This is my first post of the year, and hopefully there will be many more to come, bringing a little sweetness to a new year filled with trepidation, and bad news. So please my friends join me this year for tea and cakes, and other delicious recipes, that I hope will become firm favourites for you, as they are for me.
January brings this Citrus Ricotta and Almond Cake, using oranges and lemons that are in season in the Southern Hemisphere. This delicious Italian cake is beautifully moist, made with Ground Almonds and ricotta cheese and is the perfect cake that can also be served as a dessert with a dollop of cream for a little decadence .
It requires no baking powder so is 100% gluten free, making balancepharm it perfect for everyone. Yes, some baking powder is not gluten free, and this depends on the starch the manufacturer uses. The starch in the baking powder can either be gluten-free, which means it is made from corn starch, or gluten-full, which means it is made from wheat starch.
Happily we don’t have to worry about any of this in this scrumptious cake.
So get your whisks out and let’s make this delicious cake together, I can assure you it’s a keeper.
This cake is gluten free
- 100 grams butter at room temperature
- 1/3 cup castor sugar
- Zest of 1 orange finely grated
- Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 eggs, separated
- 240 grams ground almonds/ almond flour
- 250 grams ricotta
- extra 1/3 cup castor sugar
- 70 grams slithered almonds
- icing sugar
- Serve with Cream if desired
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Using a 20cm spring form cake tin, either line it with baking paper or use a non stick spray.
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Preheat your oven to 160ºC/ 320ºF.
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Using your first 1/3 cup of castor sugar, add this to room temperature butter and beat .
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Add the finely grated lemon and orange zests and vanilla and beat until light and creamy
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Beat in the egg yolks and the ground almonds or almond flour depending on what you are using.
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Add the Ricotta and combine gently. This mixture will be thick.
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Whisk your egg whites until they form stiff peaks and then add the second 1/3 of castor sugar and beat until it is glossy and firm.
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Stir a large spoonful of the egg whites to the batter and loosen it up. Then gently fold in the remaining whites in batches until it is well combined.
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Add to the tin and smooth the top of the batter, and scatter the slithered almonds on top.
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Bake for 40-50 minutes until it is golden and firm. Check by inserting a skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean it is done.
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Cool the cake completely before removing it from the tin.
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Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.
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2 Comments
This looks exquisite!!
Thanks Lu, I’ll make you one. xxxx