Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake with Berries

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This Lemon Ricotta Cake is moist, with a tender crumb, and has hints of lemon in every bite. A perfect Spring treat!

 

Lemon Ricotta Cake with berries and cream on plate

Lemon and Ricotta: A Delicious Pairing

I opened up our refrigerator on Saturday and found an opened container of ricotta cheese. I used half of it to make lemon ricotta pancakes and forgot about the rest. Luckily, it was still good, so I made a Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake with Berries. Josh asked what I was baking and as soon as I said lemon and ricotta, he was happy. There is just something magical about lemon and ricotta when they are paired together.

The pound cake is moist, with a tender crumb, and has hints of lemon in every bite. We served thick slices of pound cake with mixed berries and whipped cream. This lemon ricotta pound is perfect for spring. Serve it as an elegant dessert or as an afternoon snack with a cup of your favorite tea. Josh also enjoyed it for breakfast. Lemon Ricotta Cake really is delightful any time of the day.

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Lemon ricotta cake served with fresh berries

Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake with Berries

4.50 from 2 votes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more to grease the baking pan
  • 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar plus 1 tablespoon
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 lemons zested
  • 2 cups mixed berries fresh or frozen (if using frozen thaw before using)
  • Whipped cream for serving optional

Instructions
 

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan with butter. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
  • 2. Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, ricotta cheese,  and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and lemon zest and mix until combined.
  • 3. Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf 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 to 50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • 4. Meanwhile, place the mixed berries in a small bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Stir well and set aside until serving time.
  • 5. To serve, slice the pound cake and serve with a spoonful of mixed berries. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Have you tried this recipe?

Leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram. Tag @twopeasandpod and hashtag it with #twopeasandtheirpod

If you like this Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake, you might also like:

Lemon Ricotta Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod
Orange Ricotta Pound Cake with Strawberries from Gimme Some Oven
Chocolate Ricotta Pound Cake from Desserts for Breakfast

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Maria

I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!
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  1. Lemon and ricotta do go together perfectly. It looks like a perfect summer dessert with the berries and whipped cream!

  2. Yum! As I said with the pancakes- I just love what ricotta does in baking. SO yummy. Definitely reminds me that Spring/summer is coming

  3. I could eat this for breakfast right now. This sounds wonderful. I love using ricotta in baking. Everything is always really moist!

  4. Lovely! Lemon is one of my favorite flavors. This is also the first pound cake recipe I’ve seen that doesn’t use like 4 sticks of butter 😉 Thanks for sharing!

  5. Lemon plus ricotta does sound (and look) amazing!

    Have a great start to your week! : ]

  6. I have been obsessed with pound cake lately (made an orange version and cookies’n’cream!), but I have yet to try one with ricotta. This looks great!

  7. Looks like we are both on the same page with berries and cake today – looks great Maria!

  8. Mmm, I can’t get enough lemon flavor when the weather starts to improve. And I need a good pound cake recipe – I’ll have to give this one a try!

  9. Nice idea- I always seem to have leftover ricotta lying around. I want to make your pancakes too!

  10. I love pound cake. It’s one dessert I would splurge on occasionally. Your version looks delish!

  11. I’ve sooo got leftover ricotta and lemons in my fridge right now! And it’s been a LONG time since I made afull-sized dessert. I’m going to make this this afternoon! Thanks for the inspiration!

    Haha-I knew Paula (bell’alimento) would be all over this post! That girl loves her ricotta! 🙂

  12. Lemon cakes are my favorite–they are just so light and have that old fashioned charm. Also love those fresh berries!

  13. I wholeheartedly agree about the magical combo of lemon and ricotta. Not sure how it happens, but I just love that light, tender texture!

  14. I’m totally devoted to lemony, fruity cakes, and yours is right up my alley, Maria. Blueberry season starts in a couple of weeks where I live, and I must try this stunning recipe then!

  15. What a wonderful cake and lovely flavors! This is a must-try for soon. Thanks for sharing, Maria!

  16. What a fantastic summer cake! And whipped cream optional? Not in this house- more whipped cream please!!

  17. I’ve made this recipe in the past too – it’s great! Love your photo with the berries, very pretty 🙂

  18. That pound cake looks absolutely gorgeous and I feel like it will totally make me feel like spring is coming if I eat it, with all of the berries and fresh flavors!

  19. Looks beautiful! I can’t believe I’ve never made a pound cake before. This looks so good for spring 🙂

  20. I made your Lemon Ricotta pancakes last week for National Pancake Day for dinner, and have been wondering since what I should use the leftover ricotta and lemons for. This is PERFECT and I intend to make it tonight. 🙂

    Thank you so much!!

  21. Perfect!! Thanks so much for posting this, because I have leftover ricotta that needs to be used up soon! Can’t wait to make it.

  22. I love lemon and ricotta together. This pouncake looks so moist and just gorgeous with the fresh berries!:)

  23. This looks like the perfect dessert for Spring…lemon, ricotta and fresh berries ~ delicious!

  24. I just love using ricotta in baking, it makes things so light and moist, and of course lemon and fresh berries are a perfect combination.

  25. Gosh, this lemon ricotta looks so good! I can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing!

  26. I hardly ever eat non-chocolate desserts (hardly worth the calories), but this has me salivating. Looks luscious!

  27. Lemon pound cake reminds me of growing up. My mom made them in the summer and would make a strawberry sauce to go over them. Your cake looks moist and creamy … in other words PERFECT!!

  28. This pound cake looks delicious! It’s funny that you post this now. For the first time, on Sunday, I tried to make Giada’s recipe for Orange Ricotta Pound Cake. Unfortunately, I didn’t have your success because mine fell apart. Though, it did taste good. Hope I can figure out what went wrong. Maybe it is my oven. Oh, well! However, I also baked Giada’s recipe for Lemon Ricotta cookies with a Lemon Glaze. Thankfully, those were delicious!

  29. You know what know I feel silly. I just looked at your recipe again and saw that this is Giada’s recipe. It looks just like the one I made except with lemons instead of oranges. Her orange pound cake recipe also called for some amaretto. While making the orange pound cake recipe, I was wondering what it would taste like if I didn’t use the amaretto and used the lemon instead of orange. Some day I’ll have to try this recipe again with lemon.

  30. I’ve made this cake many times and it’s always a success.
    I love ricotta in ANYTHING! I can eat it out of the container!

  31. This looks amazing! Does this loaf freeze well? I want to make it ahead of time, but I just want to make sure it will stay moist and yummy!

    1. I’ve never tried freezing it, but I am sure it would be fine. It is a very moist cake.

  32. Had to have done something wrong. Ricotta was very dry.
    Cake overflowed loaf pan and did not fully cook. Look strange when mixing. Measured ingredients exactly. Cake flour was at expiration date. Could this be the culprit?? The outside edges tasted delicious. Oh! my mouth is watering.
    Will have to try making it again.

    1. Sorry, you had issues. The cake is very moist, not dry at all. The cake flour could have played into that.

  33. Made this pound cake and i LOVE it. I was thinking about making it for a bridal shower coming up – do you think it would hold up as a bunt as well?

    1. I’ve never made it as a bundt cake, but I am sure it would be fine. Let me know if you try it!

  34. Not sure if I did something wrong, too. It took almost 1:15 to bake and the top very dark – it looks almost burned… Is this normal, or did I mess this one up?

    1. Sorry! I’ve never had a problem. Next time you can try putting foil on the top if it is getting too dark and the center isn’t done.

  35. Amazing blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers?
    I’m planning to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
    Would you suggest starting with a free platform like Wordpress or go for a paid option?
    There are so many options out there that I’m completely overwhelmed .. Any tips? Many thanks!

  36. Made this today and had the same issue as another poster: After 45+ minutes, the top was brown but the inside was liquid. I bake on a regular basis and followed the recipe to a t, so I’m not sure what went wrong. Off to buy dessert for tonight’s gathering! 🙁

  37. I have made this recipe 3 times now, turned out great each time, it is quickly becoming one of my husband’s favorites. Nice with coffee

  38. I ran out of butter so I made this recipe with just 1 stick with homemade ricotta. LEGENDARY. Thanks so much for this simple and delicious recipe!

  39. I had to cook this 1hour 10 mins and put tinfoil on at end to keep from burning. But middle just wouldn’t cook. Ended up delicious though

  40. 5 stars
    I made this last night after seeing I had a large container of ricotta in the fridge that needed to be used – this was excellent! I also had fresh blueberries that I folded into the batter as well. Perfect balance for all the flavors and my favorite part was that it isn’t overly sweet. HIGHLY recommend making this!!