Amaretto Ricotta Cake with Fresh Whipped Cream

Can I just say, I love Amaretto?! I first tried Amaretto almost 15 years ago. It was one of the test cake flavors for our wedding cake. I fell in love with the sweet almond flavor and made our entire cake Amaretto with a Bavarian cream filling. It was divine! It is still my favorite cake to this day, and I bake a LOT of cake. I adapted my own version and added ricotta cheese to give it a rich and creamy texture. It's a perfect cake for summer.

This morning when I woke up I was craving my Amaretto Ricotta cake. The sweet hint of almond matched with the silkness of the indulgent ricotta filling makes this cake irresistible! It was brunch for us this morning...after all it does have eggs and cheese...so that counts, right?

I made some vanilla bean whipped cream and took the fresh cherries I just picked up from the market on top. The sweet cherries paired with the fluffy whipped cream and then the creamy and smooth amaretto cake is delectable. My mouth is watering just thinking about...I might just have to go for another slice! ;)

Oh you will definitely want to add this to the TOP of your summer baking list!

Amaretto Ricotta Cake with Fresh Whipped Cream & Fruit (cherries) Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 stick of unsalted softened butter (I use Vital Farms)
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons Disaronno Amaretto liqueur
3 large eggs (I use Vital Farms)
1 teaspoon Nielsen Massey vanilla bean paste (Or good quality pure vanilla extract)
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur Organic)
2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 15oz container whole milk ricotta (I used Publix Greenwise)

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter an 8" springform pan (I used an 8" cake pan with removable bottom). In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla bean paste, and amaretto. Sprinkle the baking powder and pinch of salt over the mixture and incorporate. Add half of the flour, followed by half of the ricotta, then the rest of the flour, and finally the rest of the ricotta. Stop mixer immediately and fold in by hand being careful to not overmix the dough, which will make it a tough cake if done. Pour batter into pan and spread evenly. Place in center rack of oven and bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (I used convection). Let the cake stand for 20 minutes then take out and plate. Top with a sprinkle of confectioners sugar, fresh whipped cream, and whatever fresh fruit you have on hand (berries, cherries, peaches all work well).

Fresh Whipped Cream:
1 pint (2 cups) heavy whipping cream (I use Organic Valley)
3-4 Tablespoons confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon of Nielsen Massey Vanilla bean paste or quality pure vanilla extract

Whip heavy cream in stand mixer until soft peaks are formed. Fold in powdered sugar and vanilla and serve atop cake! Enjoy!








*recipe adapted from www.cookingclassy.com

                                  Our Wedding cake! Eight double tiered Amaretto with bavarian cream filling.