When it comes to grocery shopping, two things I really love are coupons and my local warehouse club (BJ’s for those on the east coast). I’m pretty frugal and both of these things help me to get great deals. Well, most of the time anyway… Sometimes, the excitement over using coupons causes me to do dumb things. Things like convincing myself that I need to buy an enormous container of whole-milk ricotta at BJ’s because I have a coupon and it’d be a great deal! That’s the downside to the warehouse club, especially with a family of only two people – you really need to be conscious not to buy more than you can use. Clearly I wasn’t this time so I found myself with this huge container of ricotta and in desperate need of recipes.
I turned to some of my cookbooks from the Italian chef herself, Giada de Laurentiis, because I knew she was bound to have some ideas for all of the ricotta. Sure enough, lots of options! I’d actually tried (and loved) Giada’s lemon ricotta cookies last year so I was intrigued when I saw this pound cake, yet another dessert recipe that used ricotta. The pound cake is flavored with lemon zest (Giada used orange zest but I only had lemons in the house) and Amaretto (an almond-flavored liqueur). Both flavors were subtle but lovely in this dense, moist cake. Macerated strawberries added a sweet, colorful finishing touch to the cake. I had to bake my cake about an extra 10-12 minutes beyond the time recommended in the recipe, so you really want to be sure to test the middle well before pulling the cake from the oven. Also, you aren’t going to want to use a loaf pan smaller than the one indicated if you’re making the full recipe or you may well end up with cake batter all over your oven. Some of the reviewers over at Food Network suggested a bundt pan for this recipe, which I think would also work well.
Ricotta Lemon Pound Cake with Strawberries
adapted from Giada’s Kitchen by Giada de Laurentiis
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
3 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons Amaretto
1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl whisk the cake flour, baking powder and salt to combine.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, ricotta, and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs one at a time, incorporating each before adding the next. Add the vanilla, lemon zest, and Amaretto and mix until combined. A little at a time, add the dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared 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 turn out and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, place the strawberries in a small bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Let sit until the juices have pooled around the strawberries.
To serve, slice the cake and serve with a spoonful of strawberries and their juices over the top of the cake.
Ha ha! I sometimes do that with buttermilk, as in “Why did I buy a quart when I need 3/4 cup”, and then I’m scrambling to use it up. This pound cake looks very versatile and delicious, and as a bundt would be very party-ready.
Ricotta pound cakes are wonderful things, and this one sounds absolutely awesome! I tend to just throw ricotta on almost anything, including granola at breakfast 🙂 Never any chance of it going bad before I finish a container off!
Looks scrumptious! Probably would not last very long with me. I bet the ricotta does keep it moist and creamy!
This cake looks so pretty and colorful. I love anything with lemon. I also like that this recipe uses cake flour. I’m sure that makes for a very tender cake. As for me and buying in bulk… sour cream. I go ga-ga over that stuff (my fav brand: Daisy because I understand the ingredients list which has less than 5 items in it). It’s so much cheaper when you buy it in a 5lb container :o)
Looks very moist and delicious. I love lemon in desserts.
You had me at poundcake.Poundcake with ricotta, I have never tried it-it’s on my list now though!
Love ricotta. I would have no problem finishing it off because I eat it right out of the container. It’s great on pizza. I’m going to book mark this pound cake and make it sooner rather than later.
I have the same issues with coupons/warehouse clubs… I NEED to have the 10 pound bag of almonds and then have no idea what to do with them. But they were cheap!! I think this pound cake was definitely worth it, though… I’m a pound cake lover, so I’ll definitely try this recipe. Yum!
My mom shops at BJ’s for all of the family needs and I am constantly going over to my parents house just to look in her fridge and cupboard and see 5 pound bottles of things that she bought. Just cause.
To be fair, I would be doing the exact same thing.
This pound cake looks amazing! Beautiful crumb!
beautiful photos. time to make some lasagna 🙂
Your cake looks really yummy. No ricotta here, but I have plenty of strawberries (and raspberries) from my local warehouse club to use up. I can see how having coupons as well could be dangerous. =)
I was in the same ‘predicament’ as you a few wks ago, so I made Giada’s lemon ricotta cookies and Blueberry ricotta cheesecake squares 🙂
not such a bad thing to have too much of lool
These look lovely. Why aren’t we cooking from Giada’s book together more often? I made three things this week alone from her books. Love Giada’s recipes. What should we make? Pick one and let me know. It can even be lunch as Matt is home for lunch this summer.
Wow… the photo is stunning. Can I ask what camera you use? I need to ditch this point and shoot…. and “upgrade” I think! The pound cake looks so dense – what I think of when I see a pound cake. And I love the ricotta factor – such a nice variation from butter or cream cheese – spectacular?
That looks really tempting! It’s fun to discover new recipes when you’re trying to use up ingredients.
Tracey, this cake looks moist and perfect. I bet it was absolutely fantastic with the strawberries. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Thanks everyone!
Mike – Since January I’ve been shooting with a Canon Rebel XS. Sometimes I miss my point and shoot, as crazy as that sounds, because I was so comfortable with it. It’s been a bit of a learning curve for the DSLR and I’m still trying to figure a lot out, but I do love it!
That cake looks wonderful, what a great way to use up leftovers! I’m glad we always go to our warehouse store (Costco here) together so Josh can remind me that there are only two of us and we’ll never get through five pounds of cheese before it goes bad. I actually recently bought Giada’s newest book at Costco, though; the cookbook/magazine selection is a dangerous section of Costco.
Oh I think we’ve all done that before! But your excess ricotta was put to great use and your photos look lovely! Yum!
I think you found a great way to use up some of that ricotta. I’ve had the same experience with ricotta pound cake not being cooked in the middle and had to leave it in the oven longer than the recipe called for.
Mmmm Tracey’s Culinary Adventures website tastes so good..I hope to use some of these baking tips this summer and fall!
Just wonderful ideas on baking and cooking! Love the website!
Susanlang on hubpages.com
One of my favorite cheeses I love to find new recipes where I can use it.