This Lemon Rictotta Cake is one of the most popular recipes on the blog and it is such a lovely recipe. 
Citrus and almonds are one of my favourite baking combinations. Add ricotta to the mix and I am sold. I just love the more substantial cake you get when baking with almond meal and one of the first recipes I posted on the blog were these delicious Clementine Almond Cakes.
I have been wanting to make this Lemon Ricotta Cake from Cakelets and Doilies for quite some time. I was also intrigued with the method of making a meringue of the egg whites before adding it to the mixture so needed to try it out.
I did not make any real changes to the recipe, except for reducing the sugar and blitzing the sugar and lemon zest together before beating it with the butter. And as mentioned in the original recipe don’t skimp on the zest – you really want all that lemon flavour as almond and ricotta is rather bland.
Any citrus fruit should be perfect for this cake and come winter I want to make an orange and definitely a naartjie version.
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Lemon Ricotta Cake
Ingredients
- 120 g butter softened
- 200 g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup lemon zest
- 4 eggs separated
- 240 g almond meal
- 300 g ricotta
- flaked almonds for decoration
- icing sugar for serving
Instructions
- Heat oven to 180 degrees C and line the base and sides of a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper.
- Place 100g of the castor sugar and the lemon zest in a food processor and blitz until finely ground.
- Then beat the butter, vanilla and sugar/zest mix together for about 10 minutes until pale and creamy.
- Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating the mixture well after each egg yolk is added.
- Add the almond meal and beat to combine and then fold the ricotta through the almond mixture.
- Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl until soft peaks form.
- Gradually add the remaining sugar to the egg whites and whisk until stiff peaks have formed. Mix a third of the egg whites into the cake mixture, then gently fold in the rest of the egg white mixture.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin, smooth the top and sprinkle with the almond flakes.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until cooked and firm to the touch.
- Allow to cool completely in the cake tin before removing.
- Dust with icing sugar to serve.
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A few more of my favourite baking recipes Frozen Berry Pavlova with White Chocolate Drizzle 
Ginger Crusted Chocolate Brownies 
Ottolenghi’s Middle Eastern Millionaire’s Short Bread 
Peanut Crusted Chocolate Cake 
John
Mar 17, 2014
Looks scrumptious!
Linda
Mar 17, 2014
You had me with the lemon and almond! Beautiful. I’d love it if you brought this over to What’d You Do This Weekend.
Have a great week,
Linda
hein
Mar 17, 2014
Thank you so much for the kind words Linda!
Robin
Mar 18, 2014
Another delicious thing out of your kitchen! Since its winter in Toronto, this is a perfect koek! Thanks for all the inspiration ….you are a terrific foodie!
hein
Mar 18, 2014
Thank you Robin! You’ve made my day 🙂
Emma
May 11, 2018
Hi Hein, how long do you think this cake would last? If I made Friday night for Sunday night would it be ok?
heinstirred
May 11, 2018
Hello Emma. Yes I am sure it will be just fine. Put it in an airtight container and keep in the fridge and then remove it an hour or so before you want to serve to get to room temp – I’m sure it will taste better after standing a day or two. I find these kinds of cakes also freeze pretty well. Enjoy!
Meike
Jul 8, 2018
I made this cake today and I love it! The structure and flavours are amazing…
heinstirred
Jul 9, 2018
Fantastic Meike. So happy to hear.
Lemon Ricotta Cake and Pistachio Frosting
Aug 8, 2018
[…] Pistachio Frosting was my entry for this year’s Lancewood CakeOff contest. The recipe for the Lemon Ricotta Cake has been posted on the blog before and it is truly a delicious gluten free cake and has been a very […]
Komal
Aug 22, 2020
I made this two weeks ago for friends absolutely delish , now making it for a friends birthday .. thank you ..Komal
heinstirred
Aug 22, 2020
I am so happy to hear that Komal! Enjoy the birthday celebrations of your friend – even more so during these times. Take care.
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Feb 18, 2021
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