BEST Damn Blueberry Ricotta Cake Ever



When I say this is the "best", I mean it.

My only complaint about this cake is that it is on the smallish side, maybe 9".
I think next time I will double it and make it in a 9" x 13" pan. It is that good.

You could probably use another fruit besides blueberries, but since blueberries are in season in my neck of the woods, this is the cake of choice for the upcoming holiday weekend.

It's from the King Arthur Flour website and yes, it has ricotta cheese in it.
If you can find fresh ricotta, then use that, it really is so much better than the supermarket stuff.

This is a simple cake to put together.

It's a layer of nice yellow cake, then a layer of blueberries, then a top layer of a ricotta mixture, all baked into one lovely cake.

It's not quite a cheesecake, and not quite a cake, but somewhere in the middle.

Are you sold yet?



The only thing I added to the recipe was the zest of a lemon. Blueberries and lemons go nicely together.



Best Blueberry Ricotta Cake Ever (adapted from King Arthur Flour)

Batter:
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
zest of a lemon
3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Topping:
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 9 x 2-inch pan (I used a springform pan).

For the batter: In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the milk, shortening, egg and vanilla, beating till smooth. Spoon the batter into a greased 9 x 9 x 2-inch pan Sprinkle the blueberries over the batter.



For the topping: In a small bowl, beat the eggs till frothy, then beat in the cheese, sugar and vanilla. Spread this mixture evenly over the blueberries.



Bake the cake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until it's golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and cool to lukewarm before serving.



We liked this cake best a few hours after baking.



and the next day at room temperature.



I have made this cake 3 times now. Loved.

Comments

Debbie said…
This looks delicious. Blueberries are in season here too and I love cakes using ricotta. Thank you!!!
mil said…
Dil,

You could WAIT a few hours????????

Mil
Well that's confidence! ;-) This does look delicious and I'm thinking of doing some berry picking this weekend. Wonder how it would taste with raspberries...
CelebrEATySarah said…
Ricotta cake...am in! And the best Ricotta cheese, CALABRO.
Yum, right up my alley...I'm going to have to try this soon!
The JR said…
I'm sold.

Everytime I think, okay the birds can have the rest of the blueberries...somebody posts a fantastic recipe that I need to try.

No wonder I need to lose weight...

Have a happy 4th of July!
Susan..... said…
Hey, Stacy..this is the 2nd dish of yours this week that is also going into my picnic basket for this weekend. The size is perfect for that. I have blueberries waiting to be coddled by ricotta...well, maybe I think they want that because I REALLY want that.
Just added this to my shopping list and have one arm out the door on my way to my favorite Italian Deli (and you know in NJ, they rule). Have a great 4th!!
Joanne said…
I am past sold. You had me at cheesecake...and then cake...and then blueberries. Oh so good.
denise s said…
Stacey,
Looks yummy, about to make it for dessert for our BBQ tomorrow. One question though, is it only 4.5 oz. flour our a full 8 oz. for 1 cup?
Thanks
I think you just gave me my July 4th cake recipe! I've made ricotta cake, but never thought about combining it with blueberries. Brilliant!
Stacey Snacks said…
Denise,
I copied the recipe exactly from the King Arthur Flour site, but just went in and changed it.
It's 1 measured cup (for U.S. measurements) of flour. Thanks, Stacey
Foodiewife said…
You make the best damn everything, anyway. You know I"m a big fan of King Arthur Flour. Blueberries and lemon...great call! I'm sold. It kind of reminds me of the German Quark Kaesekuchen that I posted over a week ago. I love the texture of ricotta.
Melbourne Girl said…
OH. MY. GOODNESS.!
Now you've done it.
I came back here to find your strawberry and crumb cake recipes and now I'm torn!!

I love cakes like this.
Damn you Stacey!

Just when I thought it was safe to move away from the oven, I'm dragged back in
Katie said…
This blueberry ricotta cake looks just divine. I think it would be fun with some strawberries or raspberries in it for the Fourth of July!
I have an old family recipe similar to this that uses a vanilla boxed cake mix, for a quicky it works. Love the blueberry addition, will try it!
tasteofbeirut said…
I would love to have a slice of this for my breakfast tomorrow: What a delight that would be to wake up to.
Anonymous said…
Yes i am completely sold! I made Louisa's cake you posted on your blog and i loved every bite of it.

I think any cake with ricotta in it automatically up's it's status :)
Ginny Lee said…
making this now with my ricotta ;) will try to save for bbq tomorrow
Michele said…
I have some blueberries left and I think I'll try this out! Looks fantastic!
Oui, Chef said…
This one looks too good to be true. Can't wait to try it with a variety of different fruits, thanks for digging this one up for us! - S
Claire said…
Stacey-
This looks wonderful! Thanks for posting. I will be teaching a group of girl scouts how to make this. One question: Did you melt the butter before adding to batter or just use softened butter?
Thanks!
Claire said…
Ok..I answered my question...I used softened butter and it worked fine. I would still like to know if you did the same. ALSO...
Happy 3rd Birthday!!! Yours is one of my favorite blogs. Love your recipes, love your voice, so impressed with the number of posts you complete each week!!!
Stacey Snacks said…
Hi Claire,
I did answer you.....I use melted butter because I am too lazy to cream butter! Glad it worked out!
Stacey
Anonymous said…
I've just discovered your blog and love it! Have you tried Michael Chiarello's ricotta recipe? It's so easy to make fresh ricotta and it's wonderful in recipes calling for ricotta.
A new reader from Northern CA.
Glad to know about the melted butter.
Thanks, Stacey!!!
The Food Hunter said…
making this for my guests tomorrow night. I can always count on you to have a great recipe when I need one. Can't wait to eat this.
The Food Hunter said…
Made it this weekend. It was terrific. My guests loved it.
Dana said…
Just back from a week in Delaware (hot!) and am behind on my blog reading. This looks amazingly terrific, especially with the blueberries we should get in a couple of weeks. How long do you you think it would keep? I have a yoga retreat I'm cooking for this weekend.
This looks soooo delicious. Now I know exactly what to do with that extra pint of blueberries I got on sale this week. My Italian mother will be veeery proud of me when I serve this up for dessert this weekend. Thanks for the great ideas!
Amie said…
I made this last night, it was really good and easy to make ... and I am NOT a baker :) thanks for the recipe
laura said…
Hi, i made this recipe yesterday and overall it was really good. My only problem was that i found the crust to be dry/flaky, is this the way it's suppose to be? I plan on making this recipe for my baking final in two days so i would really appreciate a response or opinion. Thank you!
StaceySnacks said…
Hi Laura,
I have not had any problems with this cake and have made it now 3 times. No one has mentioned that issue. Perhaps you should ask the King Arthur Flour forum, it is from their recipe and maybe someone also had this issue.

It could be the springform pan you used, maybe it is too dark. I never use black pans to bake with....just a thought.

Good luck with the baking final!
Stacey
Tina said…
This cake was gone 2 hours after baking it! We loved it! So simple and delicious using fresh picked blueberries. Thanks for posting it.
Michele said…
WOW! Eating a slice of this while it's still warm. It is delicious. Moist on the inside withe a sugary crisp top. I love it! Thanks for posting this one!
Finally something new to do with my blueberries!
Lisa in Indy said…
Stacey ~ this is going to be MY dessert contribution to Thanksgiving dinner. (can't stand pumpkin pie). Made this over the summer and it was wonderful! Thanks. Happy Thanksgiving.
Jane said…
Baked this (with variations) THREE separate times this weekend.

First made a half batch to see how the taste was, and it was amaazing. I especially loved the taste of the cake itself with the lemon! Divine!

The second time, I just made the cake base and used it to make an ice cream cake. Even my mom, who usually hates cake with a passion, loved the taste of this lemon zested cake!

And then, I made blueberry ricotta cupcakes. It was a very very good (and tasty) idea. Thanks for the great recipe!!!!! Will be using it many more times :)
Stacey said…
Oh my goodness. I Googled blueberry and ricotta hoping to find a delicious dessert recipe...SUCCESS! I can't gather the ingredients fast enough. Thanks for sharing ...and with such mouth-watering photos.
This is a favourite! We made TWO of these cakes on the weekend and they were both gonna within a couple days! We had so much ricotta and blueberries in the fridge so this recipe was perfect! We tried it out and obviously it was a success! Great post, thank you for sharing!
Anonymous said…
BEST. EVER! THANKYOU!!!!!!!
Unknown said…
Stacey, you ask for 1/4 cup butter in this recipe but don't say if it should be melted. In the directions you call it "shortening" not butter, so I am assuming it is the same thing and you want it softish??? I'm making it now and know I won't get an answer in time, but you should clarify that. I could not find it at King Arthur's site.
Unknown said…
This is our family's favorite dessert!! It's actually the only dessert I make. For the bottom layer, I replace half of the butter with apple sauce, and I do 1/3 cup of yogurt with just a couple of splashes of milk.

I also mix some lemon juice with a bit of sugar and pour it on top of the warm cake for it to soak it. We love the tartness

Thank you so much!! I absolutely love it!!
Anonymous said…
Just made this. Used almond extract in the cake instead of lemon, and used defrosted wild blueberries in double the amount. Forgot to whip the eggs. It's still AWESOME. It wasn't browning so I broiled it on low briefly.
Sally Rally said…
Very good cake. Love the texture and flavor. Used orange zest as that is what I had on hand. Not sure when to add the zest as recipe does not state but appears it is to be added to the batter so I added just before sprinkling my frozen blueberries on top. Also used almond flavoring 1/4 t along with the vanilla called for. Delicious dessert and effortless.