By Francesca Montillo, ISDA Food + Travel Writer
There’s something so comforting about a good old slice of Bundt cake, or ciambella, as it’s known in Italian. It’s the type of dessert that is great for breakfast, afternoon tea, for host gift-giving, and makes the perfect addition to any lunch bag, be it for kids or adults!
This cake is pretty dense, as many calling for ricotta tend to be. Light and airy it’s not, and it’s delicious as you don’t need a big slice to find it fulfilling.
It’s also reasonably versatile as you can change the blueberries to raspberries, use fresh or frozen, and even the lemon can be changed to orange zest!
You can bake it in the traditional Bundt cake pan, or a loaf pan. If preparing in a loaf pan, you will have some leftover batter, so also prepare a few muffins.
The ingredients are very typical of what you might find in your pantry already.
And hey, if you don’t have any berries on hand, just make it without them, it will still be delicious! But if you are using the berries, be sure to coat them in a few tablespoons of flour, as that will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Bundt Cake
Yields one cake or loaf
Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter at room temp for several hours
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons lemon zest
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour cream or plain yogurt
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup frozen blueberries
Powdered sugar
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 10-cup Bundt pan by greasing and flouring the pan.You can also use non-stick cooking spray.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and saltand set them aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat until fully incorporated.
4. Add the ricotta, vanilla, and zest and mix until combined.
5. Add half the flour mixture, then the buttermilk, and mix until combined. Add the remaining flour and mix again until just combined, do not overmix.
6. Add a few tablespoons of flour to the berries and toss them to coat. Fold them in the cake using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, do not use the mixer for this step.
7. Pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before removing from the pan. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired. You can also make a simple glaze with powdered sugar and milk and drizzle it on top.
