Lemon Ricotta Olive Oil Cake

I've been trying my best to stop wasting food and to eat everything in my fridge before I go grocery shopping. This has made for some pretty creative and not always successful dinners. I've had half a tub of ricotta cheese sitting in there from a lasagna I made and a ton of lemons waiting to be used, which was why I decided to make this cake!

I've been on this strange dessert binge where I need to eat something sweet after every meal. I mean, i've always been this way, but usually just after dinner. Now, i'm wanting cake after breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My husband has also noticed this new habit of mine and nicely tried to point it out. Naturally, I told him to mind his own business. 

This cake is very easy to pull together and you can top it with some whip cream or mascarpone cheese. I topped it with raspberries, but feel free to use whatever berries you have!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup full fat ricotta
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Confectioners sugar for dusting
• Berries to top

WHIP CREAM

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoon granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the ricotta, oil, sugar, and zest together. Add one egg at a time and whisk until everything is incorporated
3. Sift together your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl
4. Pour your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and fold your batter until everything is combined. Do not over mix or your cake will turn out too dense!
5. Pour your batter into a cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the cake cleanly
6. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing it. Let it finish cooling on a wire rack for another hour.
7. Make the whip cream while the cake is cooking by adding your whipping cream and sugar in your stand mixer bowl. Use your whisk attachment and beat until soft peaks form
8. Make sure your cake is completely cooled before dusting powdered sugar on it. Serve with a big dollop of whip cream and berries!