Ricotta Cake

, from Issue #21.
Photography by Vanessa Wu.
Ricotta Cake

This delicious cake also makes an impressive dessert and a small slice will satisfy the most passionate sweet tooth. The cake is best made the day before and refrigerated overnight. It will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days (if it lasts that long!).

INGREDIENTS

Crust
375 grams plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
150 grams brown sugar
125 grams ground almonds
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250 grams chilled butter, cubed

Filling
800 grams quality ricotta cheese such as Zany Zeus
250 grams glacé fruits, such as kumquats, orange, ginger, citron, date, fig, chopped roughly
50 ml Amaretto, dark rum or Cognac
200 grams caster sugar icing sugar to decorate

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Crust: Place the flour, baking powder, sugar and ground almonds in the food processor and pulse to combine. Add the egg and vanilla extract and pulse again. Add the butter and pulse a third time until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stop just as it starts to come together. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to chill a little.
Grease and line a 23 cm round spring-form tin with baking paper.

Filling: Place the ricotta in a bowl and add the glacé fruits, alcohol and caster sugar. Gently fold all the ingredients together.

To assemble: Remove the crust mix from the refrigerator and press half the mixture gently into the bottom of the baking tin. Spoon over the ricotta filling, then gently spoon over the remaining crust mix to cover the cake evenly.

Bake 50–60 minutes until the cake has risen slightly and the crumb is lightly golden. Cool completely on a wire rack then refrigerate for several hours but preferably overnight.

To serve: Remove from the fridge 30 minutes prior. The cake should be quite firm now so it will be easy to remove the spring-form tin and the baking paper. Place on a flat plate and dust with icing sugar. Serves 10-12