Lemon ricotta cake - Eat Well Recipe - NZ Herald (2024)

FAQs

Why did my ricotta cake sink? ›

Why did my ricotta cake sink? This is most likely the result of too much liquid in too small of a pan. This recipe was developed using a 9-inch (23 cm) pan. If you need to use a small pan, I recommend dividing the batter between two cake pans.

Add the lemon zest and sugar to a large bowl. Use your fingers to massage the zest into the sugar until it's fragrant and moist. Next, add in the lemon juice, olive oil, ricotta, eggs, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add flour, baking powder, and salt to the egg mixture.

Cakes sink in the middle due to several reasons. One reason is that the cake batter might be too moist, causing it to collapse during baking. Another reason could be that the oven temperature is too low, leading to uneven baking. Opening the oven door too frequently while baking can also cause cakes to sink.

Most cakes begin with creaming butter and sugar together. Butter is capable of holding air and the creaming process is when butter traps that air. While baking, that trapped air expands and produces a fluffy cake. No properly creamed butter = no air = no fluffiness.

Cream cheese: Cream cheese is made with milk and cream, while ricotta is made with just milk. The lower fat content makes the latter cheese slightly less creamy. However, cream cheese can still be substituted for ricotta.

Unlike many other pink Champagne cake recipes, the Madonna Inn variation features a cloud of whipped cream topping instead of the more common buttercream. “It's so light, fluffy and delicate,” Kelly Murga, the Madonna Inn's former head pastry chef, says.

Your oven temperature was too low. Cake requires precise temperatures to cook properly to allow the batter to rise slowly, then set fairly quickly once it reaches maximum volume. If the temperature is too low, the batter rises, but won't set so the structure of the batter collapses before it does set.

My cake has sunk in the middle.

There are three main reasons for this: a/ the oven door has been opened before the cake has set, b/ the cake didn't go in the oven as soon as the mixture was ready or c/ there's too much raising agent.

When cakes are over-leavened, cakes can rise too quickly and then fall. The best way to ensure cakes get the perfect amount of leavening is to measure them out accurately, according to your recipe. Also if you are using older baking powder or baking soda it may not be active any more.