can either be fresh OR frozen. I actually find the frozen ones become more weepy, letting the raspberry flavour seep into more parts of the cake. Do not thaw the raspberries, add them to the batter directly from the freezer.
Other easy cakes I make often include this Ice Cream Sandwich Cake, Instant Pot Chocolate Cake (so fudgy good!), and this Rosette Cake that has been made for a number of fun girlie birthdays.
Bright lemon flavoured cake with juicy raspberries scattered throughout.
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups ricotta approx. 400 grams
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 medium lemon zest and juice
- 1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh raspberries, divided
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Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a 9”-diameter cake pan with parchment paper and lightly coat with nonstick spray.
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Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl.
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Whisk eggs, ricotta, lemon juice, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth; fold into dry ingredients just until blended. Then fold in butter, followed by 1 cup raspberries, taking care not to crush berries.
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Scrape batter into prepared pan and scatter remaining 1/2 cup raspberries over top. Bake cake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the centre comes out clean, 70-90 minutes.
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Let cool at least 20 minutes before removing from pan.
Slightly Adapted from Bon Appetit
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Should I use full fat ricotta?
Thank you!!
You sure can. I’ve made the cake with full fat and one with some skim ricotta in it and they both turn out nicely, however I personally prefer the texture in with full-fat ricotta.
Can you use strawberries instead of raspberries?
I haven’t tested strawberries out myself, but I think it would be okay if they’re cut into halves (or quarters if on the larger side).
I tried strawberry substitute and it was delicious
Good to know! Thanks for adding this 🙂
Do you find this cake stays more moist than others? Mine seems cooked and doesn’t have anything sticking during a test but upon slicing still seems incredibly moist. Should it look very similar to a standard cake?
Yes, it is more moist than a traditional cake. The ricotta gives it that extra moisture (which also makes it a bit more forgiving during the baking process).
Hi! So this was the very first cake I’ve ever baked. My question is this….was the cake supposed to turn out moist, but also dense?
It came out with the texture and density of a fruit cake. As I said….I’m a rookie, but trying to learn. Looking forward to hearing back.
Hi Brian, the cake is on the denser side, more dense than your average layer cake, but not a fruit cake density. The texture should be similar to that in the photos, a nice crumb. Perhaps the batter was over mixed or maybe the cake undercooked (this cake does require quite a long cooking time!).
I made this for a Sunday morning brunch and wow! Super delicious! Everyone raved and no crumbs left in the pan. I am going to try to make it with gluten free flour next time as I have an intolerance. Just wondering if anyone else has had success trying a gluten free method.
So glad it was a success! I think if you used a reliable one for one all purpose GF flour (like Bob’s) it should work out great!.
I had a container of ricotta I needed to use up, and my sweet tooth demanded I make something with it. This was FANTASTIC. It’s stunning, fragrant, and just all around delicious.
I will say, I made the fatal mistake of not lining up my ingredients before I got started and realized too late that I didn’t have any lemons. I ended up substituting with half a grapefruit’s worth of zest and juice. It was AMAZING, and really shows how flexible this recipe is when it comes to your citrus/berry combination.
Ohhhh, I’ll have to try the grapefruit adaptation. It sounds delish.
Used strawberries and peaches combined was great I have used blueberries as well. I also use fresh vanilla bean. Love this recipe. Thank you
I can’t wait to try that strawberries and peaches combo – brilliant!! Thanks for the comment 🙂