Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake

 

Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake is traditional Italian lemon zest cake often served at Carnival and Easter. So full of flavours, made from scratch and so irresistible !

 

Carneval represents the joy of successful banishing the winter and evil spirits and to welcome new sunny season hoping to be fruitful and abundant. Lemons and early oranges varieties already ripe in the south and both are used in recipes during festive days in February.

 

This Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake cannot be sipler. It is delicious combination of ricotta and lemon zest for the best and easy lemon ricotta cake. We bake it in springform pan. As with many of our recipes, ricotta is the base for the best, delicate and fluffy result.

Lemon adds beautiful fragrance to this afternoon cake, simply dusted with icing sugar before serving.

 

People enjoy a slice for an easy morning breakfast with some cream or forest fruits, Sunday afternoon dessert with coffee or during celebrations.

This cake does not have to be refrigerated. You can leave it at room temperature for three days. If you’ll still have several slices after three days, store them in the fridge to preserve freshness.

 

There are some doubts about if people can substitute ricotta with mascarpone for this recipe.

In short, please avoid mascarpone. Both ricotta and mascarpone cheese are made from fresh milk but are so different in texture and taste. Ricotta is somewhat grainy and cottage cheese, so mild and light  is the best substitute if you’re out of ricotta.

Mascarpone, on the other hand is creamy, smooth and sweeter. The best use of mascarpone is for Tiramisu. Not Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake.

 

Equally important is whether you can freeze ricotta cheese.

It is quite normal to freeze any leftovers of this cheese. Please have in mind that previously frozen ricotta cheese will only work for certain recipes: those requiring cooking. Let me add some that are just perfect to make :

Ricotta Rosemary Cake with Mascarpone Icing

Spinach Ricotta Rolls

Pulled Pork Manicotti

 

What can I do with a little bit of ricotta?

For us, the best use of ricotta in baking is to substitute butter with it. It’s so much lower in fat and cholesterol and higher in calcium.

Further great suggestion is to spread it on your morning toast instead of butter.

 

Although this lemon ricotta cake is baked in 10 inches rounded cake pan, it really disappears quickly.

However, if you would like to store some of this precious ricotta lemon cake, freeze it wrapped in foil in  an airtight container or plastic bag. Before use, defrost overnight in the fridge.

 

If you are looking for more lemon and ricotta recipes please check here for more ideas.

 

So, if you are ready to leave the old you behind and welcome new season, this one will definitely rise your spirits.
As about practical part of this introduction, you need two medium sized bowls for this cake since you separate eggs to whisk the egg whites in one and yolks with sugar in another. Detailed instructions follow …