In my childhood memories, my mom's ricotta cake was always too hard! Over time, she refined the recipe, but when I was a child, it was almost a family joke. But even so, every time she made it, it was my favorite cake. And on March 28 every year, it was always my birthday cake.
My mother made using the simplest recipe; she didn't like to make complicated cakes or pretentious recipes. Just shortcrust pastry dough, ricotta cheese, and some lemon zest.
Now the recipe is perfect, even if getting the proper measurements from my mother is a feat.
But after years of making my mom’s ricotta cake over and over so many times, I can now share the recipe with you. And I assure you: it is very good!
Ricotta Cake Recipe
Ingredients:
800 g cow's milk ricotta cheese
125 g cold butter
125 g sugar
320 g flour
3 whole eggs and 1 yolk
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 organic lemon
1 pinch salt
Method:
For the shortcrust pastry, cut 4 ½ oz cold butter into small pieces and mix quickly with 4 ½ oz sugar and 11 oz flour plus a pinch of salt and the grated zest of an organic lemon peel (only the yellow!). Combine ingredients with your hands until you have a crumbly mixture. Add 1 whole egg and half a teaspoon of baking powder. Form a ball with the dough and let it set in the fridge for about an hour.
To make the cream, mix 2 lbs ricotta cheese, 2 eggs and 4 oz sugar in a bowl. Every now and again, my mom will add some chocolate chips or candied orange peels to the mix – just to make my dad happy (he likes sweets a little more than she does). Plus the grandkids love it, too.
Flour a pastry board and roll out the dough. Cover a cake tin with the dough and fill it with ricotta cream. Cover the cream with crossed strips of dough and brush the surface with beaten egg yolk. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350°F (180°C) for 25 minutes.
Serve warm. Because warm ricotta cake is one of the best things in the world!