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 quick and easy 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. Think of it as a cross between a creamy cheesecake and lemon cake – divine!
Served with a thick mascarpone cream and fresh raspberries, I promise this easy Ricotta Cake is a total crowd-pleaser.
Why you will love this recipe
Quick and easy: It sounds impressive, but this Lemon Ricotta Cake is surprisingly easy to make with only simply ingredients – perfect for beginners!
Lemon flavour: With lemon zest and fresh lemon juice in the cake, it’s bursting with zesty lemon goodness.
Creamy texture: The ricotta in this cake helps to create a creamy *almost* cheesecake-like texture with a very moist crumb.
Make-ahead: If you want to make this for a dinner party, you can easily make it the day before for easy entertaining.
Thanks Jess, beautiful recipe. I doubled the recipe to make two layer cakes and iced it with lemon cream cheese frosting. Delish!
– Karen
Recipe testing
I’m proud of this Italian-inspired 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 the fresh lemons and creamy ricotta change everything. It creates a somewhat dense cake, especially when compared to my Lemon Crumb Cake or even my Lemon Pound Cake but it has a truly tender crumb.
The texture is not too wet but not dry. It is creamy like a cheesecake, but light and fresh too.
Just like in my Lemon Ricotta Cookies, I recommend using a tub of full fat store-bought ricotta.
To serve, you can simply dust the cake with powdered sugar, add a few fresh berries and a generous dollop of mascarpone cream. Heaven.
Ingredients
This Italian Lemon Cake calls for fresh lemons and storebought ricotta, but the rest of the ingredients are pantry staples.
I like to serve my cake with a simple two-ingredient mascarpone cream, but you can also just enjoy it with a simple dusting of icing sugar.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the key ingredients you’ll need, including any substitutions you can make.
- Caster sugar: Caster sugar is very fine sugar often used in baking. In this recipe, granulated sugar will also work.
- Fresh lemons: You can’t substitute fresh lemons in this recipe. We will be using both the lemon zest and the juice in the cake batter.
- Plain flour: You’ll need plain flour or all purpose flour.
- Ricotta cheese: I used Perfect Italiano Original Ricotta in this recipe. Most storebought full fat ricotta should work. If you use fresh ricotta cheese, you may just need to drain it first.
- Milk: You don’t need buttermilk for this recipe, just regular whole or full fat milk works perfectly.
- Icing sugar: Icing sugar, also known as powdered sugar or confectioners’ sugar, is what you’ll need just to decorate the cake.
- Thickened cream: You’ll need thickened cream or heavy cream for the mascarpone cream. Cream can have different names in different countries but look for a high-fat cream (at least 35% fat) that says it is suitable for whipping.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make Lemon Ricotta Cake
This easy Lemon Ricotta Cake is surprisingly easy to make. You will need an electric mixer, either a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
Here’s a quick overview of how to make it but the full instructions are included in the recipe below.
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, add butter, sugar and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Step 2: Add eggs, one at a time, beating briefly just to combine. It’s ok if your mixture looks a bit lumpy here.
Step 3: Add lemon juice, lemon zest, flour, baking powder and ricotta and beat on a low speed.
Step 4: Add milk and beat briefly until combined. Cake batter will be thick and creamy.
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Step 5: Transfer cake batter to a prepared cake pan. Bake for approximately 30 minutes.
Step 6: Leave cake to cool completely on a wire rack.
Step 7: In a large bowl, add mascarpone and thickened cream. Mix on medium speed until thick and creamy.
Step 8: Dust the top of the cake with icing sugar and serve with mascarpone cream.
Tips for making Ricotta Cake
- Grease and line: Classic Lemon Ricotta Cake has the tendency to stick to the pan, so make sure you grease your cake pan well and line the bottom AND the sides with baking or parchment paper. You could also use a springform pan if you like.
- Batter may curdle: Adding fresh lemon juice means the cake batter might look a little curdled, but it’s totally fine.
- Expect a limited rise: 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 to cool: Leave the cake to cool completely in the cake tin as it will be quite fragile when warm. Serve cooled cake with mascarpone cream and fresh raspberries for the perfect dessert.
Frequently asked questions
You can serve this cake at room temperature or cold from the fridge. I personally love to serve it at room temperature with mascarpone cream or freshly whipped cream and a handful of fresh berries.
Yes absolutely! You can swap the lemon zest and lemon juice in this recipe for orange zest and juice.
Yes, you can fold a few fresh raspberries or blueberries into the cake batter right before baking. If you want to use frozen berries, add them frozen – do not thaw first.
More lemon recipes
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Let’s Bake
Lemon Ricotta Cake recipe
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 or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 140 grams (1 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 250 grams (1 cup) store bought ricotta
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) full fat or whole milk
Mascarpone cream
- 240 ml (1 cup) thickened or heavy cream (see notes)
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) mascarpone
- Icing sugar or powdered sugar, optional, to serve
- Fresh raspberries, optional, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan 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 on medium speed 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.
Notes
Ricotta cheese: I used Perfect Italiano Original Ricotta in this recipe. Most storebought full fat ricotta should work. If you use fresh ricotta cheese, you may just need to drain it first.
Icing sugar: Icing sugar, also known as powdered sugar or confectioners’ sugar, is used to decorate the cake.
Thickened cream: You’ll need thickened cream or heavy cream for the mascarpone cream. Cream can have different names in different countries but look for a high-fat cream (at least 35% fat) that says it is suitable for whipping.
Mascarpone cream: If you don’t have access to mascarpone cream, you can simply leave it out and decorate the cake with whipped cream.
Storage: Keep leftover Lemon Ricotta Cake in an airtight container in the fridge. You can bring it to room temperature to serve.
Make-ahead: You can freeze the cake. Wrap it carefully in plastic wrap and keep it in an airtight container.
Nutrition Information
Deb says
Made it using my square silicone baking pan because it was the closest to the 8” round one required
It turned out delicious! I would be keen to try it in a porcelain soufflé 8” round dish next time.
Thank you- great recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Deb!
Juan says
Thanks for the recipe. I tried it with 100 grams of sugar, that was sufficient level of sweetness for my taste. Although I think I will make it again with double (or triple?) the amount lemon!
Jessica Holmes says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Juan says
I did! I was thinking why my cake was barely lemony and then I realized that “tablespoon” is probably a unit of measurement (15 ml in US, 20 in Australia, etc.). However, I used my actual kitchen tablespoons, which I just measured at just 6 ml! I am really new to baking…
I will be making many more of your cakes on the following weeks. 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Ah yes that’s right – definitely try adding more lemon next time.
Kaitlyn says
So good!! The perfect amount of lemon, can’t wait to make this again!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Kaitlyn!
Lee says
Do we refrigerate the cake or it can stay in room temp ?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lee, keep this one in the fridge if you can!
Isa says
Yes I e made it twice now about to taste the second one, hubbie just loved it not too sweet and just right thank you.
Jessica Holmes says
So pleased to hear that Isa!
Sarbjit says
Hi Jess
Could this cake be made without eggs?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, I haven’t tested this recipe without eggs but consider them to be an important ingredient.
Sarbjit says
Hi
Could you tell me whether this cake can be made without eggs?
Thank you
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, this recipe hasn’t been tested without eggs.
Chrissi says
I came across this recipe looking for a use for some left over ricotta. Perfect! A simple little cake. Realized I had no lemons. Limes, grapefruit and oranges? Sure. No lemons. Well, I made it with 2T orange zest and it was incredible. Perfect breakfast this morning. Such a moist delicious cake I plan on making again when I have lemons. Might add a few blueberries in this time.
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear it worked well for you Chrissi – love the idea of using oranges!
Alison Tutt says
Hi there, I’m going to make this cake for the first time for a dinner party. You say you cake make it ahead of time. So if I made it a day early, what is the best way to store it ?
Jessica Holmes says
Excited you are going to try this cake Alison! You can store the cake in the fridge.
Michelle H says
Simple to make & came out lovely using your tips. This is going into my permanent recipe stash!
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Michelle!
Rosa Delgado says
I only have a 9″ round pan. Can I use an 8″ square plan?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes you can! Or you can use your 9 inch pan, the cake will just be larger and thinner and therefore cook a bit faster.
Rosa says
Thank you. I’m looking forward to making this. It looks delicious.
Sarah Buggie says
Would you reccomend doubling this recipe if using a 9×13 pan?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sarah, yes I would!
Yvonne says
Hi, some recipes say to stain the ricotta. Did you do that with this recipe? I’ve been asked to make an Italian themed cake and though this would be a good base.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Yvonne, the ricotta I usually use is store-bought kind and doesn’t have much liquid. If there is excess liquid, then yes, give it a quick strain and just use 1 cup of the actual ricotta.
melanie Purser says
could I exchange the lemons for oranges successfully in this recipe?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Melanie, I haven’t tried myself but I don’t see why not!
Sue says
Could you please tell me if it is important to use fresh ricotta or will cartons do as well? I am looking forward to trying this.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sue, storebought ricotta in a carton should be fine!
Susan says
Made this cake for the first time. I had to add 10 mins to the baking time. Presentation is beautiful . Love that it is not super sweet and the dusting of icing sugar really boosts it without overpowering it.
Very Italian.
Would definitely make again.
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Susan! Thank you for the lovely feedback!