I have stated here many times that Eric & I are huge lemon fans. And it’s true. Eric’s motto is All Lemon, All the Time! I especially like to start off Spring with lemon recipes. Bright sunshine and warming temperatures speaks to my soul after a long winter of short days, dark nights, cold, and snow. Especially in Winters with lots of snow, like the one we just went through. Lemon cake lifts all of our spirits right up. And it is delicious!

I made the cake below this past weekend for the first time. Andrew and his girlfriend Emily were joining Eric & I for Sunday lunch. It has been our thing since the beginning of the pandemic to have Andrew (and Emily) come down late Sunday morning, prepare a meal together, and have a weekly Zoom call with Kelly & Gilbert and Eric’s mom. We each talk about our previous week and plans for the upcoming week. Much of our virtual visits center around the food we have all been making and eating. (We are such a foodie family!) Gilbert made pan de agua (Puerto Rican water bread) last week and shared the story of the first time he had it, when visiting with family in Puerto Rico many years ago. Andrew shared pictures of the broccoli & cheese stuffed stromboli we had just consumed (look for that in a future post!) and talked about the lemon ricotta cake we were having for dessert after the call. Kelly loved the idea of lunch dessert. And the four of us in Chicagoland loved this cake!

The original recipe calls for 1-1/2 cups of cake flour. It is not an ingredient I keep on hand as so few of the recipes I make call for it. Instead, I use a combination of all-purpose flour and cornstarch, sifted together. The recipe below reflects that substitution.

Lemon Ricotta Cake (adapted from allrecipes.com) Total Time Required: about 2 hours, Prep Time: 20 minutes, Cook Time: 40-50 minutes, Cooling Time: 40 minutes, Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 cup + 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 15-ounce container whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Grease and flour a tube pan.

Sift the flour and cornstarch together in a medium bowl and add in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring it all together.

Beat the sugar and butter together in the large bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until they are light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Set the dry ingredients aside.

Add in the eggs, 1 at a time, and beat them with the sugar and butter until it is all well combined.

Beat in the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla extract until well blended.

Add the flour mixture and mix until the batter is smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan.

Bake the cake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before inverting it out onto the wire rack to cool completely, at least 30 minutes.

When the cake has completely cooled, put together the glaze. Mix the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest together until it is smooth.

Drizzle the glaze over the cake. For glaze that is too thick, add more lemon juice. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar.

Allow the glaze to harden before serving. Serve with fresh blueberries or raspberries if desired.

We Love Lemon!  ~Linda

Lemon Ricotta Cake (adapted from allrecipes.com) Total Time Required: about 2 hours, Prep Time: 20 minutes, Cook Time: 40-50 minutes, Cooling Time: 40 minutes, Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 cup + 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 15-ounce container whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Grease and flour a tube pan.

Sift the flour and cornstarch together in a medium bowl and add in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring it all together. Set the dry ingredients aside.

Beat the sugar and butter together in the large bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until they are light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the eggs, 1 at a time, and beat them with the sugar and butter until it is all well combined. Beat in the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla extract until well blended. Add the flour mixture and mix until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan.

Bake the cake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before inverting it out onto the wire rack to cool completely, at least 30 minutes.

When the cake has completely cooled, put together the glaze. Mix the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest together until it is smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the cake. For glaze that is too thick, add more lemon juice. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. Allow the glaze to harden before serving. Serve with fresh blueberries or raspberries if desired.