Moist, delicious, perfect morning, noon, and night this ricotta cake recipe made with fresh cranberries tastes as good as it looks. Perfect to serve during the holidays as a dessert or as a yummy breakfast treat for overnight guests.
It's cranberry season. I love the flavor and look of cranberries. Today I'm sharing an easy ricotta cake recipe with cranberries. Great for dessert but also has that coffee cake texture that's perfect for breakfast.
Making Cranberry Ricotta Cake
This recipe is a typical dry mix with flour, baking powder, and salt that is added to a wet mixture.
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The big difference is the ricotta cheese. It gets beaten with softened room temperature butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until it's creamy and smooth. Then you add in eggs, vanilla, fresh lemon juice, and zest.
Fold in the berries by lifting up the batter and folding it over until the berries are distributed through the batter. Less mixing makes a lighter, better cake.
Pour your cake mix into a springform pan that has been greased and dusted with powdered sugar. Also, add a piece of wax paper to the bottom before greasing and dusting with sugar. You can also use flour to dust but powdered sugar works great.
Don't forget to hold some of the cranberries to sprinkle on top for a beautiful look.
Making Sugared Cranberries
If you'd like you can add some sugared cranberries to the final cake after it's cooled.
- Heat equal parts of water and sugar in a pan stirring the entire time.
- Once the sugar has melted add your cranberries and let them cook for 30 seconds.
- Remove them with a slotted spoon onto a pan lined with parchment and some superfine sugar.
- Roll the cranberries around in the sugar to coat them and allow them to dry completely.
Once it has cooled you can remove the side of the springform pan and use a knife to run around the bottom to remove the paper and pan. However, I like to leave the bottom pan on the cake. Just remember to peel off any wax paper when you cut a piece to serve your guests.
The cranberries add a special tart and sweetness that can't be beat and their bright holiday red color makes this cake super festive. Serve it just as is or add some whipped cream on top.
Ricotta Cake Recipe with Fresh Cranberries
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup 1 stick butter softened
- 1 3/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese 15 oz
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- lemon zest and juice of half a lemon
- 1.5 cups fresh cranberries
- extra butter for greasing the pan
- powdered sugar for dusting the pan ~ 2 tablespoons
Instructions
- Line the bottom of a 10-inch spring form pan with wax paper.
- Butter the bottom and sides then dust with powdered sugar.
- In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate large bowl combine butter, sugar, and ricotta. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy.
- Add and beat eggs into the butter and sugar mixture one at a time.
- Add vanilla, lemon juice, and zest, and mix well.
- Next, add the flour mixture about 1/3 at a time mixing just to combine.
- Finally, fold in 1 cup of the cranberries.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
- Top with the remaining cranberries.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
- Remove the springform sides and let the cake completely cool.
- Once cooled remove the pan bottom by running a knife underneath all around and lifting the cake onto a platter with a couple of spatulas. Or leave the pan bottom on and remove the paper as you serve it.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although attempts have been made to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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