Louisa's Cake
Author Notes: Louisa is a family friend, gardener and chef from Castellina in Chianti, Italy, where we gather several times a year. She cooks everything from memory and threw this together one night last spring. When we pressed her for the recipe she hastily rattled some ingredients off and we scrambled to write it all down on a napkin. Along with my husband and children, we've tested this cake about 6 times, and friends are constantly asking for the recipe. —SML Office —Jennifer Wagner
Food52 Review: Only a true Italian nonna could produce something this ethereal with such a simple list of ingredients. SML Office got the recipe for this cake from a family friend in Chianti (Louisa), and to us it's the epitome of a classic Italian dessert. It's airy and light, but not without integrity: ricotta, eggs and plenty of butter give it richness, grated apple lends heft, and lemon zest rescues it from being at all bland. The cake is gently sweetened, and thus equally suited to breakfast and dessert. We think it would be great with something tangy and fresh, like a fruit compote -- and rhubarb season is coming up! - A&M —The Editors
Serves 6
-
9
tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
-
1
cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
-
3
large eggs
-
1 1/4
cups all-purpose flour
-
1
pinch salt
-
1
cup fresh ricotta
-
Zest of 1 lemon
-
1
tablespoon baking powder
-
1
apple, peeled and grated (should yield about 1 cup)
-
Confectioners' sugar for serving
- Heat the oven to 400° F. Butter and flour a 9- or 10-inch springform pan.
- Cream the butter and sugar in a standing mixer until light and fluffy.
- On the lowest speed, add the eggs one at a time.
- Slowly add the flour, salt, ricotta, lemon zest, baking powder, and apple.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and the sides start to pull away from the pan.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan and cool completely on the rack. Sift confectioners' sugar over the top or serve with your favorite seasonal fruit.
- Your Best Recipe with Fresh Ricotta Contest Winner!
More Great Recipes:
Cheese|Fruit|Dessert|Spring|Summer|Fall|Winter|Christmas|Easter|Fourth of July
Showing out of comments
3 days ago Debbie
So delicious and easy. Will definitely be making again and again!
3 days ago Laura Wolfgang
This cake is incredible!
12 days ago keithcancook
Fantastic cake,so easy to make!
16 days ago ravi kumar
Thank you so much for sharing
about 1 month ago susan sumner
Made this last night...so easy and soooo good. Not a last minute cake as you do need to make sure that the wet ingredients are room temp, but given it is no fail and 15 minutes to prepare, it will definitely be on my go to list from now on...actually going to have a piece for breakfast now.
about 1 month ago Rachel Pope
Oh, my gosh, I just made this again to rave reviews and then had to share the recipe with a friend from Maine and another from Pennsylvania. This time I made a Driscoll's Raspberry sauce and whipped cream to "gild the lily!" It was divine!
about 1 month ago JulieBee
where has this recipe been all my life? how did i miss this? the only reason i found it was i saw a tweet about the 'most saved recipe ever" on food52.
i have made it twice. it is so easy. it is so incredibly delicious. it is elegant to look at just sitting there with powdered sugar clinging on top.
oh my goodness, what a find!
about 1 month ago Jodi Gallant
This cake is amazing. I serve with a dollop if homemade whipped cream and fresh berries. For some reason, I’ve noticed the cake tastes even better the next day - it gets more moist.
about 1 month ago Linda D
Thank you for sharing this flavorful and delicious cake, Jennifer. We enjoyed the first piece warm-yum!
about 1 month ago petaltown
I brought this to a gathering after a large memorial service for a beloved artist. It was the only dessert. The texture of this cake is very moist but holds together very solidly. Instead of wedges, I cut off two edges and cut the rest into neat squares. Like the loaves & fishes, it fed a lot of people. It was the kind of cake you could hold in your hand and eat, nice for buffet-style serving.
about 2 months ago Corj
A lovely, simple but memorable cake. Buttery lemon flavor, pillowy moist crumb. Had made it the afternoon prior, left it out on counter. Mine sank in the middle while cooling but that moister, custardy bit was actually a bonus in the end. Served it dusted with confectioner's sugar with a side topping of whipped heavy cream mixed with Greek yogurt (I whip my cream 75% of the way, add 25% Greek yogurt, vanilla & sugar and continue whipping) + raspberries. Four of us polished off the cake at lunch. Will be making this again.
3 months ago Jaime Capobianco Smith
I made this this weekend and it was amazing! My oven actually took the entire 30 minutes and came out perfect! Such a light and easy dessert!
3 months ago Deborah Klein
So I had a problem with this cake starting to burn. What did I do wrong. Had to take it out at 23 minutes! 400 degrees and the oven is fine.
3 months ago Michelle Grytzelius
Mine started to brown too quickly too. I just covered it with aluminum foil to prevent the top from burning. Came out great!
3 months ago Deborah Klein
It may be the nonstick dark grey spring form pan I used. The problem with being too well done was on the sides and bottom edges.
3 months ago Christine
Made this lovely cake earlier in the week, it is terrific. Followed recommendations below to have ricotta, butter and eggs at room temp before starting. Also grated a Granny Smith and then squeezed it in a paper towel to remove some moisture.
3 months ago Robby
I really would like to cook this beauty. Is it possible to have the ingredients measured in grams? Many thanks
about 2 months ago Rita Ponessa
I used a conversion chart and it worked fine.
3 months ago foofaraw
Did nobody notice that the lady's name on her apron is Loesia instead Louisa?
3 months ago Luisa
I knew it couldn't be Italian spelled Louisa. Lol, thanks for pointing out the obvious..I never scrolled the photo's
3 months ago Luisa
By the way, I made the cake and it was easy, light and delicious. I had some frozen granita type ice with mango's, raspberries, peaches, ginger syrup on the side. Everyone got up to grab 2nds.
3 months ago Luisa
I think someone gave her the apron with "how they thought" it was spelled. Misspelled. As a gift. Happens all the time.
3 months ago Änneken
This was a breeze to make and a joy to devour. I brought to a dinner party and everyone loved it!
4 months ago Kathryn's Kitchen
My son and I just made this lovely cake after I got home from work. The aroma in the house is lovely and the cake Simply Delicious. We took items directly from the fridge and used them, grated two Gala apples and added them without straining, poured the batter into a buttered and floured bundt pan and popped it in the oven. It came out perfectly. After Cooling we frosted it with pomegranate juice flavored whipped cream and it was Sublime
4 months ago Gwen Van Kleef
The comments on this thread are very helpful. Can't wait to try this!
4 months ago Le Genou de Claire
I made this cake twice already, it is delicious! Thanks for the tips below, it came out perfectly cooked each and every time by:
* Ensuring everything is at room temp (incl eggs, and ricotta -- see below)
* Strained the ricotta from the whey that may have accumulated (straining also ensure that ricotta comes up to RT)
* Straining the juice from the apples (I have used Honeycrisp and Granny Smith, both turned out great).
* Creaming the butter, egg, and ricotta well (I use stand mixer, with whip attachment, for several minutes until the batter turns really white)
I also use 8x8 baking pan, spreading the batter thicker toward the side rather than having it level all over. I bake it 400 F in convection oven for 25 minutes, and finish it with a few minutes of broiler setting to brown the top if needs to. The middle will still jiggle, but when a toothpick inserted comes out clean, the cake will continue to solidify/cook on the countertop.
Showing 26 out of 350 comments