Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Ricotta Orange Pound Cake with Strawberries


I have been eyeing this recipe from Giada since I first saw her making it on Food Network. I have made a couple of Ina Garten's pound cake recipes, all of which are yummy. But I really wanted to test how ricotta can play into this recipe.


I did make three modifications to this recipe... not in purpose, really. But for convenience purpose. I didn't have cake flour on hand, so I decided to just use regular all-purpose flour. I measured 1.5 cups, and took out 2 TBSP out. I also substituted Amaretto for Grand Marnier, which I thought worked out well considering this recipe uses grated orange zest. And it did. Finally, I didn't have the exact pan that she used, so I used my bundt cake pan.
Overall, we really enjoyed this cake. Go ahead and try it, and let me know!!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature, plus more to grease the baking pan
1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 orange, zested
2 tablespoons Amaretto
Powdered sugar, for dusting
1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered or 3 oranges, cut into supremes

Directions
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. Stir to combine.

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, ricotta, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla, orange zest, and Amaretto until combined.

Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated. Pour the mixture 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 transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Using a mesh sieve, dust the cooled cake with powdered sugar.

Meanwhile, place the strawberries (or orange supremes) 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.

9 comments:

What's Cookin Chicago said...

Hmmm - I planned on using my ricotta for a lasagna but suddenly this looks like a better way to use it! :) Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

YUM! What great flavors! :)

h2babe said...

Hi Joelen--You can get both dinner and dessert ;-)

Mollie said...

So, I can use regular flour? Also, can I use just regular sea salt? I will try this..maybe even this weekend.....

Mollie said...

Another thing...I don't have an electric mixer. Can I do it all by hand? What are supremes?!

h2babe said...

Yes on the reg flour and salt.

h2babe said...

You can use regular whisk, just be patient. Make sure the butter is melted, and cooled to room temp. Supremes is the orange's flesh. You will get this when you peel off the skin, leaving the orange's flesh completelyintact and then section them...

Mollie said...

Thanks! I am going to try out this recipe tomorrow....I can get all ingredients here!!!! We have awesome oranges, too...so it should be really nice!!!!

Mollie said...

I made this recipe!!!

Here are some comments:

1) YUM, YUM! I shared it with a friend and she really liked it.

2) For the topping, I combined orange and strawberries. It was a good combination.

3) I did it without a mixer and it did not rise as high as Yudith's picture. It still tasted good, but I recommend the mixer.

4) Make sure you reserve the 1T of sugar! I added it by mistake.

5) I was short 1/8 c of ricotta, but no big deal.

6) I didn't have Amaretto or Grand Marnier on hand, so I used 1 Tablespoon of Almond flavoring. It added a nutty taste to the cake. Yum!

Great recipe Yudith!