Description
I’ve got an insanely moist and delicious lemon ricotta cake with lemon icing that you simply must try. It’s a lemon lover’s delight.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (1 or 2 lemons) (see note #1)
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (flavoring or extract)
Sift together:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the lemon icing:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (flavoring or extract)
NOTE: You will need parchment paper, a 9 or 10-inch round cake pan, and non-stick cooking spray.
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Instructions
- Take a 9”or 10” round cake pan and place on top of a piece of parchment paper. Trace the bottom of the pan with a pencil then cut it out. Yes, you should cut slightly inside the line so there is no lead on the paper.
- Spray the bottom of the cake pan, place the parchment paper circle in the bottom. Then spray the bottom again as well as the sides of pan. Set aside.
- Zest the lemon and divide what you need for the cake batter and what you’ll need for the icing.
- Squeeze the juice from the lemon you zested. You can use a handheld juicer for this. I cut the lemon into small chunks that fit in my juicer. I divided what I will need for the cake batter and what’s needed for the lemon icing. You can simply put the lemon zest in the same ramekin as the juice.
- Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Then add the ricotta, olive oil, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest, eggs and vanilla.
- Using a handheld blender start on low speed and mix the batter together, switching to medium until everything is well combined. You should scrape the sides of the bowl a couple of times during this process. Once the batter is smooth (should take a couple of minutes), pour the batter into your cake pan. Rap the cake pan on the counter a couple of times then bake in a preheated at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
- Once the cake has cooled you can flip it onto a plate or parchment paper, peel the parchment paper circle from the bottom, then flip it back onto a serving plate so it’s top-side-up. My video shows this well.
- To make the lemon icing, sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl. Make sure to level off the powdered sugar with a butter knife for even measurement. Add melted butter, lemon juice and lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix until smooth with a handheld blender. Oops, I just realized I said this was a 4-ingredient icing in the video. It’s FIVE. J
- Only add the lemon icing to the top of the cake when the cake is completely cooled down and not warm. I let mine sit for an hour and a half or so on the counter.
- Pour the icing on top of the cake and smooth over top with spatula. Let it naturally run down the sides. I didn’t try to control it. Just gently spread spatula across the top and let the rest fall where it may.
- You can serve it with just the icing. I garnished with fresh berries, mint leaves and edible mini roses. I show the decorating part in the video. Any edible flowers would be beautiful here. I got the edible roses at a Middle-eastern market. They sometimes have edible flowers in the produce section of Whole Foods.
Equipment
Bobby at Home: Fearless Flavors from My Kitchen
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- With the lemon zest and juice, I needed only one large lemon, plus a little more zest from a second lemon. It will depend on the size of your lemon and what it yields. Probably best to have 2-3 on hand. You can also occasionally get a dud lemon with very little juice so keep that in mind.