Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Ricotta Almond Cake

 This almond cake recipe comes from Anna Olsen of the Food Network Channel. I recently made it for a dinner party to which we were invited, and it was such a success that it has now found its rightful place in my repertoire of favourite recipes. Filled with ricotta (I used 2%), almonds, and a dram of rum...... who can resist  a slice? The only other change to the recipe was to add an apricot glaze to help what I thought to be its somewhat anemic appearance. No only beautiful to look at but delicious.


INGREDIENTS: 
Cake:
4 eggs (room temperature)
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 canola oil
2/3 cup 2% ricotta cheese (or whole ricotta)
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoon rum
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup+2 tbsp ground almonds 
1/4 teaspoon salt


Topping:
3/4 cup 2% ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup+ 2 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup sliced almonds

Glaze:
1/2 cup apricot jam
1 tablespoon orange liqueur (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Cake:
In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs, sugar, and oil on high speed until thick and pale (about 8 minutes).  Add the ricotta , lemon juice,zest, rum, vanilla and almond extract. Mix until blended. In a separate bowl, sift together the ground almonds, flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk into the ricotta mixture, in 3 additions. Pour the batter into 10" springform pan which has been buttered and the bottom lined with parchment  paper. Bake in a preheated  350ºF oven for 45-50. The cake is done when a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Topping:
Increase your oven temperature to 375º F
Heat the milk and stir in 2 tablespoons of sugar. Toss in the almonds, making sure that the nuts are coated.
In a separate bowl, blend together the 3/4 cup ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup sugar, zest and vanilla. Spread the ricotta mixture topping over the baked cake and sprinkle with the almond slices.
Return to the oven and continue baking for 15 minutes, until the almonds are a golden brown. Remove from the oven and spread the glaze over the almonds. Allow the cake to cool before removing from the cake pan.
Glaze:
In the microwave or in a small pan heat the apricot jam until it starts to liquefy, it takes a minute or two. Stir to make sure it doesn't burn. Strain the jam if their is a large amount of pulp. Brush gently on the baked cake.



29 comments:

  1. this looks so pretty..i love anna olsen too and i cant wait to try this out.

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  2. Thanks, this is a recipe I will definitely be making again.

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  3. It is gorgeous Anna! Nicely done. I love the idea of the almond flavour with the apricots. The colours are so warm and comforting. This is one I might have to try, now just got to throw a dinner party!

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  4. Oh Wow!!! What a gorgeous cake and you made it with one of my most favourite ingredients to bake with, my beloved ricotta! I just love it in cheesecake as well. Oh I'm going to have to try this soon. On the topic of ricotta, I just had to share this recipe with you, super easy and OMG tasty. Check it out, you might be inspired. I've made these a few times now, always a hit.

    http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/nonnas-lemon-ricotta-biscuits-recipe/index.html

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  5. Susie, I'm so glad you liked the the flavour combination. I think the glaze really improves the appearance of the cake and adds a lovely flavour. I also love using apricot glaze on my fruit flans.

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  6. Thanks so much for the compliment. Ava,I will take you up on your suggestion, and check out Giada's cheese cake recipe.

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  7. What a stunning cake, love the layering :)

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  8. Oh Anna - I love your blog - I know you have such a vibrant Italian community in Montreal. The ricotta cake brings back such memories - I make a different version - usually every Easter. This beauty begs to be made.

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  9. Oh my, that looks amazing. Must try soon--I used to eat a ricotta cake all the time in Sydney in the 80s (wow that feels so long ago!). And thanks for stopping by Sweet Tea and Sunshine!

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  10. Oh Anna what a gorgeous looking cake!! Well done you :)

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  11. Magic spice, I didn't know what to expect with this recipe. I was totally surprised, and pleased with the layering effect once I removed it from the pan.

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  12. Hi Claudia and welcome to my blog. We are very fortunate in Montreal to still have first generation Italians and access to original recipes. We are also lucky to have a wide variety of Italian products easily available to us. Let me know how you find the recipe should you decide to make it. Thanks again for visiting.

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  13. Sherilee, the pleasure was all mine. I really enjoyed my visit to your blog. I hope the post has enticed you to try your hand at making the cake.

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  14. Peggy, Thanks so much for your comment.

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  15. Ricotta Almond Cake! I kept repeating it to myself. I just love it! What an inviting picture perfect cake! Delicious!

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  16. Dimah, thanks so much for your comment. The glaze really brought the whole cake up a notch.

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  17. Michelangelo,
    Welcome to my blog. What a wonderful compliment. It really makes my day. Can't wait to visit your blog.

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  18. Susan, thanks for for your comment. This is one recipe that is worth a repeat.

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  19. That looks out out of this world Anna!

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  20. Who's that handsome guy visiting my blog??? Hi James, so glad you visited and liked the cake. Speak to you soon.

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  21. This cake does look amazing...and all my favorite flavours! So excited to read all these lovely comments. You go girl!!

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  22. Hi Barb, thanks for dropping by and your support.

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  23. Hey Anna,

    Am making this cake right now, in the instructions it says to sift the 'ground almonds' with the flour, but the ground almonds seem to be missing from the ingredients... How much??? GAH? I don't have any... panicking... :)

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  24. Gen, I'm sorry for the slip-up. I can't believe you are the first to catch the missing ingredient. Thanks so much. It's 1 cup+2tbsp of ground almonds. P.S. Anna Olsen suggests sifting the ground almost, which is almost impossible to pass through sieve. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

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  25. ooooo anna. i'm drooling, honestly. i've made almond butter cake and the almond baked in butter tastes divine. now this will taste divinest. thank you so much. it sure is a party pleaser!!

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  26. Great recipe and it turned out just like your picture, my family and I thankyou
    P.S. it tasted great

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