This incredibly bright and velvety Lemon Ricotta Cake gets it’s amazing texture from a ricotta cheese and olive oil base and packs a flavor pucker punch with no shortage of lemon zest and juice!
Nothing is better than a lemon cake! And this lemon ricotta cake is one of the finest in town. Ricotta cheese isn’t an ingredient that you always reach for when baking, but Italians have been in on the secret for a long time now!
Adding ricotta to your baked goods gives a ridiculously moist and silky texture and, in Sicily, a lemon ricotta cake is often a breakfast treat.
Ingredients
This lemon cake recipe requires only a handful of ingredients, so quality is key here!
- All-purpose flour. Often I use a cake flour for cakes, but because this is such a velvety cake, and it’s a hearty snacking cake, I recommend all-purpose flour this time!
- Olive oil. Use a virgin or extra-virgin oil, but you don’t need to buy the top of the line brand. A quality, light oil is great here.
- Baking powder. Gives us a light and airy texture.
- Eggs. The structure of our cake.
- Granulated sugar & vanilla extract. Just enough sweetness to balance out the lemon!
- Lemon juice and lemon zest. This is critical! Only use fresh lemon juice and zest. Skip the bottled juices or lemon extracts – only a true lemon can give us this amazing flavor!
Variations
- Stir in blueberries for a great summer treat.
- Skip the lemon and make this fig ricotta cake version.
Making & Baking a Ricotta Cake
Ricotta cakes are very easy, like, almost too easy because I will quickly whip one up any day of the week. And I can because I usually have a tub of ricotta in the fridge (it’s great on pastas and toasts, p.s.)
Baking with Ricotta Cheese
Ricotta cheese is found in the speciality cheese area of most, if not all, grocery stores. Look for a “full fat” or “whole milk” ricotta cheese to ensure we have a super creamy texture.
Ricotta cheese has subtly sweet, creamy and slightly granular characteristics. If you notice a ton of liquid, it’s better to strain some by placing the ricotta in a cheesecloth over a strainer and applying a little pressure. But most brands I’ve tried are not too thin if you use a whole milk brand.
Ricotta is also pretty easy to make at home with a little milk, acid and heat, but like I said: this is an easy cake, so let’s buy it this time!
Baking with Lemons
In this ricotta cake, we use both lemon zest and lemon juice. Lemon juice is very flavorful but you can only use a little of it in a cake without messing with the texture and ending up with rubber.
This is why we are also going to use lemon zest. Lemon zest is the yellow outer skin of the lemon and it has a ton of tart lemon flavor.
To get the zest, use a microplane or grater to remove just the yellow layer, leaving the white pith layer behind (the pith is very bitter).
Lemon zest gets it’s flavor due to the oil that is in the skin, so to really get the best flavor, zest the lemon directly into your bowl of granulated sugar then massage the sugar a bit to really release all that flavor!
Putting the Cake Together
I said this cake was easy, right? Well, I’m not lying. In one bowl, whisk together you dry ingredients.
In a second bowl, whisk together your wet ingredients. Baking nerd moment: sugar is considered a wet ingredient because it melts in heat in case you were wondering!
Stir the two bowls together. Done. Seriously, that’s it!
If you want to get crazy, and I always do, after you bake the cake, you can add a lemon glaze by mixing a little lemon juice and a bit of confectioners’ sugar and spread it on top.
Frequently Asked Questions
Strain out extra liquid by placing the ricotta in a cheesecloth or paper towel in a strainer. Apply a little weight for 15-20 minutes to remove some of the liquid.
The texture of the ricotta cheese will give the batter a grainy/clumpy texture. This is completely normal and will not be noticeable in the final baked texture.
Only want a little lemon? Substitute milk or water in the glaze for the lemon juice (or remove it completely) for a less intense lemon flavor.
Looking for Other Lemon Desserts?
Give these other pucker-perfect lemon desserts taste!
Lemon Ricotta Cake
Equipment
- 8" cake pan
Ingredients
- 180 g all-purpose flour
- 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest about 2 lemons
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 175 g whole milk ricotta cheese or full-fat
- ½ cup olive oil light virgin or extra-virgin
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Lemon Glaze
- 84 g confectioners' sugar sifted
- 1 ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Grease and flour an 8" cake tin and line bottom with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk or sift together flour, baking powder and salt.180 g all-purpose flour, 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In a second bowl, add granulated sugar and lemon zest. Gently rub zest into sugar with fingertips to release flavor.150 g granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- Whisk in remaining wet ingredients until well blended: lemon juice, ricotta, olive oil, eggs and vanilla.1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 175 g whole milk ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Stir dry ingredients into wet and mix until no flour clumps remain. Texture will be grainy due to ricotta. Pour batter into prepared cake tin, tap on counter to release any air bubbles. Bake until golden brown and springs back when touched or until a toothpick comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. When cake is cool enough to handle, remove from tin and allow to cool completely on wire rack.
- Lemon glaze. To make glaze, whisk together confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and salt. Spread over cooled cake.84 g confectioners' sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, Pinch salt
Notes
- Store leftover cake at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Disclaimer: We test all recipes using the metric weights shown, we cannot guarantee outcomes when switching to US measurements.
Hi there! Just wondering if it’s 160 fan forced or conventional bake? Thank you!
Hi Ashleigh! This is 160°C conventional bake. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Loved this cake! Directions were simple and easy to follow. Cake was super moist and flavorful. Will definitely be making this again.
Thank you for trying our cake, we’re so glad it was a winner!
Wonderful recipe- easy to follow and turned out perfectly! I even added blueberries which was a nice addition and didn’t affect the outcome! Everyone at my bbq was asking for the recipe!