Torte italiane, Italian cakes, tend to have just a hint of sweetness to them and are typically a bit denser than American cakes. Cakes are often served with breakfast or as a snack, con caffe – with coffee. This spin on a classic lemon ricotta cake uses in season blood oranges, and a mixture of ricotta and greek yogurt in place of sugar or oil. The result is slightly sweet and tangy cake full of flavor.
Blood Orange Ricotta Cake
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 200 grams granulated sugar
- 250 grams whole milk ricotta cheese
- 250 grams whole milk Greek yogurt
- zest and juice of 1 blood orange
- 300 grams all-purpose flour
- 1 packet (16 g) Paneangeli Lievito Pane Degli Angeli*
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 3-4 blood oranges, sliced thinly, with ends discarded
For the Cake:
For the Blood Orange Top:
Directions
- Position your oven rack to the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9 inch springform pan and set on a baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, mix the light brown sugar with water until a syrup is formed. Drizzle the sugar syrup into bottom of the springform pan and spread so that it coats the bottom of the pan evenly. Arrange the blood orange slices on top of the sugar syrup. Set aside.
- In the base of a stand mixer or large bowl, add eggs and sugar. Using a whisk attachment or electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved into the eggs or until the mixture becomes a pale yellow, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add ricotta and greek yogurt and mix until well combined. Add juice and zest of blood orange and mix well.
- Add your flour into the wet ingredients a little bit at a time, mixing until incorporated after each addition. Lastly, add Paneangeli Lievito Pane Degli Angeli or baking powder plus vanilla mixture* (see below). Mix until well incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the springform pan to cover the slices of blood orange and spread the batter to the edges to create smooth surface. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool. Run a knife along the edges of the cake to release it from the pan and then release the springform clasp. Place a plate on top of the cake and invert. Gently remove the bottom of the plate. Serve with fresh blood oranges.
Paneangeli Lievito Pane Degli Angeli is an Italian vanilla flavored baking powder, and can be found in most Italian grocers or on Amazon. As a substitute for one 16 g packet, you can use one tablespoon baking powder plus one tablespoon vanilla extract.
Made the blood orange ricotta cake this afternoon. The recipe was easy to follow and the cake turned out very well. I look forward to trying more recipes over the coming weeks!
I am so glad you liked it! Thank you for trying it out!