Easy (no flour) Almond or Walnut and Ricotta Cake
There's a local cake here in Puglia which is served in most of the traditional restaurants, made with almonds and ricotta. Just almonds, butter, sugar, ricotta and eggs. That's it. Oh, and a bit of vanilla or lemon zest if you like. It makes sense. Both almonds and ricotta are available in abundance here and the quality is unrivalled. This is my version of this delicious cake.
We have our own almond trees here at Terossa and we harvest about 20kg of almonds every year. And if I pop down to my local caseficio (cheese maker) I can pick up a punnet of ricotta made freshly that morning.
We also have two huge walnut trees, so sometimes, just for a change. I make this cake with ground walnuts instead of almonds. Both are completely delicious and easy peasy to make.
This recipe works equally well with either nut. And no need for fancy nut flours, just blitz the nuts in a food processor until you have a fine meal and Bob's your uncle!
Almond and Ricotta Cake - The Recipe
It's quick and so simple to make this cake and it's soft and moist and nutty.
Makes One large cake which serves 6 if you enjoy pudding or 8 if you're ok with just one slice
Takes About 25 minutes to make and 45 minutes to bake
You'll need a springform or loose bottomed round cake tin about 22cm in diameter. If you have a paddle mixer you can make it in that but I use a hand whisk and a wooden spoon.
The Ingredients
300g ricotta - you can use cow's, sheep's or goats ricotta. Or any blend of the 3.
170g almond or walnut flour (meaning ground nuts, doesn't have to be superfine flour)
180g/200g sugar - I don't have a sweet tooth so I usually reduce the sugar in most recipes. I use 180g but you could use 200g
4 eggs
110g butter - room temperature, nice and soft.
A dash of vanilla or the zest of one lemon (if you're using almonds) or a teaspoon of cinnamon (with walnuts) if you fancy.
Flaked almonds or chopped walnuts and icing sugar to decorate
The Making
Step 1
preheat the oven to 170 centigrade and grease your tin. You can line it with baking paper if you want but mine is super non-stick so I don't.
Step 2
Cream together the butter and the sugar until they are very smooth and light. You can add the cinnamon or lemon zest here if you're using it. Takes about 5 minutes.
Step 3
Separate the eggs - whites in a large bowl and yolks one at a time into the butter and sugar mixture and keep mixing until all 4 yolks are incorporated. If you are using vanilla extract, add it at the same time as the first egg yolk.
Step 4
Add the ricotta and keep mixing until the mixture is nice and smooth.
Step 5
Mix in the almond or walnut flour until you have a homogenous batter.
Step 6
Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks and then fold gently into the cake batter. Do this a little at a time and it works best to use a metal spoon or spatula.
Step 7
Pour the batter into the cake tin
Step 8
Bake in the centre of the oven for about 50 minutes, until the cake is firm and golden and a tester comes out clean. If it looks like your cake is browning after 35/40 minutes, you can cover it with foil to prevent it from becoming too dark.
Step 9
Let the cake cool in the tin for about 10 mins before sliding down the sides and placing it on a serving dish. Step 10
When the cake is completely cold, sprinkle with flaked almonds or chopped walnuts and you can dust lightly with icing sugar if you like.
This cake is best eaten on the day it's baked but is also good the next day. It's lighter and fluffier on the day it's made and goes slightly denser and more intense the next day. Both tasty.
The walnut version
Exactly the same cake but made with walnuts and cinnamon instead of almonds and vanilla. Just as delicious.
Comments