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This super simple cake with ricotta is easy to make in one bowl. It’s moist, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture and a chocolatey taste in every bite!

It’s a versatile cake, easy to transport, and keeps moist and yummy for days.

A hand holding a slice of cake with ricotta showing its rich dense crumb.

Ricotta is one of my favorite ingredients for both savory and sweet recipes. This fresh, soft Italian cheese brings plenty of moisture and a delicate flavor without weighting down.

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It’s great for refreshing fillings like in this wonderful, or moist textures like in these juicy , or .

In this easy recipe, ricotta makes a scrumptious dense crumb perfect for dark chocolate chips and fresh orange zest. It’s a very simple cake, but its texture and flavor are totally delicious!

So if you haven’t made a cake with ricotta before, then you definitely have to try this!

It’s a breeze to make in 1 bowl, it turns perfect every time, and it’s so YUMMY that you’ll be making it again and again!

List of the ingredients

  • Whole-milk ricotta
  • All-purpose or cake flour
  • Eggs
  • Sugar
  • Baking powder
  • Vegetable oil
  • Dark chocolate chips
  • Orange zest
  • Salt
  • or essence (optional)

Top view of the ingredients to bake a cake with ricotta.

How to make cake with ricotta

(Note: this is a quick description with step-by-step photos, the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)

  • Whisk eggs and sugar in one bowl.
  • Stir in vegetable oil, ricotta, zest, vanilla.

Top view of a glass bowl full of beaten eggs, sugar, oil, zest and ricotta cheese.

  • Stir well until smooth.
  • Add flour, baking powder, salt and stir gently until just combined. A few lumps in the batter are ok, you don’t want to over mix.

    • Top view of a glass bowl full of cake with ricotta batter.

  • Add the chocolate chips and fold them gently into the batter.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared tin.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes.
  • Serve it at room temperature, dusted with powdered sugar. It tastes delicious with some on the side.

    • Top view of a glass bowl containing the batter and the dark chocolate chips.

    Recipe notes

    Cake with ricotta ingredients

    Ricotta: I used 1 cup/250 grams of whole-milk ricotta. But if you buy a 15oz container of ricotta wondering how to use up your leftovers, this collection of might be helpful!

    Chocolate chips: dark chocolate chips are the best, they make a delicious combination with ricotta and orange zest. If you want to amp up the chocolate flavor, I recommend adding more chocolate chips (2/3 cup).

    Flour: all-purpose flour, cake flour and self-raising flour work fine (skip the baking powder if you use self-raising flour).

    Eggs: 2 large eggs or 3 smaller ones.

    Sugar: the recipe calls for 1/2 cup, that’s just a fraction of the amount of sugar used in regular cakes. It’s not too sweet, it’s just right, trust me!:)

    Vanilla extract, orange zest, and salt: They’re used for flavor.

    Close-up of a slice of the cake with ricotta and chocolate chips.

    Baking tips

    1. How to measure the ingredients: A is the best option when it comes to baking. However, if you use cups use a spoon to transfer the flour into the measuring cup instead and use the back of a knife to level off the top. Don’t scoop the flour out of the bag with your measuring cup, you’ll end up with much more flour.

    2. Use the ingredients at room temperature.

    3. Do not over-mix the batter; that creates a rubbery texture.

    4. Tap your cake tin lightly on a flat, hard surface, this removes air bubbles.

    5. Preheat the oven, and do not open the oven door for the first 25 minutes.

    Any ricotta leftovers to use up?

    If you buy a large container of ricotta, the recipes below are brilliant to use up ricotta leftovers, and they’re also easy to whip up!

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    Close-up of a slice of cake with ricotta showing the moist texture and the melted chocolate chips.

    More ricotta desserts you’ll love

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    If you make this cake with ricotta, let me know! Leave a comment, send me a message, or rate it. I would love to hear from you!

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    Cake with Ricotta (easy recipe!)

    This super simple cake with ricotta is easy to make in one bowl, and it's light, moist, with a melt-in-your-mouth textureand a chocolatey taste in every bite!

    Prep Time5
    Cook Time35
    Total Time40
    Coursecakes, Dessert
    CuisineItalian
    Keywordcake with ricotta
    Servings10
    Calories300 kcal
    AuthorKatia

    Ingredients

    • 2 large eggs (or 3 small ones)
    • ½ cup  (100 grams) sugar
    • 1 cup (250 grams) whole-milk ricotta, at room temperature
    • ⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp (85-90 grams) vegetable oil (I used cold-pressed canola oil)
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (or essence)
    • 1 orange zest
    • 1 ½ cup  (190 grams) all-purpose flour or cake flour (spooned and levelled)
    • 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
    • 1/2 cup (90-100 grams) dark chocolate chips

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F /180°C, place the shelf in the middle position, and grease and line a 20 cm / 8" cake pan with parchment paper (a loose bottom cake pan is best).
    • In a large bowl, stir sugar and eggs until well combined.
    • Add ricotta, vegetable oil, orange zest, vanilla extract and mix well with a whisk or a spatula until smooth.
    • Mix flour, a pinch of salt and the baking powder in a second bowl, than add these dry ingredients onto the liquid ingredients, stir until just combined and the flour is incorporated, but do not over mix (a few lumps are fine).
    • Gently fold the chocolate chips by passing a spatula down through the mixture, across the bottom, and up over the top.
    • Pour the batter evenly into prepared cake pan, tap it on a working surface a couple of times and make sure the top is levelled.
    • Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into centre comes out clean.
    • Stand 15 minutes in the cake pan before removing from the pan. You might need to turn out onto cooling rack if you don't use a loose bottom cake pan
    • Serve a room temperature, dusted with powdered sugar if you wish. Enjoy!
    Nutrition facts (per serving, estimated): Please note that the nutrition values are based on an online nutrition calculator. It’s an estimate only and it should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. The nutrition values are for 1 slice (assuming a cake cut into 10 slices). Calories: 300 kcal | Carbohydrates: 32 g | Protein: 7 g | Fat: 16 g | Saturated Fat: 6 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7 g | Trans Fat: 1 g | Cholesterol: 46 mg | Sodium: 137 mg | Potassium: 127 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 14 g | Vitamin A: 168 IU | Vitamin C: 3 mg | Calcium: 128 mg | Iron: 1 mg

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