Saving Room for Dessert

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Easy Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

5 from 4 votes

A terrific little cake with plenty of lemon flavor and an amazing moist texture. Lightly glazed with an intense lemon syrup for plenty of bite and tang. 

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Easy Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake - a terrific little cake with plenty of lemon flavor and an amazing moist texture. Lightly glazed with an intense lemon syrup for plenty of bite and tang. Also bakes up beautifully with the addition of blueberries or raspberries! #savingroomfordessert #lemon #poundcake #ricottapoundcake #lemonpoundcake #cake #dessert #easypoundcake

Easy Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake – a terrific little cake with plenty of lemon flavor and an amazing moist texture. Lightly glazed with a lemon syrup for intense lemon tang.

I promised you another recipe featuring the amazing, delicious and versatile ricotta cheese, and here it is! Whether sweet or savory, ricotta brings so much richness to our favorite recipes. Lately I have been buying a lot of ricotta cheese as I test and tweak our recipes for Raspberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake and these Light & Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes. It’s hard not to grab another tub every time I step foot in the grocery store! This is the 4th and final version of this cake recipe and it’s so good and easy to make, you’ll be looking for an excuse to share it with all your friends and family.

 

several slices of lemon ricotta pound cake with a cup of tea

Instead of a thick icing or super sweet glaze, I topped this Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake with a simple syrup made from fresh lemon juice and a little sugar.

The lemon syrup is brushed on the top and sides of the warm cake. The syrup soaks into the cake and gives it a nice shiny glaze and awesome lemon bite! Once dried, the glaze is not at all sticky and in fact, this cake is almost better the next day. Like all our pound cake recipes, it freezes beautifully and is terrific served with your favorite fresh fruit.

 

A sliced lemon ricotta pound cake with a cup of tea

I monkeyed with the recipe for a while finally deciding on about a 1/3 less sugar from the original recipe. Our taste testers loved each version but this final recipe was the clear winner. It bakes up beautifully showing off a golden brown exterior and super yellow interior color. You won’t be wondering where the lemon is in this cake. It’s lemon-licious inside and out!

 

Blueberry lemon ricotta pound cake, sliced

If you have blueberry fans in your house, try adding 1 cup of fresh blueberries before baking. I adore blueberries and lemons together, and they work beautifully in this simple cake.

 

lemon ricotta pound cake sliced, with lemons, tea and yellow tulips

Enjoy a slice with a hot cup of tea in the afternoon for a wonderful treat. Lemon cakes are some of the best desserts ever, and I know you will agree after you try this one!

 

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A sliced lemon ricotta pound cake

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Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 8
Course: Dessert
Author: Tricia
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5 from 4 votes
A terrific little cake with plenty of lemon flavor and an amazing moist texture. Lightly glazed with an intense lemon syrup for plenty of bite and tang. 

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 1 ¾ cup cake flour sifted after measuring
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ cup ricotta cheese room temperature
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries optional

For the lemon syrup:

  • juice of 1-2 lemons about ¼ cup
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly spray an 8 by 4 inch loaf pan. (You can also use a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan - reduce the time to 50-60 minutes and watch it carefully) Line the pan with a piece of parchment paper creating a sling. The paper should cover the two long sides, the bottom and have a little overhang for easy lifting.
  • Sift together the cake flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside. In a small bowl combine the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla. Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and light, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and blend another 30 seconds.
  • Add the beaten eggs in three additions, mixing well after each addition until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed between each addition. With the mixer on low, add one-third of the flour mixture and blend just until incorporated. Add half the ricotta mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Repeat until you have used all the flour and ricotta mixtures. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the batter pulling up from the bottom of the bowl to ensure it’s well blended.
  • If adding blueberries, gently fold into the batter taking care not to crush or burst the berries. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and lightly smooth the top. Bake until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 60-70 minutes.
  • While the cake bakes, prepare the lemon syrup. Combine the lemon juice and granulated sugar in a small saucepan. Heat on medium-high and stir until the sugar is dissolved and it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and boil gently for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
  • Remove the cake from the oven and cool for 20-30 minutes in the pan. Using the parchment paper to assist, remove the cake from the pan and transfer to a wire rack. Brush the top and sides of the cake with all the prepared lemon syrup. Continue to cool for about two hours before serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. This cake also freezes beautifully.

Recipe Notes

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition

Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 187mg | Potassium: 101mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 582IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 1mg

If you love simple pound cakes, don’t miss our favorite recipes:

Here are a few more amazing ricotta recipes from some of our favorite bloggers: Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Olive Oil Cake from Nutmeg Nanny;  Cassata Ricotta (Sponge Cake with Ricotta) from A Family Feast;  Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cheesecake from Amanda’s Cookin’; and finally don’t miss this gorgeous Lemon Ricotta Cake with Candied Lemons from Seasons and Suppers.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tricia

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52 Comments

  2. Sherry Hernandez

    Hello my name is Sherry Hernandez ,I have made this recipe several times always delicious and perfect thank you!I have a question I want to make the recipe again but I want to make them cupcake sized, I don’t want them to overflow have some baking cups about the size of a cupcake but it’s made to withstand oven heat ,how can I make sure they don’t burn and at what temperature should I bake them? Thank You

    Reply

    • Tricia Buice

      Great question Sherry! You can bake them in a muffin tin at 400 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes. Portion out the batter using an ice cream scoop. Let the muffins rest for 15 minutes before baking. Let us know how they turn out!

      Reply

    • Tricia Buice

      Hi Grace. Personally I’m not a big fan of lemon extract so I haven’t tested this recipe using it in place of real lemon juice. Bottled juice should be fine, but fresh is always best! Enjoy 🙂

      Reply

      • Tricia Buice

        Hi Brinda. When deciding which kind of flour to use, think of them this way. Bread flour has the most protein, which provides good structure in your baked goods. Next is all purpose flour, then pastry flour, and finally cake flour with the least about of protein. Low protein cake flour produces very tender baked goods. If you want to use pastry flour in place of cake flour, use the same amount as listed in the recipe. You can even use all-purpose flour if needed. The cake will turn out delicious either way, just slightly more dense using a higher protein flour. Hope this helps!

        Reply

      • Barbara

        5 stars
        I made this with AP flour , using a 9×5 loaf pan.
        It was perfect! I used a confectioner sugar/lemon juice glaze.
        Definitely a keeper ….to enjoy and to gift.
        Delicious.

        Reply

  8. Deb

    Shut the front door! This was awesome…but trust me, don’t try to make it as written in an 8 x 4 loaf pan – you’ll have more bread on the oven floor than in the pan! One big 9 x 5 or two 8 x 4s, and watch the timing – that’s everything. So good!!

    Reply

  9. Natalie

    This lemon cake looks absolutely amazing! I love ricotta and lemon together and I bet this cake has the most delicious appetizing aroma! Can’t wait to try this recipe!

    Reply

  16. Alene

    I want to make this so badly. Just have to figure out how to get it gluten free. Your pics are gorgeous! I do hope I can figure it out.

    Reply

  18. Pam

    You had me at lemon and blueberries, Tricia! Love this cake and want to try it! I’ve never added ricotta to a cake but it has to be moist and delicious. Bad thing is, it wouldn’t last long here! ????

    Reply

  22. Monica

    This is so gorgeous – light and bright. The texture is just perfect when you think of what you want from a pound cake. Now I know amazing options when I have extra ricotta around.
    Have a great week, Tricia!

    Reply

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