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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 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.
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.
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!
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.
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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Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake
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
If you love simple pound cakes, don’t miss our favorite recipes:
- Mini Coconut Pound Cake
- Pineapple Pound Cake
- Perfect Every Time Almond Pound Cake
- Chocolate Pound Cake
- Granny’s Pound Cake
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
Mary Beth
Hi. I just mixed up the ingredients and it overflowed the 8×4 inch pan while cooking. I followed the directions exactly. Has anyone else had this problem. I bake all the time and am comfortable baking. What did I do wrong
Tricia Buice
Hi Mary Beth. I’m not sure what happened here. I haven’t heard from anybody having this problem before. I’ll put this in line to retest and let you know. I will say that if you think the pan is too small once you pour the batter in, I would trust your instincts and use a larger 9×5-inch loaf pan. Sorry you had trouble with this recipe.
Kathy Thomas
Evening Tricia
Would love to try this pond cake. I’m confused over what size pan to use. If I can use 2 loaf pans … that would be perfect. Thank you for testing so I can bake.
Tricia Buice
Hi Kathy. This recipe calls for a very common 8×4-inch loaf pan. You’ll need to double the recipe to make two loaves. Enjoy!
Vesna
a beautiful taste and easiness make this recipe my favorite!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Vesna. We appreciate the feedback.
Kathy Thomas
Good morning Tricia,
I would love to make your lemon ricotta pound cake. I’m confused on what size pans to use. May I use 2 small loaf pans? I will be happy to rate when I bake these.I did bake your raspberry ricotta cake and oh was it yummy. Such an easy recipie and results were more than I expected. Thanks for all of your hard work testing these recipes so I can just bake😊.
Tricia Buice
Hi Kathy. Sorry to be late in getting back to you. I’ve been so sick with the flu :(. When you ask about two small loaf pans, I’m not sure what size you are talking about. This cake is baked in a 8×4-inch pan, which I consider small. If yours are smaller, or mini-loaf pans, then I think it will be fine divided into two. Thank you for your feedback and for trying our recipes! I’m anxious to hear how you liked it. Thanks again.
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
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!
Grace
can I substitute lemon extract or bottled lemon juice for the lemon and lemon zest ?
thank you,
Grace
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 🙂