Lemon Ricotta Cake with Mascarpone Icing
A plain and simple Italian-style ricotta cake with a creamy mascarpone icing.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) butter softened
- 2 ⅓ cups (290 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pan
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- Grated zest of 3 lemons
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup (125 ml) olive oil or canola oil
- 1 ¼ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 8 ounces (225 g) whole milk ricotta cheese
For the icing
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) butter softened
- 4 ounces (125 g) mascarpone cheese at room temperature
- ¼ cup (30 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) heavy cream
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to center and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Smear the butter over the bottom and up the sides of an 8 x 3 inch cake pan or springform pan – be thorough and make sure there are no bare spots. Sprinkle a little flour into the pan and rotate to coat sides and bottom; tap out excess.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and 2 teaspoons of the lemon zest in a bowl.
- In a heavy duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs for 2 minutes on medium speed. Pour in the olive oil and sugar. Mix on medium-high speed until emulsified.
- Lower the speed and add the ricotta cheese. Stir in the flour mixture in two additions.
- Scrape batter into prepared cake pan and level the top. Bake 45-50 minutes, or until puffed, golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle emerges clean.
- Cool cake in the pan 10 minutes before inverting onto a rack to cool completely.
- While the cake cools, blend the butter, mascarpone, powdered sugar, cream and salt in a small bowl until smooth.
- Spread the icing over cooled cake and sprinkle the remaining lemon zest over the top.
Notes
- The frosted cake will keep in the refrigerator 1-2 days. Wrap the cake (without the icing) and keep at room temperature up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Serving: -1gCalories: 541kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 10gFat: 27gSodium: 388mgFiber: 1gSugar: 35g
