Ricotta Cake
This moist vanilla Ricotta Cake is so soft, buttery, and delicious. The ricotta in the cake batter gives this cake a boost of moisture and richness. Enjoy it just as it is or topped with berries and cream!
Table of Contents
Why we Love It
- Moist and soft
- Simple to Make
- Perfect for any occasion from birthdays to holidays, showers and more
- Great just as it is, or topped with berries and cream!
Ingredients for the Cake
Here's a quick look at the star ingredients for our ricotta cake!
- Cake Flour- Makes for a softer, more tender crumb (as it has less protein)
- Ricotta Cheese- We use whole milk ricotta
- Unsalted Butter-We use unsalted butter and add the salt separately
- Sugar- adds sweetness and moisture
- Large Eggs
- Baking Powder & Salt
- Vanilla Extract- Vanilla bean paste can be used in place of the extract
- Milk
How to Make Ricotta Cake
You can find our full, printable recipe for Ricotta Cake at the bottom of this post. Here is a quick look at our steps! This recipe is very similar to our Lemon Ricotta Cake, but with vanilla!
- Preheat the oven to 325℉. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan or tube pan.
- Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt to combine, set aside for later.
- In another bowl or measuring cup, combine the ricotta cheese, milk, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer (paddle attachment if using a stand mixer), add the softened butter to the mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until smooth.
- Next, gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the eggs to the mixing bowl one at a time, blending after each until the yolk is incorporated.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the ricotta cheese mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture in the mixing bowl. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. We do three additions of dry ingredients, alternating with two additions of wet. Mix just until incorporated.
- Scoop batter into prepared bundt pan.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 5-10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Baking times may vary depending on oven, size of bundt pan, etc. Peek in as the end time approaches and adjust temperature as needed.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out.
Easy Sugar Glaze
Today, we decorated the ricotta cake with a simple sugar glaze. This glaze is a combination of powdered sugar, milk, a pinch of salt, and vanilla. It is completely optional- the cake is great without it, but it dresses it up a bit and adds another layer of flavor. (The glaze sets firm to the touch).
We topped it off with fresh strawberries & blueberries!
More Bundt Cakes to Try
In addition to today's Ricotta Cake, we have many more pound cakes and bundt cakes for you! Some of our favorites are our Chocolate Ricotta Cake, Five Flavor Pound Cake, easy Pineapple Upside Down Bundt Cake, and Margarita Pound Cake.
Have you made this? We would LOVE for you to leave a ⭐️ rating as well as a comment and photo below! We really appreciate your feedback!
Ricotta Pound Cake
This buttery, soft Ricotta Pound Cake has wonderful vanilla flavor and a moist, tender crumb.
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Ingredients
- 2 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened (282g)
- 10 oz Ricotta Cheese (This is about 1 ¼ cups)- We use Whole Milk Ricotta.
- 3 cups sugar (600g)
- 5 large eggs room temperature place in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes to speed up the process.
- 3 cups (342 g) cake flour (Not self rising. We use Swan's Down, bleached)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder (2g)
- ½ teaspoon salt (3g)
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean Paste (12g)
- ¼ cup milk or buttermilk
Glaze
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 3 to 4 Tablespoons Milk, more if needed for the consistency you like (45-60g)
- Pinch of salt Approximately ¼ teaspoon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (4g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325℉. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan or tube pan.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt to combine, set aside for later.
- In another bowl or measuring cup, combine the ricotta cheese, ¼ cup milk, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer (paddle attachment if using a stand mixer), add the softened butter to the mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until smooth.
- Next, gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the eggs to the mixing bowl one at a time, blending after each until the yolk is incorporated.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the ricotta cheese mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture in the mixing bowl. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. We do three additions of dry ingredients, alternating with two additions of wet. Mix just until incorporated.
- Scoop batter into prepared bundt pan. Our 10 inch bundt pan has a baking capacity of 12 cups batter (this recipe makes about 9.5 cups). If you are working with a smaller pan, be careful not to overfill. A good rule of thumb is not to fill more than ¾ full.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 5-10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Baking times may vary depending on oven, size of bundt pan, etc. Peek in as the end time approaches and adjust temperature as needed.
- This makes approximately 9.5 cups of batter.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out.
Glaze
- Combine confectioners sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl and stir until smooth.
Decorating the Cake
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled pound cake. You can do this with a spoon, or for more control, pipe the glaze through a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away (or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped away.)
- If the glaze is too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add a bit more juice or a touch of milk until you reach your desired consistency.
- This cake doesn't need to be refrigerated. Store in an airtight container or under a cake dome.
Notes
You can freeze the ricotta cake (either the whole cake or by the slice) for up to three months. Tightly wrap in plastic wrap followed by foil. To thaw the entire cake, move to the refrigerator the day before (still wrapped). Then move to the kitchen counter the next day, unwrap, and bring to room temperature.
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Hi Ladies,
Have you ever made this recipe into a chocolate version? I would love to know what changes I would need to make to do that. I'm sure replacing some of the flour with cocoa powder would be the first thing, but I don't know what else might need to be altered. If you try it, I would love to make the chocolate version also. This recipe is a true WINNER!
Thanks so much for the inspiration!
Hi Rissa, you are in luck- we have a great chocolate ricotta cake! ;0)
https://www.mycakeschool.com/chocolate-ricotta-cake/
Looks delicious! :-) Awesome as always!