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Raspberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake is a deliciously moist and fluffy berry-streaked coffee cake perfect for dessert, breakfast, brunch or afternoon tea.
Raspberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
It’s time for another installment of … “if I owned a Bed & Breakfast, I’d serve this lovely cake to my guests for breakfast!” Thank goodness I don’t own a B&B because I don’t want to clean house every single day. Changing the sheets more than once a week is not my style. 🤣
However we do have our fair share of out-of-town company and from time to time enjoy sharing a little something sweet with our guests. One of our favorite recipes for company is this Blueberry Breakfast Cake stuffed with a full 2 cups of fresh blueberries and plenty of tangy buttermilk.
Another popular favorite is our Lemon Crumble Breakfast Cake with loads of lemon flavor and a sweet crumble top. For the holidays we share this Cranberry Almond Breakfast Cake made with almond paste and almond extract, so delightful!
Ingredients Overview
- unsalted butter at room temperature
- granulated (white) sugar
- large eggs at room temperature
- vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- baking soda
- frozen raspberries
- ricotta cheese
- coarse sugar for sprinkling on top
How to make Raspberry Ricotta Cake
1. First preheat the oven and prep the pan
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Invert the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. Attach the sides of the pan and lightly grease and flour the sides and bottom. Set aside.
2. Combine the dry ingredients
In a small mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
3. Make the cake batter
In a large bowl combine the butter and 3/4 cup of sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and blend until incorporated.
Add one-third of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat on low until incorporated. Add half the ricotta and blend until smooth. Repeat adding half the remaining flour, then all the ricotta. Finally blend in all remaining flour. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and fold gently with a spatula.
4. Assemble and bake
Dollop about two-thirds of the batter into the prepared pan. Top with a little more than half the raspberries. Layer the remaining batter on top and smooth with an offset spatula. Finally, scatter all remaining raspberries on top. Gently press the berries into the batter.
Sprinkle coarse sugar on top and bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 75 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer comes out with no wet batter. Moist crumbs are okay!
5. Cool and serve
Cool at least 20 minutes before removing the sides of the pan. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. Garnish with fresh raspberries and serve with a cup of coffee.
Fresh or Frozen Raspberries?
I’ve tested this cake with both fresh and frozen raspberries. There isn’t a huge difference but I prefer frozen raspberries in this particular recipe.
Raspberries break down quickly when cooked and can turn to mush in baked goods. Starting out with frozen raspberries helps them stay in one piece throughout the baking process. The tart raspberry flavor really stands out and this cake is incredibly delicious served slightly warm.
If you have fresh raspberries, no worries. Simply spread them out in a single layer on a baking tray and freeze until firm. This simple step helps hold the raspberries together when baked.
Sometimes it’s hard to succesfully reduce the amount of sugar in baked goods, especially cakes.
As you know, sugar turns into liquid when heated so the less you add, the drier the cake may be. However, this lightly sweetened cake has the perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors and is not at all dry.
Adding coarse sugar on top really gives this cake that something extra. You won’t need to top this cake with powdered sugar, drizzled icing or even whipped cream. It’s great straight out of the oven, served slightly warm. I love the little crunch on top and bet you will too!
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Raspberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature (4oz or 113g)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (170g)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (252g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup frozen raspberries (heaping) about 125g
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon coarse sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325℉. Invert the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. Attach the sides of the pan and lightly grease and flour the sides and bottom.
- In a small mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and ¾ cup of sugar. Beat for several minutes or until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and blend until incorporated.
- Add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Beat on low until incorporated. Add ½ of the ricotta and blend until smooth. Repeat adding ½ of the remaining flour, then all of the remaining ricotta. Finally, blend in the remaining flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and fold gently with a spatula to ensure the batter is well mixed.
- Pour ⅔ of the cake batter into the prepared pan and top with ⅔ of the raspberries. Layer the remaining batter on top of the raspberries and smooth the top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Finally, scatter the remaining raspberries on top of the batter. Gently press the raspberries about halfway into the batter to secure. Sprinkle the coarse sugar on top and bake in a preheated 325℉ oven for 60-75 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with no wet batter, moist crumbs are fine.
- Cool at least 20 minutes before removing the sides of the pan. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature garnished with fresh raspberries if desired.
Recipe Notes
- The batter will be very thick, but don’t worry – the cake is light and moist.
- If using a dark colored pan, bake at 325 Degrees F. If you have a light colored pan or prefer to bake in a 9-inch cake pan with 2-inch sides, you can bake at 350 degrees F and check the cake after 45 minutes.
- If using salted butter omit adding the 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Nutrition
Baking with Ricotta
I’m absolutely smitten with the texture ricotta gives baked goods. Our golden brown Raspberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake is super moist, but not at all wet. The texture is almost a cross between cake and cheesecake. Our taste testers went on and on about how much they loved it.
Our son, who is often my toughest taste tester, said this cake was good, then added that he thought it was “really good.” That’s high praise indeed!
Lemon Ricotta Cake
An amazing cake with a crispy, sweet top crust and tender, light and lemony crumb. Easy to make and freezes beautifully!
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Ricotta Cookies
Tender, pillowy soft cake-like Ricotta Cookies with a bright lemony glaze.
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Light & Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes
Light & fluffy Ricotta Pancakes with hints of lemon and a fantastic texture to soak up a little syrup or honey. Serve with your favorite fresh fruits for a delicious way to start the day!
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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.
View this RecipeOriginally published March 2018, updated August 2024
Peggy
How far in advance can this be made? To clarify: the raspberries are not thawed first?
Tricia Buice
I Peggy. You can make this cake 24 hours in advance. To clarify – this cake is best made with frozen raspberries. Enjoy!
Patricia Chellingworth
I make a cake every week for my son’s workshop Friday morning tea treat. It was a hit with all six of them. This is such a moist delicious cake and so easy to make. I was fooled by the thickness of the batter before baking but then read the comments later. Will definitely make again. Thank you.
Tricia Buice
Thank you Patricia! I really appreciate the feedback. I’m so glad they’re enjoying the cake.
Carol
Absolutely divine! It turned out so lovely and the perfect amount of sweetness. I will definitely make again. Thank you so much!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Carol! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for commenting!
Karen Joy A Hess
I made this for a large group of Moose members – I heard nothing but good things about it. I doubled the recipe due to I had to make enough for 60 people.. It was easy to make and was delicious.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Karen! I’m so glad it worked out for you. Feeding 60 moose sounds like fun. Bravo!
Pat
This sounds delicious! Have you ever tried baking it in muffin tins to make small individual servings? I wonder if it would work. Any suggestions for doing it this way?
Tricia Buice
Hi Pat. I have not tried this particular recipe as a muffin but I have tons of muffin recipes that are very similar to this breakfast cake, only without the ricotta. Let us know if you give it a try and how it turns out for you. Thanks!