Strawberry Ricotta Cake is the most delicious Italian-inspired dessert. The rich ricotta provides the cake with perfect moisture and density and the strawberries make the flavor pop. It’s like a combination between a cake and a cheesecake.
It’s rarely that I share dessert recipes with you guys.
Why?
I’m not much of a baker and we don’t really eat a whole lot of sweets around here. So, when I do create a dessert recipe, it needs to match these two criteria:
- It needs to be easy to assemble and bake.
- It needs to be not overly sweet, but super flavorful.
This Sicilian Ricotta Cake recipe definitely meets both of those requirements.
Growing up, my Nanu was the master of cannolis, a Sicilian dessert that consists of tube shaped shells of fried pastry dough that are filled with either cream or ricotta. Nanu would always make both versions, since there was a big debate in our family about which were best. I always preferred the ricotta filled cannolis, since they were a bit less sweet, but totally rich and creamy.
I love how ricotta lends a creaminess to desserts that isn’t overly sweet.
This Strawberry Ricotta Cake is almost like a blend between a delicious white wedding cake and a cheesecake. It’s dense and delicious, with a little bit of tang from the strawberries that are running through it.
This cake would be just as welcome at a weekend brunch as it would served as a dessert.
Ingredients needed
- Ricotta Cheese – Whole fat ricotta cheese.
- Strawberries – Since it’s not berry season, I used frozen strawberries in this recipe. You’ll note that I quarter the strawberries. It’s easy to do, even in their frozen state. Removing them from the freezer 10 minutes prior to slicing them really helps too. Note: Fresh strawberries will also work in this recipe. You can also use other fruits like raspberries, blackberries, blueberries or cherries.
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Butter
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Eggs
- Almond Extract – Don’t like almond flavoring? You could use vanilla extract instead.
How to make it
- Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, ricotta, melted butter and almond extract.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing to just combine (don’t over do it).
- Fold in the strawberries.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Recipe variations
- If you want to get extra fancy, you could give the cake a dusting with confectioner’s sugar.
- Don’t like almond flavoring? You could use vanilla extract instead.
- Try using other fruits like raspberries, blackberries, blueberries or cherries.
- Spice it up a bit and add in a dash of cardamom or cinnamon.
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Did you try this ricotta strawberry cake?
If you loved this strawberry and ricotta cake, I would appreciate it so much if you would give this recipe a ⭐️star review⭐️! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.
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Strawberry Ricotta Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups ricotta
- 1/2 cup butter (melted)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen, quartered)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-inch pan.
- In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine eggs, ricotta, butter and almond extract until smooth; add dry ingredients until just blended. Fold in strawberries.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until golden brown and when a tester comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Let cool, then remove from pan, slice and serve.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2019. It was updated in 2024 to add new information. The ricotta and strawberry cake recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
I’m obsessed with baking with ricotta or yogurt – the texture always turns out amazing. And Oregon strawberries are pretty much the most delicious food on the planet. The result is a match made in heaven (or in your oven, as the case may be)!
I totally agree – I cannot wait for fresh strawberry season, but in the meantime, this ricotta cake definitely gave me my fix!
Wow, this looks delicious and elegant! I can’t wait to try it. It will be great for Spring and Summer entertaining. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Monica – I hope you enjoy!
Oh yum, I adore Oregon strawberries and I like that this dessert isn’t overly sweet. Looks like just the right balance of sweet and savory for a ricotta cake.
Thanks Marlynn!
This is so simple and beautiful. The flavors totally appeal to me and I can’t wait to try it. I wonder if a squeeze lemon would be a good flavor touch in place of almond flavoring.
That would be amazing I’d think. Or you could leave the almond out entirely.
I omit the almond.
add the juice and zest of
1 organic lemon,
1tsp of van extract. Slightly different taste and the lemon really makes the strawberries pop!
You always create the such beautiful, cozy dishes, Erin, and this is no exception! I love the simplicity of this, and it looks delicious!
Thanks Renee!
Do I thaw strawberries
Hi Elizabeth – No need to thaw!
Can I use a bundt pan? Also have u ever added a glaze? Like maybe a lemon glaze?
Hi Amber – This would probably work in a bundt pan, but I haven’t tried that before. The glaze sounds amazing too. One thing to note, this is a moist cake, almost like a cheesecake, it can be a bit delicate…
I made this cake with fresh strawberries and put it in a bundt pan and it came out great! It was super moist!
Did you use the same amount of fresh strawberries as the recipe calls for frozen?
I was so disappointed in this cake. It was ok but for me too “cakey”. Middle of the night I realized it was probably (I’m sure) bc of my homegrown eggs. Eggs were more xlarge, all had dbl yolks and I ditched the extra yolks but was left with more egg white (we’re talking Big eggs!). Making it again today but will measure eggs to make sure of proper amount. Beware of your eggs!! I’m giving 5 stars because of user error
I am in a CV19 baking mode. I decided to try this cake since I had all the ingredients in the house except frozen strawberries. Both my husband and I grew up in Italian homes but never baked with ricotta before. I have been wanting to try something for a while and this was the perfect opportunity. I had fresh strawberries so I quartered a cup a sprinkled a little sugar on them and let them sit at room temp for about 20 minutes. Other than that I followed the directions except I did bake in my steam oven on Convection Humid mode at 325 for 43 minutes. It was a huge hit! This is a keeper recipe! Thank you for sharing!
You’re so welcome Janice!!!
I made this recipe ie with 1/3 cup white sugar and 2/3 cup brown sugar because we ran out of white sugar in the house. It still came out very good and very moist. Another change I made was instead of almond extract I used fresh lemon juice and it added a very nice flavor. We had it for Easter dessert and everyone was very pleased with it. It is such a simple recipe will be making it again.
I’m so happy to hear that you liked it Isabelle and that it worked with those substitutions!
I just took the Ricotta Cake with Strawberries out of the oven. It smells amazing !I just wanted to let you know it was very easy to make and I am going to be dreaming about it until I can cut myself a slice of it tomorrow. I am so grateful for your site. I look forward to making more of your recipes
Thanks so much for those kind words Melissa! Thank you for stopping by and I look forward to chatting with you again soon!
Question. What’s the 1 cup of under flour in the recipe? 1 cup of what?
Thanks.
Hi Carie – So sorry about that, there was a glitch with my recipe card. It is 1 cup of sugar. Thanks for catching that!
can fresh strawberries be used in place of frozen?
Hi Diana – Definitely! Fresh strawberries work perfectly too! You don’t need to make any adjustments.
This is my new “go to” recipe for an easy to pull together dessert. It’s practically as easy as a box cake! My guests loved it. It was so moist and yummy! I used fresh strawberries in my effort to make use of the bounty we have right now. I was a little worried about using the “melted” butter. I kept re-reading the recipe thinking that might have been a misprint, but it worked just fine. An advantage for the melted butter is that I don’t have to worry about putting the butter out to soften. Is there a reason you call for the butter to be melted?
I’m so glad you loved it Anita! It really is super simple. I’m with you on the butter, I melted it because I never have the patience or planning ahead skills needed to soften butter.
This cake was fabulous. I made this with my toddler who is crazy about baking and the moment. We increased the number of strawberries and I threw in shredded carrots (not that I recommend that per se but it seemed like an easy way to sneak in some veg and you would never have known they were in there.) Huge hit. Moist delicious and just the right amount of sweet. So easy your 2yo can do it!
I’m so happy you liked it!!!
Followed directions to the T, and it came out AMAZING! I would love to make it again, but I only have about a 3/4 cup of leftover ricotta. Would I be able to use plain yogurt to make up the difference? Since it’s plain yogurt, would the flavor be very off? Thanks!
Hi Nancy – It may be a bit more tangy with the yogurt, but I would give it a go. It could be absolutely delicious! I’d love to hear back on how it works!
Not sure how I stumbled on this recipe, but I am so happy I did! Cake is moist and delicious. Served dusted with some confectioners sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, and some fresh strawberries.
Used fresh strawberries instead of frozen and substituted vanilla extract for the almond.
The center is a bit underdone though. There was a lot, and I mean a lot, of batter in that pan. Wondering if a larger, more shallow pan would help?
This is a wonderful recipe! I’ve made it several times and have received loads of compliments. It’s delicious, easy, elegant, and pretty easy to make. Perfect!
Thanks Judy!
This is a fantastic cake. I have never bake a cake with ricotta and WOW. Outstandingly delicious. I used fresh strawberries and the called for almond extract. I did bake it for 60 minutes. The browned top was picture perfect. I’ll definitely make this again. I might even try it without fruit. Thanks, Erin, for a great recipe.
You’re so welcome Joan! Thank you for trying it!
Can you make this in a large glass pie plate?
Hi Donna – Yes, this would work in a pie plate. I would just keep an eye on the cooking time, since it may take a bit less time to cook than if using a metal pan.
Absolutely delicious. I had fresh cherries on hand – which always pair well with almond flavor so I made the recipe exact but did add some orange zest to the dry ingredients. I enjoy orange and cherry together. This is definitely a keeper. Hubs is still raving about it!
Thank you Alison!
Can you freeze this cake?
Barbara
Hi Barbara – Yes, I think this cake would freeze well!
Thank you for such a great recipe! I made it with gluten free flour, dairy free ricotta, and olive oil instead of butter – we loved it! This will be a regular in our house.
Thank you so much for trying it Wen!
This cake is delicious! I picked up a flat of fresh strawberries and wanted to use some for a dessert for a co-worker’s birthday. It was a hit, and I’ll definitely be making the recipe again (possibly tonight so I have one at home). I sprinkled turbinado sugar on top before baking, which gave it a beautiful crisp crust, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.
Thanks Cynthia!
I can’t wait to try this. As for the eggs, I too have chickens that lay eggs of various sizes. The average size of an egg in baking is 50 grams. I use a combination that approximates the total weight of eggs needed.