Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

Details

Yields: 1 loaf
coffeeandcrumbs

Notes

Taken from the 2020 Coffee and Crumbs Mother's Day brunch menu.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• 1 ½ cups whole-milk ricotta cheese (do NOT use the low-fat stuff!)
• 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pan
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Zest of 2 lemons

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350. Thoroughly grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with butter.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a handheld mixer), cream together the butter, ricotta, and sugar on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. At this point the batter may be lumpy; this is totally fine. Add eggs one at a time, beating until combined and scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla, zest, and lemon juice and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture, beating on low speed until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (See note below.) If the top looks like it's browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil. Let cool for about 15 minutes in the pan before removing to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Note: I’ve noticed this pound cake bakes very differently for me depending on the type of pan I use. For a metal pan, plan on the 50-60 minutes noted and maybe needing to use the foil. For a glass pan (like Pyrex, which I prefer), plan on 60-75 minutes. I always check it at the 50-minute mark to gauge where it’s at, then set the timer at 5-minute increments so as not to over bake. Once the toothpick emerges cleanly and the loaf appears to pull away slightly from the edges of the pan, it’s good to go.