Easy Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake

5 from 5 vote

Easy Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake

This Easy Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake is bursting with fresh lemon flavor thanks to the lemon zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice in the batter. Perfect for breakfast, Sunday brunch, Mother’s Day, and Easter! The perfect cake to enjoy after an Italian lunch or dinner.

Prep Time10

Cook Time55

Total Time1 5

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Bundt Cake, lemon, ricotta

Servings:

Calories: 272kcal

Author: Lora

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter , at room temperature (plus more to grease the baking pan)
2 cups cake flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1½ cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
zest of 1 to 2 lemons
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (less than 1 lemon, usually)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour Bundt pan (or you could use baking spray, as I did).
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to blend.
Using a mixer (or by hand), cream the butter, ricotta and granulated sugar until blended, about 3 minutes — I never really go over three minutes, and it’s ok if there are some visible pieces of butter. In other words, the batter will not look entirely smooth (see photo). With the machine running, add the eggs 1 at a time.
Add the eggs 1 at a time.
Add the vanilla, zest and lemon juice until combined. Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated. Stop the mixer and use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl after each addition of the dry ingredients.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place on middle rack of oven.
Bake for 25 minutes on 350. Lower heat, bake about another 20 minutes on 325, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. I always have to lower my oven to 325 with cakes. My cakes bake too fast if I bake all the way on 350.
Carefully invert the cake onto your serving plate. Dust with confectioner's sugar, or make a lemon glaze with fresh lemon juice.

Nutrition