This Cherry Ricotta Cake recipe brings together fresh bing cherries and whole milk ricotta for the fluffiest cake ever. Dessert never looked so delicious!
It’s Cherry Season
Have you been adding a bag of fresh bing cherries to your cart on every grocery run these days?! Us too! Which means it’s time to bake a cake before the cherry season passes us by. And this cherry ricotta cake will not disappoint!
We’ll walk you through how to perfectly slice your bing cherries to choosing the right ricotta and even a few topping recommendations to jazz up this cake to your heart’s content.
Cherry Ricotta Cake Ingredients
You only need 8 ingredients to make this delicious cherry ricotta cake. It’s time to round up:
Ricotta cheese: The true star of the show for this cherry ricotta cake! We used whole milk ricotta cheese because it adds so much moisture and delicious texture! Whole milk ricotta adds so much more richness when baking, where skim milk ricotta cheese tends to be a bit more watery.
Fresh cherries: Can’t skip the cherries in this cherry ricotta cake! We went with fresh pitted cherries cut into either halves or thirds depending on the size of your cherries. Not only do they provide beautiful color to this cake, but the flavor can’t be beat!
Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract really brings out the flavors of fresh cherries in this cake. A little goes a long way, but there is nothing better than the vanilla extract and cherry combination.
All-purpose flour: This cherry ricotta cake is made with all-purpose flour which gives it a delicious light and fluffy texture.
Baking powder: We prefer to use baking powder to baking soda in this cake because the cake batter is a bit moist (thank you, delicious ricotta!) and baking powder helps firm it up a bit while keeping the fluffiness.
Unsalted butter: You’ll find us using unsalted butter when baking unless otherwise noted!
Granulated sugar: We opted for classic granulated sugar in this cake.
Large eggs: Make sure you use large eggs, not small or medium for this recipe.
How to Make Cherry Ricotta Cake
Preheat & Prep
Preheat the oven to 350ºF, and spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick baking spray. We recommend using a springform pan, so you can easily remove the sides of the pan from your gorgeous cake.
Mix Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder, and then set aside.
Cream sugar & Butter
Add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl and cream the two ingredients together on low speed with an electric hand mixer or standing mixer (about 2-3 minutes).
Add Wet Ingredients
Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula and then add the ricotta cheese to the mixing bowl and mix on low speed for 3-4 minutes or until the three ingredients are combined (it’s ok if there are a few lumps in the mixture!).
Next, add vanilla extract and ½ cup of cherries to the bowl and mix until combined.
Add one egg at a time to the mixing bowl and mix on low until the eggs are just combined into the cake batter (don’t over mix — this will result in a more dense cake!).
Slowly Add Dry Ingredients
Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula and then slowly add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl and mix until the flour is fully mixed into the batter.
Pour the batter into the greased springform pan, and shake the pan back and forth to even the batter out in the pan.
Top with Cherries
Evenly spread out the remaining cherry halves over the top of the cake. Make a pattern if you’d like!
Bake
Bake the cake for 45-60 minutes, or until the cake is bouncy to the touch.
Let Cool & Enjoy
Remove from the oven and let the cake cool for 10 minutes, and then remove the springform pan carefully.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar or any of the following delicious toppings, and ENJOY!
jazz up your ricotta cake
Top this cherry ricotta cake with anything your heart desires! Some of our favorites include:
- More fresh cherries
- Powdered sugar
- A dollop of whipped cream
- Chocolate drizzle
- A powdered sugar glaze
- Slivered almonds
Cherry Ricotta Cake Tips
DO I NEED TO STRAIN MY RICOTTA FOR RICOTTA Cake?
If you use whole milk ricotta you won’t need to strain the liquid from it! You need to use room temperature ricotta cheese, so if there is any excess liquid after letting it come to room temperature (which may happen if you use skim milk ricotta) just strain the liquid from the cheese.
We did not need to strain our whole milk ricotta cheese for this cake.
How Many Slices in This Ricotta Cake?
We cut this ricotta cake into 9 perfect slices, which makes this a great sweet breakfast treat or dessert to share with a group or enjoy over a few days.
CAN I MAKE THIS RICOTTA Cake GLUTEN FREE?
No, we do not recommend substituting the all-purpose flour in this cherry ricotta cake recipe.
Ricotta Dessert Flavor Variations
Love this cherry ricotta cake but want to try a few other flavor variations? We also have this Lemon Ricotta Cake and these Iced Ricotta Cookies and don’t forget about these Chocolate Chip Ricotta Muffins.
How to Store Ricotta Cake
Store this cherry ricotta cake in an air-tight container in the fridge and enjoy for up to 3-5 days. If you’re storing right in the spring form pan, simply cover and seal tightly around the edges with tin foil.
Cherry Ricotta Cake
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick, room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 15 oz. whole milk ricotta room temperature
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh cherries pitted and halved
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick baking spray.
- In a medium bowl mix together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
- Add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl and cream the two ingredients together on low speed with an electric hand mixer or standing mixer (about 2-3 minutes).
- Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula and then add the ricotta cheese to the mixing bowl and mix on low speed for 3-4 minutes or until the three ingredients are combined (it’s ok if there are a few lumps in the mixture).
- Next, add vanilla extract and ½ cup of cherries to the bowl and mix until combined.
- Add one egg at a time to the mixing bowl and mix on low until the eggs are just combined into the cake batter (don’t over mix!).
- Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula and then slowly add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl and mix until the flour is mixed into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the greased spring form pan and shake the pan back and forth to even the batter out in the pan.
- Evenly spread out the remaining cherry halves over the top of the cake.
- Bake the cake for 45-60 minutes or until the cake is bouncy to the touch.
- Remove from the oven and let the cake cool for 10 minutes and then remove the spring-form pan carefully.
- Dust the top of the cake with the powdered sugar by sifting the sugar onto the top of the cake.
This cake is SO GOOD. The ricotta texture + fresh cherries = next level!
YAY. Thank you for letting us know you liked it!