Easy Raspberry Ricotta Cake

Flavour & texture: A wonderfully moist, rich vanilla cake that is studded with wonderful sweet berries. A moist crumb that is slightly dense yet airy. Add optional white chocolate for extra sweet chocolatey goodness.

Difficulty: /5. This recipe is really simple just mix, transfer into a pan and bake.

Time: Just over 1 hour you’ll have a wonderful dessert to share.

Versatility: You can substitute with berries of your choosing. Frozen or fresh, both work!

Fresh ricotta: Full-fat ricotta is recommended as it adds richness and moisture to the cake. You can substitute for low fat but be aware that the results may vary.

Fine caster/baker’s sugar: I prefer to use fine caster/baker’s sugar in the cake as it creams nicely with the butter and dissolves quicker. With sharp edges, to cut through fat (in this case butter), cake or cookie batters become aerated more rapidly. Using caster sugar will also prevent a cake from cooking with a speckled crust. Yes, you can add granulated sugar but you can also make your own caster sugar! Simply add to a blender and… blend! The smaller the granule size means it’s quicker to dissolve.

Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract is not necessary for the structure of this or any baking recipe. However, leaving it out will change the flavour, some recipes more than others. Vanilla in baking is like adding salt to savoury foods, it enhances all the other flavours in the recipe. Without it, cookies and cakes don’t have the richness that we know and love. Extract or Vanilla bean paste is what I use and recommend. The extract is a natural product, but the essence is synthetic and doesn’t have the rich flavour you need.

Salted butter: A good butter brand is best. I use a lightly salted grass-fed butter therefore add no salt in this recipe. Yes you can use unsalted but add 1/4-1/2 tsp salt.

Large eggs: Large eggs are always recommended when baking so that they give consistent results every time and you avoid having an ‘eggy’ taste. Use eggs in cartons labelled “large eggs” which are 55 – 60g / 2 oz each. This is an industry-standard and most international bakers’ recipes use this size. In a pinch and have larger eggs? Crack an egg into a bowl, whisk then measure out 50 ml / 48-50 grams. Ta-dah!

Plain flour: Nothing fancy here, just your good ole all-purpose/plain flour. This recipe is old school but that being said if you want, you can swap it out for a gluten-free blend! Or, if you want to make it healthy-ish, you can try out wholemeal/wheat flour too! Be aware that different flour blends may create different results therefore you may need to tweak them.

Baking powder: The classic leavener you’ll need when it comes to most cakes, cupcakes and muffins. The ratio of flour to baking powder is lower to give you just enough aeration but leave with you a slightly denser cake.

Raspberries: fresh or frozen! You can even substitute for other berries.

(optional) white chocolate: Any chocolate works really but there is something magical about raspberry and white choc.

Powdered icing sugar: A little dusting of sugary snow makes it look a touch more professional. Pssst it also hides any imperfections or slightly browned bits! No one will know.