Raspberry and Ricotta Cake

This super easy and utterly delicious Raspberry and Ricotta Cake is my new favorite guilty pleasure. It's almost too good to share!

Raspberry season is my favorite time of the year - I can't get enough of those plump, juicy little pieces of heaven and I'm always looking for new ways to use them. One of my girlfriends sent me her recipe for a Raspberry and Ricotta Cake. It was love at first bite - I kid you not, I could hide this cake and not share it with anyone :).

I may have been one of the last people to ever bake one of these cakes, but if you haven't either then I strongly suggest you run (don't walk!) and grab all the ingredients and bake your first one today. You can thank me later!

It's a super simple cake to make and it doesn't have to be raspberry season where you live because it's best baked with frozen fruit - this prevents the raspberries from bleeding into the batter as you're mixing.

We enjoy regular visits to the berry farm, and in early December we filled our freezer with delicious raspberries and blueberries. Our stash is depleting quickly because I keep baking this cake over and over, and yes it does work well with blueberries too and it's just as delicious.

It's not an overly sweet cake, and the ricotta gives it a wonderful light flavor and that gorgeous dessert like texture - my boys had no idea it contained ricotta the first few times I baked it, it's very subtle!

It's a quick mix cake and there's no need for any fancy equipment, you do all the mixing by hand and the clean-up is minimal.  I use a tub of smooth light ricotta so most of the hard work is done because it's already at a creamy consistency. If you can't find smooth ricotta then use traditional ricotta and whisk it with a wire whisk to make it creamy.

Because of the quantity of batter, I bake my cake in a deep 8" round tin, but if you have shallow tins then I suggest you use a 9" tin so it stays contained - the last thing you want is a cake that's overflowed and a dirty oven!

It is a soft cake so it's best to leave it in the tin for at least 20 minutes after baking, so it cools slightly. This makes inverting the cake onto a wire rack easier, and there's less chance of it cracking or splitting as you take it from the tin.

Also be careful to not overcook the cake, you want to retain its moist texture and overcooking will dry it out. I set my oven timer for 40 minutes and then I continue to check it every five minutes after that until that skewer comes out clean (around 55 minutes in my oven).

The cake is delicious on its own, but I prefer to give it a light sprinkling of icing sugar and serve it with a quenelle of whipped cream.  As a bonus, it can be served warm - you don't have to wait for it to cool completely if you're impatient like me. Add a little custard or ice cream and enjoy it as a warm dessert (it can be warmed in the microwave if you want to serve it as a dessert the next day).

It stores well in an airtight container for four or five days, and I keep mine in the fridge and it doesn't dry out.

If you would like to try this Raspberry and Ricotta Cake simply click on the link to download the recipe card or right click on the photo below and save it to your computer.

This would have to be my family's favorite cake recipe at the moment, and it's a wonderful way to enjoy this luscious summer fruit.  I hope you enjoy it too!

If you're looking for more raspberry recipe ideas, then make sure you check out some of my other favorites as well:

Raspberry and Almond Frangipane Tart

Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins

Raspberry and Coconut Slice

Happy baking :)