Cheesecake really confused me as a kid. I sprinkled mozzarella on my pizza and pasta, and I ate cake with ice cream at birthday parties. But combining the two?…
Did that mean topping the cake with slices of melted cheddar like I did with my morning toast? Or maybe folding shredded Monterey Jack inside like with a quesadilla so that it formed long cheesy strings when you cut a piece of the cake?
When an adult explained to me that cheesecake was made with cream cheese, I crossed that last mental image off of my list. (No strings attached—got it!) But I didn’t figure out the cheesecake conundrum until high school when I ate my first real slice.
Although a far cry from the dense, mousse-y texture of true cheesecake, this ricotta cake resembles one of my more reasonable definitions: a moist cake made with soft cheese as its main ingredient!
modified from this recipe
This cake has a subtle tang from the lemon and ricotta, plus a sophisticated flair from the almond drizzle. It’s perfect to serve to company, but it’s easy enough to whip up for a weeknight dessert too!
- To prepare the cake, combine the sugar, water, and lemon zest in a small pot on the stove. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, and boil for 1-2 minutes. Let the sugar syrup cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°, and coat a 6-cup bundt pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar syrup, ricotta, and vanilla until smooth. Add in the egg, mixing well. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To prepare the drizzle, whisk together the powdered sugar, almond extract, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon of the water. Stir in more water, a little at a time, until the drizzle reaches the desired consistency. Drizzle decoratively over the top of the bundt cake.
My hubs found this recipe for me when I said I needed a recipe to use up my ricotta. I just finished making it and can’t wait to have a slice. I’m thinking the texture will be great, not to mention the contract of almond and lemon! The only thing is I wonder if I did something wrong because mine is, shall we say, shorter in height. I double checked and I followed the recipe to the letter. The only thing I did differently is use what’s technically an angel food cake pan. So, it was a very deep pan. I think it will be fine, but I’ve gotta replace my mysteriously disappeared bundt pan!
What a sweet husband you have, Sheryl! Was your angel food cake pan standard size? In the recipe, I called for a 6-cup bundt pan, which is acutally half the size of a standard bund pan (12-cup capacity). That might be why it looks so short, but hopefully it still turned out delicious! And I’d happily trade my bundt pan for your angel food cake pan — I’ve been meaning to buy one of those for ages! 😉
Thanks Amy. That’s one of the reasons I call him “sweetie”. Well, I think my angel food cake pan was standard because my angel food cakes have turned out fine. I replaced my bundt pan with what seems like a standard size and made the cake again! (I must solve this mystery– nothing to do with wanting to eat it again..:))
Wouldn’t you know, as I announced I’d replaced my bundt pan, hubs walks in saying he found my old pan, lol. The cake turned out well, a little taller but still seemed short. I guess I have a larger pan. Unfortunately, there’s nothing on the pan stating the volume, and I’m not sure of the best measuring method for this but I filled it with 10 cups of water and there was still some room left. So I figure with rising, I could easily DOUBLE the recipe and be in good shape. By the way, the second time around I added homemade almond paste (for hubs) and it was yummy. Next time I’ll put more in though. Thanks for the new cake recipe!
What a fitting name for your husband! Using water is the same method I use for figuring out the size of a pan; it works like a charm. You’re definitely right — doubling the recipe (and possibly increasing the baking time a bit) should be perfect for your pan! Plus, then you’ll have twice as much to eat. 😉 I love the sound of almond paste too; I’ll have to remember that!
Could you make this without a bundt pan? like in a 8×11?
I’m sure you could! The bake time would probably be shorter, so just start checking it 10-15 minutes early. I’d love to hear how the cake turns out for you! 🙂
Hi , lovely cake. Could you tell me how to make the same without eggs
Ener-G is my favorite egg replacer. Just use 1 1/2 teaspoons of the Ener-G powder mixed with 2 tablespoons of warm water. Hope that works for you!
Made this tonight and OMG! Seriously the best bundt cake I have ever had made for that matter. Thank you so much for posting! I have a picture posted on my Instagram @carols_got_cakes
I’m so happy you enjoyed the bundt cake, Carol! It’s been one of our favorites too. I didn’t see the picture on your Instagram, but I’m sure it looked lovely!
Sorry I will post tomorrow!!! Thank you
No worries Carol! I completely understand. 🙂
v yumm cake… extremely awsome, and i baked it perfectly:)
I’m so happy you enjoyed the cake Shawana! 🙂
This cake was great and moist! I think I would double the recipe next time.The icing really made the cake. My daughters (2, and 3) helped and really enjoyed making their first cake! But I wonder if your supposed to taste the lemon zest inside?
I’m so glad you and your daughters enjoyed the cake Taniaha! That’s so precious that this was their first. 🙂 The lemon zest is supposed to be more of a subtle hint in the background. It’s mainly there to add a little acidity to help activate the baking powder. You’re welcome to add more if you’d like though! I think 1 or 1.5 tablespoons would be much more prominent of a flavor.
I made this yesterday and posted some photos of my results on my personal blog. 🙂 It was delicious, I just wish mine had come out as pretty as yours! Trying to get used to this new oven… your photos put mine to shame too, lol!
http://alittlewhimsical.com/food/lemon-ricotta-bundt-cake/
Thank you so much for sharing Kat! New ovens are always interesting. We just moved 2 weeks ago ourselves, and I’ve been so lucky that I haven’t burned anything yet! Probably because I check on whatever’s in there every 30 seconds… 😉
Recently, I’ve found out I drastically need to reduce the salt in my diet (inner ear disorder). I’ve tried using the no-salt baking powder and baking soda, but the results are awful. Tastes like I’m eating chalk. Have you ever tried these for your healthy baking? Do you have any way to make baked goods made with no-salt leavening taste good?
That sounds really disappointing! I haven’t tried no-salt baking powder and baking soda, but if the baked goods taste like chalk, that may be because of too much leavener. Are they supposed to be a one-to-one substitution for regular leaveners?
Amy–Thanks so much for responding. No, it’s a 2 for 1 substitution. Haine Featherweight Baking Powder and Ener-G Baking Soda. They make it sound like a simple substitution, but the crumb and taste were so off.
You’re welcome! I did a little research, and I actually think that it should be closer to a 1-to-1 substitution. I was a chemist before I was a baking blogger, and the active chemicals in both regular and sodium-free baking powder and baking soda are exactly the same. So the recipe shouldn’t require a full 2x as much. Try doing a 1-to-1 substitution with the baking powder, or maybe just a tiny bit more. (One person said 4 tsp of sodium-free for every 3 tsp of regular.) Then cut down on the baking soda to about a 1.5-to-1. If the recipe you’re testing tastes less chalky, then it’s because there was too much leavener. I’d love to hear how that goes! As an ex-chemist, I always find things like this really interesting. 🙂
Thank you! Thank you so much. I will give it a try and let you know. Can’t thank you enough for checking into it.
My pleasure! I love baking chemistry, so it was fun for me to do the research. 🙂 I’m excited to hear what happens!
Amy–Sorry to take so long. I work at a university and take a class each semester. The paper was a killer this time around. Just finished this afternoon. I made a standard cornbread recipe (milk and eggs, not buttermilk) with a one-to-one substitution of no-salt baking powder. The cornbread rose some, not quite as much as usual and domed a bit. The taste, however, was fine. Next, I’ll try something that rises more, like biscuits. Thanks for letting me keep this thread going.
That sounds really tough to both work and take classes — good for you!! I’m glad that the taste was fine and not so chalky. Perhaps just a tiny bit more baking powder (such as an additional 1/8 teaspoon per teaspoon of baking powder) would give you the rise you were looking for without the chalky taste. Keep me posted on your next recipe! 🙂
Amy–I made biscuits today (standard recipe) and, again, they didn’t rise quite like usual. Next time, I’ll try your suggestion of increasing the baking powder 1/8 tsp. Thanks so much for the comments and the help. I really appreciate it. Brett
My pleasure Brett! I’m hoping we can figure this out so all of your baked goods in the future taste (and rise) exactly as they should. Let me know if that extra 1/8 tsp doesn’t work, and I’ll keep thinking!
Again, sorry for the lengthy gap. Holiday baking and caring for SO after rotator cuff surgery (it’s been a looonnnng semester). Adding the 1/8 tsp of the no-sodium baking powder to the original amount totally worked! I got the usual rise out of cornmeal muffins. I reduced the salt quite a lot and you can definitely taste that, but rise and crumb are perfectly fine. Next experiment will be buttermilk biscuits so I can try the no-sodium baking soda with the baking powder using the same additional 1/8 tsp. I still wonder about cakes, but will work up to that. Thank you again for your expertise and encouragement. Any low/no-sodium ideas you have, I would love to hear them. Best wishes for a happy 2015. Brett
No need to apologize Brett! The holidays are a busy time for everyone, and I’m sure your SO really appreciated the help and care. 🙂 I’m really glad that the extra little bit of baking powder worked! Hearing that completely made my day. I’m so happy that we’re finally on the right track with solving the no-sodium baking powder mystery!
If I do not have lemon zest, is there a substitution. Home on a snow day, and only have lemon juice in a bottle. Should I just abandon for now and try another way to use my Ricotta?? Thank you!
You could leave out the zest Al, but it actually provides a lot of lemon flavor. Alternatively, you could try substituting 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice for the equivalent amount of water. Stay warm!