RECIPE: How to make foolproof ricotta cake three ways

Last summer I stumbled upon this Bon Appetit raspberry ricotta cake in my Twitter feed, and boy, am I grateful I did. Not only was I trying to use up the Bellwether Farms ricotta in my fridge that was quickly reaching its expiration date, but I am always on the hunt for low-effort, high-reward desserts. This one: jackpot. Minimal dishes, few steps, forgiving bake: what’s not to like?

Not having any raspberries on hand, I subbed in blackberries on the first go-around. Then I remade it with cherries. Then blueberries. Then back to blackberries. Ironically, I’ve never made this with raspberries, as BA calls for, but I trust those would work marvelously, too.

This cake is great for: breakfast, weeknight dessert, bringing something to a potluck, a birthday cake, anytime snack. Below I give you three fruit filling options of how to work with this cake batter:

Figs with a honey drizzle and sprinkle of grated pistachios post-bake
Fresh blackberries inside and atop the cake
Blueberry jam (when you’re in a pinch or in the dead of winter)

RECIPE: Foolproof ricotta cake, three ways

By: Kathleen Hayes, adapted from Bon Appetit

Makes 1, 9" cake

MISE IT

Dry ingredients

190 grams all-purpose flour
200 grams organic sugar
6 grams baking powder (2 teaspoons)
¾ teaspoons kosher salt

Wet ingredients

3 large eggs (155 - 170 grams, depending on size of eggs)
305g grams ricotta
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
113 grams unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)

Fruit filling / topping (3 variations)

Variation 1: 6-7 figs, cut horizontally into circular slices; honey for drizzling; 2-3 pistachios, finely grated; flaky sea salt, to taste
Variation 2: 1 cup fresh blackberries, separated into ¾ cup and ¼ cup [you can also use blueberries, cherries, or raspberries as originally conceived]
Variation 3: ½ to ¾ cup jam of your liking, such as blueberry jam

Special equipment

MAKE IT

Preheat your oven to 338 degrees F (or nearest interval), and spray and line a 9” round cake pan with parchment paper.
In a small saucepan, melt your butter and set aside to cool slightly.
Combine all of your dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and whisk together.
In a large mixing bowl, combine your remaining wet ingredients besides the butter (eggs, ricotta, vanilla extract), and whisk until mixture is homogeneous.
Put your dry ingredients into the large bowl with your egg mixture and, using a spatula, fold in your dry ingredients until just combined.
Whisk in your melted butter until just combined. No need to over-mix, as it’ll toughen up your final cake.
If doing Variation 2 or 3, mix in ¾ of your filling into the batter now. If mixing in jam, don’t fully incorporate (you want some swirls).
Scrape your batter from the bowl into your sprayed and lined cake pan and ensure it’s evenly distributed throughout the pan.
For Variation 1: Place your fig slices across the top of the cake.
For Variation 2: Use the remaining ¼ of your fruit and arrange across the top of the cake.
For Variation 3: Swirl the last bit of your jam on the top of the cake.
Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes, until the cake is a light golden brown (your edges might be a bit darker than the rest of the cake), and the cake springs back when you press your finger on it.
Let cool in the pan for 3-5 minutes, and then remove from the pan to let cool completely.
If you keep this cake wrapped in plastic wrap (and have the patience not to eat it all immediately), it keeps for several days.
If doing Variation 1, right before serving: drizzle with honey and use a microplane to finely grate pistachio across the top of the cake. Sprinkle flaky sea salt, to taste.
Enjoy!

TWEAK IT

While I’ve shared the variations I’ve done with this base recipe already, experiment with whatever fruit is in season.
Serve warm with fruity ice cream (like this blackberry ice cream I made using Stella Parks’ recipe)

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