You’ll love this buttery and moist Lemon Ricotta Cake made with fresh lemons. Dusted with powdered sugar and topped with mascarpone cream and raspberries, it’s the perfect lemon dessert.
Lemon + ricotta = a match made in heaven 💕
It takes a lot for me to steer away from chocolate-covered desserts, but if there’s one dessert that can make me do it, it’s this gorgeous Lemon Ricotta Cake.
With a soft, buttery texture and a rich lemon flavour, it’s my new go-to dessert.
I’m proud of this cake. It took me a little while to get it just right but it has made me fall more and more in love with lemon desserts.
Not only is it lovely and sweet, but it’s very simple to make too.
You only need a handful of ingredients, but it’s the fresh lemons and creamy ricotta that changes everything. It creates a dense cake, with an enviable texture – not too wet but not dry.
To serve, you can simply dust the cake with powdered sugar, add a few fresh berries and a generous dollop of mascarpone cream. Heaven.
While I’ll always love a good chocolate cake or a slice of peanut butter cheesecake, this lovely Lemon Ricotta Cake is now on serious rotation in my house.
It’s also the perfect dessert for entertaining because you can easily make it ahead of time. In fact, it might even be nicer on day two.
Tips for making Ricotta Cake
- This cake has the tendency to stick to the pan, so make sure you grease the sides of your cake tin well with butter and line the bottom with baking or parchment paper.
- Adding fresh lemon juice means the cake batter might look a little curdled, but it’s totally fine.
- This cake is moist and dense, so it won’t rise as much as a regular cake. You can tell it’s ready by inserting a skewer into the centre, it should come out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool completely in the cake tin as it will be quite fragile when warm.
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PinDescription
A moist and dense Lemon Ricotta Cake made with fresh lemons.
Ingredients
Lemon ricotta cake
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 140 grams (1 cup) plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 250 grams (1 cup) ricotta
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk
Mascarpone cream
- 240 ml (1 cup) thickened or heavy cream
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) mascarpone
- Icing sugar or powdered sugar, to serve
- Fresh raspberries, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160 C (320 F). Grease an 8 inch round cake tin with butter and line the bottom with parchment or baking paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter, sugar and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined.
- Add lemon juice, lemon zest, flour, baking powder and ricotta and beat on a low speed. Add milk and beat briefly until combined. Cake batter may be lumpy and curdled but this is totally fine.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pan and place in the oven for approximately 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave cake to cool completely in cake pan.
- Add cream and mascarpone to a mixing bowl and beat using an electric mixer for a couple of minutes or until thickened.
- To serve, dust cake with icing sugar. Cut into small slices and serve with mascarpone cream and fresh raspberries.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 283 (cake only)
Keywords: Ricotta cake, Lemon cake, Lemon Ricotta Cake
Lovely cake, served with crème fraîche and raspberries.. Everyone wanted the recipe.
★★★★★
I love hearing that! Thanks Jo!
I used a wetter ricotta so I omitted the milk and it turned out really well. It’s delicious served at room temperature or microwaved for a few seconds. I might add a little more lemon and vanilla next time because I really like those flavours. At 30 minutes the skewer was still wet, 35 minutes it was dry. Any longer and I think it would’ve overcooked and dried out. I like this recipe!
★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback Chris ☺️
Hi! I came across this recipe while looking for a ricotta cake recipe with apples. Have you tried adding any type of fruit to the batter?
Hi Christina, I haven’t no, but that sounds nice!
One word…DELICIOUS. Easy,elegant, and not too sweet. I did not make the cream for serving, due to time constraints, but can only imagine it would have been even more delicious. Thank you for sharing this delightful recipe.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the lovely feedback!
Just baked this. Sooooo nice and easy.
★★★★★
Love hearing that!
This is fantastic! I made it as directed, except I only had a 9″ pan so cooked it for 32 minutes. Besides being incredibly easy, it was light and delicious. It also tastes elegant and looks so pretty. I am going to add this to my list of party desserts and food gifts. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear that Jo Ellen! Thank you so much for the lovely feedback!
Hi Jess, How long will this cake last? Can you (slice up and) freeze and take out when you feel like a piece? Thanks
Hi Rachael, this cake will keep for a few days in the fridge. But yes, otherwise you can pop it in the freezer 🙂
Hi. I’ve made this twice and its wonderful but can I use sour cream instead of ricotta? . I’ve also made this with chocolate instead of lemon and it urned out just as good. Thanks you.
Hi Cat! I’m so glad you loved this cake! I haven’t tried it with sour cream so I can’t say for sure. It may alter the taste and texture. If you try it, let me know how it goes 🙂
can i substitute caster sugar with other sugar? such as raw coconut sugar and etc. or can i substitute it with honey?
Hi Kristy, you can user granulated sugar instead of caster sugar. I haven’t tested it with any other sugar or sugar substitute so I really can’t say. I don’t recommend using honey instead as it will chang the texture and structure of the cake. Here’s a blog post I wrote about caster sugar that you might find helpful –
https://www.sweetestmenu.com/what-is-caster-sugar/
Lovely recipe! The cake came out beautifully. Does it need to be stored at room temperature or in the fridge? Thanks for the awesome recipes.
Hi Michelle, so glad you enjoyed it! I think either is ok, it will go a bit firmer in the fridge but it’ll still be lovely!
Great cake, a new favorite for sure.
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Bri!