Ricotta Orange Pound Cake with Strawberries
This is a beautiful spring dessert and I usually make it for Mother's Day.
This is a beautiful spring dessert and I usually make it for Mother's Day.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 3/4 cup butter plus more for greasing pan at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 1/2 cups sugar plus 1 tablespoon
- 1 orange zested
- 2 tablespoons amaretto
- powdered sugar
- 1 pint strawberries hulled & sweetened
- Carbohydrate 1551.01295810676 g
- Cholesterol 3286.8900000967 mg
- Fat 111.244009989349 g
- Fiber 26.7428062240937 g
- Protein 198.839976019025 g
- Saturated Fat 42.4454173111811 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (3220g)
- Sodium 3604.9820373626 mg
- Sugar 1524.27015188266 g
- Trans Fat 16.4383819835529 g
- Calories 7986 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with butter.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine.
- Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, ricotta, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla, orange zest and amaretto until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 45-50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Using a mesh seive, dust the cooled cake with powdered sugar.
- Meanwhile, place the strawberries in a small bowl with the remaining 1 Tablespoon sugar.
Whole-milk ricotta dictates the structural integrity of this cake, supplying distinct moisture and dairy proteins that standard butter-only batters lack. Substituting lower-fat ricotta introduces excess water, which compromises the crumb structure and extends baking times unpredictably. Cake flour is non-negotiable for achieving a fine, tender crumb due to its lower protein content compared to all-purpose flour. Creaming the butter, ricotta, and sugar for a full three minutes incorporates crucial air pockets that chemical leaveners alone cannot achieve. Adding eggs one at a time prevents the emulsion from breaking, ensuring a uniform batter that traps expanding gases effectively. Orange zest releases essential oils directly into the fat phase during creaming, maximizing citrus aroma distribution. Fold the dry ingredients in gradually to avoid developing excess gluten, which turns pound cake dense and rubbery. Bake this loaf at 350 degrees Fahrenheit in a standard 9x5x3-inch metal loaf pan, monitoring for shrinkage where the edges pull away from the metal walls. Cool the cake inside the pan for exactly 10 minutes to allow the interior structure to set before inversion onto a wire rack. Overmixing the batter remains the primary pitfall for home bakers, resulting in tunneling and a heavy texture. Sweetening hulled strawberries with a single tablespoon of sugar draws out excess juices through osmosis, creating a natural syrup that complements the rich, dense crumb without masking the citrus notes.
