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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!”ย 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. ๐คฃ
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 thisย 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!
NOW ON VIDEO!
Raspberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
Ingredients
- ยฝ cup unsalted butter room temperature (4oz or 113g)
- ยพ cup granulated sugar (170g)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (252g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup frozen raspberries (heaping) about 125g
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon coarse sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325โ. 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 ยพ 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 โ of the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Beat on low until incorporated. Add ยฝ of the ricotta and blend until smooth. Repeat adding ยฝ 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 โ of the cake batter into the prepared pan and top with โ 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 325โ 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 donโt 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!
View this Recipe
Ricotta Cookies
Tender, pillowy soft cake-like Ricotta Cookies with a bright lemony glaze.
View this Recipe
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!
View this Recipe
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
Cynthia
Thank you for this lovely raspberry cake recipe.Love all the ingredients
and it came out beautiful.I have no doubt it will be delicious and a favorite.I love raspberries and ricotta so how could you go wrong.โค๏ธ๐
Tricia Buice
Thanks Cynthia! I’m so glad you tried this simple treat. We appreciate the comment.
Dana Lippert
Trish,
I can’t thank you enough for your passion and talents that you have turned into a wonderful career. It has improved the quality of our life, making treats and dinners that delight my family. I am so thankful for your kindness to share so much goodness with us. It is a wonderful way to lift our spirits during such hard times.
Most of the recipes are very affordable and always a joy to make and so delicious. Thank you!
Dana
Tricia Buice
Thank you Dana for these kind, uplifting and wonderful words! I hope the hard times pass soon. We all need a little more joy in our lives. Thanks for commenting. You made my day!
Laura
This was delicious, moist with the perfect level of sweetness.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Laura! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Merrilee
Made this yesterday, devoured half throughout the evening and am currently enjoying it for breakfast. Didn’t have ricotta so I used a container of 4% cottage cheese and hot damn this is good. Also used fresh raspberries. It’s moist, light but also dense in the right ways… it’s almost like the kind of cheese/fruit pastry you’d find at a hotel breakfast bar that had probably arrived wrapped in plastic – except it’s fresh, and not sweet, and actually probably pretty healthy considering the amount of protein in the cottage cheese (44g per cake) and the two eggs. I’m going to keep this as a go-to base and experiment with fruits as they come into season, plus experiment with whole-grain flours and adding nuts and other things to bulk it up for use as a breakfast bar. Thanks for this great recipe. I’m swooning!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Marrilee! I love you used cottage cheese with great success. It’s much less expensive too. Bravo! If you search “breakfast cake” you’ll see we have so many recipes for similar cakes. Hope you’ll try a few others too. Thanks for taking the time to comment โค๏ธ
Deborah
Making this the night before serving. Does it need to be refrigerated after baking?
Tricia Buice
Hi Deborah. No need to refrigerate for a day or two. For longer storage you can refrigerate or freeze leftovers. Enjoy!
Elena
๐คฉ๐โจ๐โจ๐
Tricia Buice
Thanks Elena.
Kate Mathers
Superb cake – just enjoyed as a Sunday breakfast treat here in ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ. Family pleaser & will make again !!!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Kate! We truly appreciate the feedback.
Angi
I substituted King Arthurs Measure for Measuee gluten free flour and coconut sugar. I added the zest of one lemon, which added to the flavor! The batter was thick. I used a large cookie scoop and put one scoop per each muffin cup topped with 2-3 raspberries then repeated the layers. I didn’t top with any sugar. It made 12 muffins. I baked at 400ยฐ x 20 min. These came out great! Moist and flavorful. Will definitely make again!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Angi! I’m so happy these worked well as muffins for you. We appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Sally Cameron
Looks marvelous, love the idea. Havenโt baked with ricotta yet. A few years ago when facing dietary sensitivities I discovered ricotta was something i could eat without reacting because it was fresh vs aged. So ricotta came back into my repertoire after being forgotten for awhile. I would adapt this to GF and try with blues and lemon ( although raspberries are my fave). Beautiful images too! Terrific post!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Sally! Hope you enjoy this simple cake.
Stacey Cannon
I made this recipe for a brunch this weekend; I used frozen cherries rather than raspberries. It was divine. And Easy. And moist.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Stacey! So glad it worked well for you. I also have a cherry breakfast cake recipe with almond paste. So good! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Trish
Making for the second time today. Incredible recipe, easy to make, and most of the ingredients are typically on hand so easy-peezy! I will say, donโt worry about the batter being thickโฆI felt like I was doing something wrong while assembling, but it comes out perfect.
Ps, substituting almond oil for half the vanilla is soooo good!
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the feedback Trish! I’m thrilled you’re enjoying this simple cake. Thanks again.
Sal
Is the Ricotta whole milk and do drain it?
Tricia Buice
Hi Sal. Yes whole milk ricotta and no need to drain. Thanks for the great question!
Doha
This cake is incredible! Tastes soo good and the crunchy sugar topping takes it to another level of yum! Thank you for the recipe will definitely be trying some of your other recipes.
Tricia Buice
Thank you Doha! I’m so glad you enjoyed this cake. Bravo!
Christine
This is an excellent and refreshing cake! Thank you! The only problem is that I canโt stop eating it! I used Bobโs Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour and with great results. It is still light and moist.
Tricia Buice
Haha thank you Christine! I’m thrilled the GFF worked for you. Bravo!
Jo anna ellison
Is it necessary to use frozen raspberries?
Tricia Buice
Hi JoAnna. No it’s not a deal breaker for this cake. However, frozen raspberries hold together a little better and don’t melt as much when baked. If you have fresh raspberries simply pop them in the freezer for a bit before adding to the batter. Enjoy!
Lois Greer
I have not made this yet, as I first need to know if I can successfully use gluten-free or 1-to-1 flour.
Tricia Buice
Hi Lois! I haven’t tested this recipe with 1-to-1 flour but would think it’d be fine. Let us know how it turns out for you!
Hilary
Lovely cake. Could I bake it the day before to serve in the morning?
Tricia Buice
Sure Hilary! Enjoy
Liz
Cake was excellent. Used frozen berries. Buying the berries frozen had a lot of crumbled berries and I saved the best for the top. Would buy fresh and freeze them myself. 1) what was the purpose of the parchment? I used it and it was easy to transport the cake. 2) what is coarse sugar?
Tricia Buice
Hi Liz. The parchment just helps in removing the cake from the pan but is not necessary until your cake pan doesn’t release well. Coarse sugar comes in many varieties like sparkling, sugar in the raw, Turbinado or Demerara. A coarse sugar adds a nice crunch on top. Thanks for trying our recipe and for taking the time to comment.
Marcella
Has anyone tried this with gluten free flour?
Jennifer
This is very good and simple. More reminiscent of danish (due to ricotta cheese) to me than coffee cake. Definitely a keeper! I baked in 9โ round metal pan @350 for 1hr & 5min.
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the feedback Jennifer. Bravo!