orange ricotta cake with olive oil and cardamom

My daughter and aunt have both experimented with various olive oil cakes, so I thought it would be fun to give it a try. A friend’s daughter made us an amazing ricotta cake a while back, so I attempted to combine all these ideas into one cake, and this is the result. This orange ricotta cake with olive oil and cardamom is a moist cake with a tender crumb, and it features subtle hints of orange and cardamom. Perfect with a cup of your favorite tea!

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Orange ricotta cake ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• zest from two large or three medium oranges
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 teaspoons powdered sugar for dusting

Orange ricotta cake instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a nine-inch round cake pan. Set aside.

Place the sugar in a medium-sized bowl and gently massage the orange zest through it until it resembles damp sand. Add olive oil and mix on medium speed for one minute. Add eggs, ricotta, juice, and extract. Mix on high speed until well combined, another minute.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, cardamom, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the olive oil mixture and mix just until combined, another minute.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly. Let it cool 5-10 minutes and then remove from the pan and transfer to a plate. Once it’s completely cool, dust with powdered sugar. I find that ricotta cakes really don’t need a glaze because they’re already so moist. A dusting of powdered sugar finishes it off nicely. Enjoy with your favorite cup of tea!

Store the cake, covered, for a few days at room temperature.

Let me know if you try this easy recipe! I hope you enjoy it.

As empty nesters, my husband and I prefer cake recipes like this one that only make a nine-inch round cake. My husband has more will power than I do, so if I make a larger cake then I end up eating far too much of it!! This size is perfect, even if you have a few guests. There won’t be a ton of leftovers to tempt you throughout the week. 🙂

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Fondly,

Crysti