With half of a container of whole-milk ricotta cheese on hand (and a bottle of mead chilling in the wine fridge), I was immediately drawn to this decadent cake. With lemon-soaked sliced pears on top and chopped pears actually in the batter, you are bound to get a taste of ripe pear in each and every bite.
The combination of oil (no butter in sight) and whole-milk ricotta cheese give this cake a springy, golden crumb that is, well, irresistible. The recipe calls for a top coat of warm honey, but I stepped it up a bit and brushed the top of the warm cake with mead, a liqueur made from honey, that if I do say so myself, really gilded the lily. (Oh, and if you aren’t familiar with the source of this early Fall recipe, the phenomenal Bake from Scratch publication, and you love to bake, put it on the top of your list to become a loyal subscriber like I am.)
Happy baking!
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Pear-Ricotta Cake
Ingredients:
- Recipe Courtesy of September/October 2023, Bake From Scratch Magazine
- 1 medium red Bartlett pear (about 150 grams)
- 1 teaspoon (1 gram) lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 teaspoons (8.75 grams) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2/3 cup (133 grams) whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 1/3 cup (75 grams) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs (100 grams), room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (150 grams) chopped red Bartlett pear
- 1 tablespoon (21 grams) honey
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) water
- Garnish: confectioner’s sugar, optional
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Spray and 8-inch round cake pan with baking spray with flour. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper.
- Cut pear in half. Discard stem, and using a melon baller or spoon, scoop out core. Slice halves lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices. In a medium bowl, toss together pear slices and lemon juice.
- In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom.
- In a large bowl, whisk together granulated sugar and lemon zest until sugar resembles wet sand. Whisk in ricotta, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Fold in flour mixture until almost combined. Add chopped pear, and fold until fully combined and no dry streaks remain. Spread into prepared pan. Top with pear slices as desired.Bake until edges are golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs, 55 minutes to 1 hour and 5 minutes, covering with foil after 30 minutes of baking to prevent excess browning. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, Remove from pan, and place on a wire rack.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine honey and 1 tablespoon (15 grams) water. Heat on high in 15-second intervals, stirring between each, until honey is melted. Stir until combined. Using a pastry brush, brush honey syrup over warm pears on top of cake. Let cool completely on wire rack.
- When read to serve, garnish with confectioner’s sugar, if desired. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Tagged: Bake from Scratch, cake, dessert, Fall dessert, fall fruits, olive oil cake, pear cake, pear ricotta cake, ricotta cake, ricotta chese
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