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Delicious Lemon and Ricotta Cake Recipe

This lemon and ricotta cake is my new favorite recipe so I just had to share it with you!  I realized this week that a tub of ricotta cheese in the fridge was rapidly approaching its expiry date, so I scrambled for a quick recipe because I’d since eaten the other ingredients to make what I originally bought the ricotta for (classic, lol).  In the nick of time I found a delicious lemon and ricotta muffin recipe that I turned into a cake, added a twist to, and can’t stop devouring.  It’s so delicious and so simple to make. 

Delicious lemon cake recipe

Here’s the recipe I pinned, from Healthy Food Living, along with my tweaks:

For the Lemon and Ricotta Cake:

  • 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 granulated sugar
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Lemon juice (2 lemons)
  • Lemon zest (2 lemons)

For the Icing:

  • Lemon juice (1 lemon)
  • Lemon zest (1 lemon)
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar

How to Make This Lemon and Ricotta Cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. In a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  3. In a smaller bowl, mix together the ricotta, oil, lemon rind & juice, water and egg.
  4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir only until it’s just mixed – don’t over stir, this dough gets really stiff very quickly so watch out!
  5. Pour into muffin cups or, if you’re lazy like me, use an 8″ by 8″ lightly greased pan.
  6. Bake muffins for 15-17 minutes
  7. If it’s in cake form, bake for about 30 minutes, until lightly browned on top and a knife you insert comes out clean.

Ricotta cake recipe

Make the Icing (Not in Original Recipe):

I had planned a thick, super rich icing like I made for my sugar cookies but it turns out we were almost out of icing sugar!  Probably a good thing.  I used what was left and made a very runny glaze by mixing together the zest and juice of one lemon and about two (maybe 3) tablespoons of icing sugar.  I drizzled in onto the cake when it was minutes from the oven, so it seeped in a little and also crystallized from the heat.  It’s like the glaze on an apple fritter, but with more zest.   It’s the perfect little hint of sweet and it makes this lemon and ricotta cake even more addictive. 

Recipes for ricottaMoist lemon ricotta cake

I am not a very good food photographer but hopefully these photos looks good enough to eat.  This lemon and ricotta cake is moist and rich, but also light and fluffy.  It is sweet, but also has a really zingy lemon flavor which balances the sugary glaze.  In case you’re wondering, sugar-free me lasted about three weeks (a week shy of my month long goal) but then I fell off the wagon.  Now I’m trying to just eat less sugar.  She says with a straight face, as she stuffs her face with a slab of sugar coated muffin-cake. 

lemon and ricotta cake recipe

Breakfast of champions. 

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10 Comments

  1. Jeanette @ This Dusty House
    March 25, 2013 / 1:31 pm

    Oh my goodness, they look AMAZING! I love lemon, and, while I haven't had a lot of ricotta in my lifetime, I love cheese, so I have a feeling this would be a total winner for me. Definitely trying these when I have a chance!

    • Tanya from Dans le Townhouse
      March 25, 2013 / 3:42 pm

      The ricotta cheese is definitely a mild flavor in this cake but it makes for a yummy texture. You will love these and they were a snap to make – like five minutes prep and then into the oven! Happy snacking!

  2. Christine L
    March 25, 2013 / 3:23 pm

    Yum!! Going to pin this! Thanks for sharing : )

    • Tanya from Dans le Townhouse
      March 26, 2013 / 1:33 pm

      I'm happy to! Let's all eat a muffiny cake for breakfast 😉

  3. cred
    March 26, 2013 / 12:13 pm

    I can't wait to try this- it looks so good.I love coffee-cake sorts of cake but lemon in dessert is the best.

    • Tanya from Dans le Townhouse
      March 26, 2013 / 1:15 pm

      It's so hard to photograph food, so I'm happy I captured it's yumminess. I'd love to know how the recipe turn out for you. It really is delicious. And is also good the following days if stored covered (I slapped a plastic dome over a plate).

  4. Dana@Mid2Mod
    March 26, 2013 / 3:36 pm

    That sounds so yummy!

    • Tanya from Dans le Townhouse
      March 26, 2013 / 10:38 pm

      It really, really is. And is all gone now. Is that a bad thing? An 8 inch pan is pretty small, right?

  5. Susannah
    July 19, 2013 / 11:00 pm

    Hi Tanya,For the ricotta cheese that reads 3/4, do you mean 3/4s of a cup? Please let us know because I would love to make your cake.Thank you,Susannah

    • Tanya from Dans le Townhouse
      July 20, 2013 / 2:27 pm

      Sorry! 3/4 cups, yes!! I'll fix that right now :)Happy baking.

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