Here’s my attempt at capturing the last glimpse of summer, even if we’re already well into November. This ricotta cake is literally the easiest thing to make. It’s light, low fat (if you care about that), can be eaten as a sweet treat for breakfast, which may come as strange to many of you, but in Italy eating cake for breakfast is actually quite common, though I tend to avoid following such traditions. It is fresh and summery with lemon zest and a compote made from fresh raspberries.
Now, this isn’t a recipe blog, but I’ll give you an idea of how to make it in case you want to treat yourself to something that reminds you of sweet summer days.
You will need:
600g of ricotta
80g of caster sugar
4 eggs
50g of baking flour
1 tsp of baking powder
200ml of milk
Zest of 1 organic lemon
Whisk the ricotta with the sugar until it’s fluffy, then combine the eggs one at a time. Sift in your flour and baking powder, and add a few splashes of milk until you get the right creamy consistency. Finally, add the zest of 1 entire organic (or untreated) lemon. Pour the batter into a greased circular baking tin.
Optionally, I made a raspberry compote to dollop on top and marble into the cake. Just add 100 gr of raspberries, 1 tbsp of sugar, a squeeze of lemon and cook on low heat until the raspberries have turned into, well, for lack of a better word, mush.
Then dollop the raspberry compote onto the top of the unbaked cake, and with a toothpick try to make a marble effect. (It didn’t really work for me but I’m sure you can do better).
Now pop it into a preheated oven at 180C for about 45 minutes, but depending on your oven it might take up to an hour, just check the center with a toothpick and if it comes out clean you’re good to go.
I hope you enjoy it as much as my family did, and most of all I hope it takes you back to those deliciously indulgent summer days.
Love, V
