Lemon Ricotta Almond Cake (Gluten Free!)

Nope, I’m not Gluten Free like some of my friends. While I try not to overindulge in glutenous foods, they don’t make me sick or achy or anything. But every once in a while you come across a recipe that is just so darn PRETTY, you don’t care what’s in it. And hey–my chocolate flour-less cake has been a hit, so I guess I do the gluten free baking thing pretty well thus far.

When I pinned this recipe from Cakelets and Doilies, how cute is that name btw…I really wanted to try it. I mean, it’s lovely. And summery.

So when David told me about a dinner party this past weekend, I knew what I was bringing. And since I had more than 5 minutes to prepare, I made a cake. And it is a winner. And it’s gluten free (so there was subbing almond flour/meal–aka ground up almonds instead of flour).

Here’s the how to:

Ingredients:

I stick unsalted butter, softened
 1 cup caster sugar (recipe calls for more, but I lessened it and it was PLENTY)
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1/4 cup lemon zest
4 eggs, separated and at room temperature
2 1/2 almond meal (ALMOND FLOUR ALSO WORKS)
10 1/2 oz. ricotta 
Flaked almonds, to decorate
Confectioners sugar for dusting

Directions:

Heat oven to 325. Line the base and sides of a 9 in round cake tin with baking paper and set aside.

Place the butter, 7/8 c. caster sugar, vanilla seeds and lemon zest in an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until pale and creamy. Scrap down the sides of the bowl, then gradually add the egg yolks, one at a time, continuing to beat until fully combined. Add the almond meal and beat to combine. Fold ricotta through the almond meal mixture. 

Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with a hand-held electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar to the egg whites mixture and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently fold a third of the egg whites into the cake mixture. Repeat with the rest of the egg whites.

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin, smooth the tops with a palette knife, decorate the cake with almond flakes, and bake for 45-55 minutes or until cooked and firm to touch. Allow to cool completely in the cake tin. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Y’all this cake was delish. Seriously, and it’s been even better for breakfast–warmed up and served with coffee. YEAH. Everyone has to indulge sometimes. But at the dinner, everyone really enjoyed it, yay!  And it was really pretty. Served with vanilla ice cream/gelato would be really good as well.

 

Advertisements