Description
Raspberry orange pistachio ricotta cake blends Mediterranean flavors into a delightful dessert. Rich layers of creamy ricotta, tangy citrus, and nutty pistachios promise a memorable culinary experience you’ll savor to the last crumb.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup (226 g / 8 oz) whole milk ricotta cheese
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups (180 g / 6.3 oz) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup fresh raspberries (or frozen, not thawed)
- ½ cup (60 g / 2.1 oz) chopped pistachios (plus extra for garnish)
- 1 orange zest
- ¾ cup (150 g / 5.3 oz) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (60 g / 2.1 oz) powdered sugar
- ½ cup (113 g / 4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsps fresh orange juice
- 1 ½ tsps baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preparation: Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a 9-inch cake pan with butter and flour, ensuring complete coverage to prevent sticking.
- Dry Ingredients: Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl, creating a uniform dry mixture that will provide structure to the cake.
- Creaming: In a large mixing bowl, whip butter and sugar until the mixture becomes ethereally light and pale, incorporating air for a tender crumb.
- Wet Ingredients: Introduce eggs one at a time, blending thoroughly, then fold in ricotta cheese, orange zest, and juice, creating a luscious, fragrant base.
- Batter Assembly: Gently fold dry ingredients into the wet mixture, stirring minimally to maintain the batter’s delicate texture, then carefully incorporate chopped pistachios.
- Final Touches: Distribute fresh raspberries across the top of the batter, allowing them to nestle naturally into the mixture.
- Baking: Pour batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface, and bake for 45-50 minutes, rotating halfway through to ensure even golden browning.
- Cooling: Remove from oven when a skewer comes out clean, let rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serving: Optionally dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with an orange glaze to elevate the cake’s presentation and flavor profile.
Notes
- Measure Precisely: Use exact measurements for ingredients to maintain the delicate balance of flavors and texture in this sophisticated cake.
- Handle Ricotta Carefully: Ensure ricotta is at room temperature and drain excess moisture to prevent a soggy cake base and achieve a light, fluffy consistency.
- Gentle Mixing Technique: Mix ingredients minimally to avoid developing gluten, which can make the cake tough – fold gently and stop when ingredients are just combined.
- Raspberry Placement Matters: Scatter raspberries lightly across the top to prevent them from sinking completely, creating beautiful pockets of fruit throughout the cake.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 9
- Calories: 295
- Sugar: 25 g
- Sodium: 180 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 34 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 85 mg