As a kid, I was always interested in baking. I knew that if I figured out how to make chocolate chip cookies, I would be able to have them any time I wanted -  a kid's dream! Unfortunately, my first batch was inedible because I mixed the salt for sugar. Once I finally mastered how to make cookies, I decided to challenge myself and make a pound cake. I still remember getting the recipe from my American Girl cookbook and following each step carefully. This time I made sure all of the ingredients were the correct ones and successfully baked a delicious pound cake. Even when I make them now, I still remember that fond memory. Today, with leftover ricotta on hand, I decided to make an upgrade from regular pound cake to lemon ricotta pound cake with lemon glaze. Delicious!

Recipe

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Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

Yields 1 loaf cake

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake

Servings: 12

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Lemon ricotta pound cake

• ¾ cup softened butter
• 1 ½ cups ricotta
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Lemon Glaze

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
• Cream together butter, ricotta with sugar until light and fluffy about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time following by the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the ricotta mixture, stirring just until combined. Pour batter in the loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack.
• Mix together the powdered sugar with lemon juice until well combined. Spread the frosting on the cooled cake. Serve.

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

Pound cake actually got its name from the ingredients. Originally, it was made with a pound each of sugar, butter, flour, and eggs. All that butter and sugar produce a moist, dense dessert that's not overly sweet but just sweet enough. Add ricotta to the mix and you have a lighter cake that's incredibly moist.

The process of making this cake is very simple. Cream together the sugar with butter and ricotta, add the wet ingredients, then the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The cake will pull away from the sides of the pan, meaning it's ready.

While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. Beat together powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice until it becomes a lovely frosting. Pour the frosting over the cooled cake, slice, and serve! Just be sure that the cake is completely cooled or else the icing will run right off.

The lemon ricotta pound cake is delicious on its own but the lemon glaze makes it extra special. Easy to prepare and stays moist several days later, my kind of dessert!

For more cake inspiration check out this pumpkin apple streusel bread!