I took a Ricotta cheese making class several months ago at a local winery, Joseph Jane. It was a wonderful night that culminated in this cake after a tasty lasagna meal. I also discovered my new favorite wine, Pink Panik.
RASPBERRY RICOTTA ALMOND CAKE
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 LARGE eggs
16 ounce container of FULL fat ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon PURE vanilla extract
1 stick butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups raspberries, plus a few for garnish
1/4 cup sliced almonds
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Line a 9 inch spring form pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk together the eggs, ricotta cheese and vanilla until smooth.
- Stir egg mixture into the dry mixture.
- Fold in cooled melted butter until smooth.
- GENTLY fold in raspberries.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Scatter the almonds and remaining berries over the top of the batter.
- Bake 50 minutes or until golden brown and center is cooked through.
- Let cool 20 minutes BEFORE unmolding.
Honestly making your own ricotta is easy, but ALSO time consuming and in my opinion not really worth the trouble when there are so many less expensive options. That said, if you really want to give it a try, here’s the recipe. The original recipe came from Career Girl Meets.
You will need some cheesecloth and a candy thermometer for special equipment.
1 gallon WHOLE milk
1 quart buttermilk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon salt
- In a LARGE pot stir together the above ingredients.
- Clip a candy thermometer to the pot. This is a crucial step as you are looking for an exact 195°.
- Cook over low to medium heat and stir liquid occasionally. You will begin to see the milk separate and the curd form.
- When the temperature reaches 195°, REMOVE the pot from the heat and let it sit for 35 minutes. DO NOT STIR DURING THIS TIME.
- Line a colander with three layers of damp cheesecloth.
- Place colander over a large bowl. This bowl will catch the excess whey as it drains.
- Pour the cooled curds into the colander.
- Use a spatula and GENTLY stir the ricotta to drain the whey from the cheese.
- Wrap the cheese in the cheesecloth and GENTLY squeeze to allow the excess whey to drain.
- Place the cheese in the refrigerator for several hours.
- After several hours, unwrap the cheese and discard the cheesecloth.
- Keep refrigerated.
RECIPE REVIEW
TASTE: Just sweet enough, but not overly sweet.
TEXTURE: Tender crust with a pop of berry here and there and crunchy almonds.
EASE: Easy to hard – depending on whether you make your own ricotta cheese.
APPEARANCE: Appetizing and visually appealing.
PROS: Great meal for company.
CONS: None that I found!
WOULD I MAKE THIS AGAIN? DEFINITELY Yes. BUT, I would use store bought ricotta for the ease.