By Francesca Montillo, ISDA Food + Travel Writer 

It seems that following a “gluten free” diet is all the rage these days.

While I fully acknowledge that there are folks who must follow a GF diet for health reasons, there are others, admittingly like myself, who will enjoy a GF meal or dessert for no other reason other than we feel less guilty doing so.

Almost like enjoying a generous slice of this cake, and not feeling guilty about it because, well, it’s gluten free, so it can’t be that bad for you, right?

All kidding aside, as a native Italian, I enjoy my share of ricotta desserts. Recently, I made a batch of ricotta at home, which resulted in about 3 lbs. of fresh ricotta. And after enjoying it for a few days on bread, bagels, pasta and with some honey drizzled on top, I admit I had grown tired of it by the end.

Fearing the rest would go to waste, I ran to my kitchen and made this lovely cake, which, of course, you can make with store bought ricotta.

This cake is moist, lemony, almondy and the perfect match for a shot of limoncello to enjoy after dinner. It’s tangy, but not overly so. As with any cake using ricotta, this cake will be super moist, almost giving the impression that’s it’s undercooked, but you can check for doneness by the golden color and that it springs back to the touch. You’ll enjoy this cake, whether you do (or don’t) have to follow a GF diet.

Limoncello Ricotta Almond Cake

Yields 1 9-inch cake that serves 8

Ingredients

3 medium eggs, room temperature, separated

1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature (plus additional for the pan)

1 cup sugar

1 cup full-fat ricotta (drained)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Zest from 1 lemon

3 tablespoons limoncello

2½ cups almond flour

1½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup sliced almonds (optional)

Powdered sugar (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
2. Using the whisk attachments, beat the egg whites with the mixer until stiff peaks form. Place them in another bowl and set them aside while preparing the rest of the batter.
3. Beat the butter and sugar together in the stand mixer (no need to rinse from the egg whites) until fully incorporated. Add in the ricotta, vanilla and lemon zest.
4. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat until light and creamy.
5. Add in the limoncello, almond flour and baking powder and beat until combined.
6. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake mixture.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Add the sliced almonds on top, if using. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until firm yet slightly springy to the touch.
8. Allow to cool for about 1 hour, then remove from the pan and dust with the powdered sugar. Cake will “fall” slightly from when it’s removed from the oven to when it is cooled.

• Baking cakes with ricotta will yield a very moist final product. Cake may appear slightly underdone when serving.

 

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