Apricot Ricotta Cake    

Apricot Ricotta Cake - This Italian-inspired Apricot ricotta cake is moist, soft, and almost pudding like in texture. The demerara gives a slight crunch and sweetness to the topping, the apricots  provide just enough gooey sweetness, whilst the butter adds a richness that complements the cake perfectly. 

Italian-Style Apricot Ricotta Cake

Ricotta cake originated in Sicily, Italy. There are many variations of this cake depending on the region it is from. 

Adding fruit makes this tender, light cake even more delicious.

Moist and rich, this easy Apricot ricotta cake uses simple ingredients to bring you one very tasty dessert. 

It is so easy to make with simple baking staples. Just 15 minutes prep is all you need and then the oven does the rest of the work!

What’s not to love? 

This Ricotta Cake is sweet, moist and flavourful.

This beautiful cake is a perfect way to use up seasonal fruit.

What you need to make this easy Ricotta Cake Recipe

This easy Apricot cake requires simple, familiar ingredients, and it is very likely that you may already have most of the ingredients in your pantry and fridge. Here is what you need to make it:

Caster Sugar

Or Granulated Sugar or Light Brown Sugar. 

Demerara Sugar

This amber coloured sugar has a mellow flavour and adds crunch to the top of the cake .

The extra sugar also adds sweetness.

Fresh Apricot

Apricots with the stone removed and halved. You can also use other fruits such as Peaches, Plums, Cherries, Raspberries, Blueberries.

Ricotta Cheese 

Ricotta is what makes this cake so rich and tender. It also adds a lot of moisture.

Any regular supermarket ricotta is fine. Make sure it is full fat ricotta for a creamy, moist texture with a hint of sweetness.

Butter  

I use salad Butter. You and also use Unsalted Butter and add a pinch of Salt.

Eggs

Room temperature Eggs are best. These add lift, richness and tenderness.

Self Raising Flour and Baking Powder

Or use Plain Flour/All Purpose Flour with an additional 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder.

Pinch of Salt

To balance the flavours and bring everything together.

Lemons

I like to use the zest of 2 lemons to add plenty of flavour. You could also use Orange Zest or Orange rind.

How to Make this Almond Ricotta Cake with Important Tips

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C / 360°F/Gas mark 4.

Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin/springform pan with baking paper/parchment paper.

 Add Ricotta, Sugar and Lemon Zest to a large bowl or stand mixer.

Beat for 5 minutes with a wooden spoon or with the whisk attachment in a stand mixer until pale, light and fluffy.

Add the melted Butter and and continue mixing on a medium-high setting for 2 minutes.

Add Eggs one at a time beating between each addition. 

Fold in the dry ingredients - Flour, Baking Powder, Salt.

TIP: Do not over-mix your cake batter. An over-mixed batter will leave you with a chewy and too dense a cake.

 Pour batter into prepared pan/tin and smooth out out the surface with the back of the spoon.

Place Apricots on top of the Batter and sprinkle over he demerara sugar. 

Bake for 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes or till golden brown and until a skewer poked into the centre comes out clean. 

TIP: After 50 minutes in the oven, begin to check the doneness of the cake. Some ovens will cook faster than others. It may take up to 1 hour 15 minutes for your cake to be fully baked as the Apricots will release some juices and the amount of juice they produce will depend on how ripe they were.

Watch for the top as it starts to brown. If it is browning too much but hasn’t yet set in the middle, cover with foil and continue baking.

 Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in the tin for 15 minutes. 

Take out of the tin, slice and serve. 

Top Tips 

Ricotta 

If your Ricotta looks watery, drain it first. This will ensure that the batter isn’t too watery.

Do not over mix your Cake batter

An over-mixed batter will leave you with a chewy and dense cake.

Baking 

Watch for the top as it starts to brown. If it is browning too much but hasn’t yet set in the middle, cover with foil and continue baking.

After 50 minutes in the oven, begin to check the doneness of the cake. Some ovens will cook faster than others. It may take up to 1 hour 15 minutes for your cake to be fully baked as the Apricots will release some juices and the amount of juice they produce will depend on how ripe they were.

Store in the Fridge 

As this is a fruit and ricotta cake, any leftovers must be stored in the fridge in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap/cling film.

Variations

Other Fruit Ideas

Most Stone Fruits work well in this recipe. Berries will work too.

Try it with Peaches, Cherries, Plums. 

Add Almonds

Top with flared Almonds for some texture.

How to serve

Serve with a dusting of Icing Sugar, a scoop of Ice Cream or a drizzle of Double Cream.

FAQs

Can I freeze ricotta cake?

You can usually freeze ricotta based cakes but because this cake has fruit on it, I would not recommend freeing it.

Try these amazing recipes next:

White Chocolate and Raspberry Loaf Cake

Pear, Lemon and Blackberry Cake

Rose Tres Leches Cake - Rose Milk Cake

Lemon Syrup Loaf Cake

Did you make this recipe? I'd love to hear about it! If you loved this recipe, please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. You can also follow us on instagram and subscribe to our newsletter to get our latest recipes.