Lemon is one of my favourite flavours for the spring time and this Lemon Almond Ricotta Cake is super moist and simply delicious – with a gluten free option to boot!
Lemon and ricotta are a match made in heaven – apparently I have a weak spot for that combination. Some of my creations include Lemon Ricotta Blueberry Muffins, Sicilian Lemon Ricotta Cake (killer) and Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. And there are others!
Baking is my zen. I’ve baked since I was a kid, taking great satisfaction in getting my hands in the kitchen. I think I love baking because of the science that it involves, but mostly because it is so beautiful and satisfying. There’s nothing that brings joy like baking someone’s favourite treat, especially if it was from their childhood. We all have a food memory I’m sure that involves something special that our mom or grandma used to make. I have many.
This cake is incredibly moist and dense with a perfect lemon flavour and a bit of crunch from the almonds. To make it gluten free simply substitute the flour for 1:1 gluten free flour. I like Bob’s Red Mills or Save on Foods has a good in-house brand. If you have favourite please share them below!
I’d say that this would make an amazing Easter dessert if you ask me! It was an absolute hit in our house.
Happy Easter my friends, I hope yours is filled with love and joy.
xo
Tori
Lemon Almond Ricotta Cake
Lemon Almond Ricotta Cake
This cake is moist, full of flavour, and the perfect cake for spring!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup sugar (divided as per instructions below)
- 3 eggs (separated)
- 1 ¼ cups ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 1 cup flour (or gluten-free 1:1 flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch salt
- ¼ cup sliced blanched almonds
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 10" round baking dish or pan.
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In a clean medium sized bowl, beat the egg whites on high with a hand mixer or stand mixer until soft peaks start to form. Slowly add ¼ cup of the sugar while beating until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat the butter with the mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
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Add the remaining ¾ cup sugar, vanilla, egg yolks, ricotta cheese, lemon zest and lemon juice, and beat on medium until smooth. Add the ground almonds, flour, baking powder and salt and beat again on medium speed until just combined.
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Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites until incorporated, and then gently fold in the remaining egg whites just until the batter is smooth. Doing this step gradually makes it easier to mix in the egg whites without deflating them.
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Spread the batter into the prepared pan and even it out with the back of a spatula. Sprinkle the cake evenly with the sliced almonds and bake for approximately 40 minutes, until the cake is lightly browned on the edges and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan. A toothpick inserted in the centre will come out clean.
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Cool the cake and sprinkle with icing sugar if you wish and serve.
If you give this Lemon Almond Ricotta Cake a try let us know in the comments below!
Hi, we have a nut allergy in our household. I was wondering what crust I can use without using almonds. This recipe looks amazing.
Barbara
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Hi Barbara,
I would probably just try to replace the almonds with the same amount of flour and give it a whirl! Please let me know how it turns out!
Take care,
Tori
Hi there, is there a referred type of sugar I should use?
Thanks!
Susie
White sugar will work just fine!
This looks amazing Tori! I have made so many of your recipes lately and your blog has become such a go-to!
This may be a rookie question, but approximately how many lemons will it take to make that much juice and grated zest?
Thanks Katie! I used 2 lemons, good question!
Can I substitute gluten-free flour?
Yes you can though I haven’t tested it!
Hi! This recipe sounds and looks delish! Can I use only almond flour instead of white flour? I would love to make this cake for Passover.
Hi Judy. I haven’t tried myself for this recipe yet! If you give it a try can you please let me know how it turns out??! Tori
Love reading your blog! Is there any way to print off the recipe only? When I use your ‘print’ link it wants to print out 6 pages and it would be great if only the recipe could be printed.
Thanks Liza for the feedback I will work on that!
Can you substitute vanilla extract for the vanilla bean? If so how much extract would you use?
Yes – I would use 1 tsp.
Hi Tori! Do you think this cake is better made and eaten the same day, or could I do it a day in advance? Can’t wait to try it! Thanks 🙂
Hi Nina! I thought it tasted best the day I made it as the almonds were more crunchy, but it keeps really well as it is super moist. Would love to hear what you think once you make it! Happy Easter!
Confused about the egg whites,beat them at the beginning and then fold in more again this wasn’t very clear.
Hi Crystal,
yes you beat them and set them aside as they are used later in the recipe does that help?
Just made this cake, it is my new favourite! Thank you for such a lovely recipe!
Just curious, One cup of raw almond ground, or one cup of ground raw almonds? It ties more than one sup of raw almond to get one cup of ground almonds…
Hi Glen it is one cup of ground almonds. Let me know how you like the cake!
Hi, is it okay to use almond flour instead of ground almonds? Or maybe it’s the same thing…
Hi Vera, I haven’t tried with it but should. Theoretically it should work just fine!
I made this cake last night and it was delicious! Everyone loved it! Thank you for another great recipe!
Hello, I was going to make this recipe, it sounds really good & I need to use of a tub of riccotta cheese & have lots of lemons, is it ok to use a 9.5 in -24 cm pan instead? That is the only round glass pan I have but hoping that maybe it will just be a little thicker?
Hi Danielle, I think that should work! You don’t necessarily need to use a round pan if you don’t have one.
Hi Tori! I was thinking of making this as a layer cake. Would that work? If I wanted 3 layers would I triple the recipe? Thank you!! 🙂
Hi Katie sorry for the delay! I haven’t tried it as a layer cake but yes, if you wanted to give it a whirl I would triple the recipe. It is quite a dense cake so you would need something very sturdy to go between the layers. Would love to hear if you tried it! Thanks! Tori
I am a stove top cook. I only bake when I am with my daughter, SIL and their 1 and a half year old. Here are some hurdles I experienced:
large springform pan: I started out with the smallest one my daughter has, but switched to the large one after reviewing the directions. This made for a half inch ‘cake’ with a very crisp crust. So, maybe you should mention the actual diameter of the cake pan you used.
I am also a little OCD about cleaning as you go. That WILL NOT WORK with this recipe. If you are an ‘out-of-necissity’ baker, collect everything ahead of time, especially the lemon zest and juice. Line them up in the order in which the ingredients are listed and I expect you will succeed . I will be baking this again just for retribution.
VERY TASTY THOUGH!
Do you think can sub ricotta with home made farmers cheese? Also, where can I find your cookbook correction you once posted?
Hi Inna I think that you could… I haven’t tried so please let me know if you do, it’s always so nice to have substitutions for people! I think you could even use yogurt but I haven’t tried. The cookbook revisions are at the bottom of the cookbook page on my blog if you just go to that tab. Take care! Tori
Can almond flour be used in place of the ground almonds?
I haven’t tried it before unfortunately! Almond flour is just a little bit finer than ground almonds so I think it should work in theory. Would love to hear how it turns out if you give it a go!
Hi Tori.. I’m hoping to make this later today, was wondering if the ground almonds used need to be cleaned of their skin?
Thanks
Francine
Hi Francine! I buy pre-ground almonds that have the skins removed – I would recommend no skins but it will just alter the colour…
I loved this! I need to eat gluten free and this cake didn’t taste like I find most gluten free baking tastes, like it is missing something! This just tasted like a great cake. Definitely best the day I made it, I find this true for most gluten free baking. Thank you Tori.
So glad you enjoyed it Chandra!
Hi Tori,
This beautiful white cake pan in these pictures, is that what you baked it in or did you place it there after for serving? And where can I find one like this please? Thank you! 🙂
Hi Alex, we baked it in the pan! The cross design should have something similar!
This might be WAY out there, but trying to portion control because #quarantine and wondering if you think I could make them in a muffin pan? Almost like little cupcakes? I’m thinking I would only fill maybe halfway but wanted your opinion on if you think it could work and cooking time.
Hi Amanda! You sure could – I think I would start with 1/2 of the baking time and keep baking if needed? Maybe start with 15 minutes and peek on them? Use the toothpick test.
Hi Tori,
Message from Australia here! Just made this today and its beautiful.. just wondering ours turned out a little too brown on the top and that was 10 mins under recommended time. 175c for us.. Could you cook it on a lower temp for longer? Also was the flour an all purpose or a self raising flour? Thanks
Hi Katrina! Yes cooking it a little lower temperature longer may help, I’d also recommend making sure it’s in the middle of your oven and not too high up or not too low! It is an all purpose flour
Hi Tori, I am also messaging from Australia! I made this cake over the weekend, it turned out so well and everyone loved it. Thank you! It still tasted great the next day (I just warmed it in the microwave for a few seconds). I will definitely be making it again!
Hi Kyra! So glad you enjoyed the cake, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Hey Tori,
I was wondering can I substitute ground almond for another cup of flour?
Thanks
Hi Amanda, almond flour is quite a bit more dense so I’m not sure if that substitution would work in this recipe. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try it!
Hey Tori,
I used 1 cup of flour instead of 1 cup of ground flour. The taste was good but the cake came out way to dense and heavy. I won’t be making that substitute again!
Thanks for your help!
I love your recipes ❤️
*almond
Love this cake! I’ve made it twice now and it’s quick and easy. Almond flour is absolutely worth adding to your pantry so that you can make this cake.
So happy you love it Megan! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, I agree almond flour is a great pantry staple!
I have made this 3x in 3 days and about to make it again for my mom tonight! It’s crazy good and easy to make!!! Love this recipe!
Just made this and it was delicious! I added a bit more ricotta as I had extra and did not want to waste. Everyone loved it. Thank you! Your recepies are all delicious!