If you love lemon, this cake is for you! It’s the ULTIMATE gluten free lemon ricotta cake, composed of moist, not-too-sweet lemon ricotta cake layers (inspired by Kendra’s lemon ricotta cupcakes), filled with whipped ricotta + cream, lemon glaze, and heaps of tart lemon buttercream. It’s got every form of lemon you can think of and makes for a sunny, cheerful cake for any occasion. In this case, one of my roommates, Verity, requested a non-chocolate cake for her recent 30th birthday, and after learning from her brother that one of her favorite cakes is lemon drizzle, I knew that turning Kendra’s lemon ricotta cupcakes into an actual layer cake with lots of fillings was the way to go. Thankfully, the birthday lady approved of the cake (we surprised her with the fully-decorated layer cake the evening of her birthday), and we ended up bringing the whole thing to the restaurant and the staff were absolutely wonderful and brought it out just at the end of dinner. Here’s to Verity’s 30th, and many more, and getting to bake for the people who matter most in our lives.
Tips for a glorious gluten free lemon ricotta cake:
- Go all out on the lemon! You literally cannot add too much (okay, just don’t add like a cup of zest) so if you want to add a bit more zest or juice or extract, go for it! One of my biggest pet peeves in baking is not having a full flavor of whatever it is the dessert says it is, like a hint of pineapple or a whiff of passionfruit. If the baked good has lemon in its name, then it better gosh darn taste like an explosion of lemon.
- Freeze your cake layers before constructing! I let my cake layers cool completely, then slice them into the appropriate layers (instructions below), then wrap them in plastic wrap and pop them in the freezer for a few hours so that they’ve firmed up/frozen. This will really help with constructing because your cake won’t be soft/will be easier to frost, and the cold cake will also firm up the buttercream instantly, essentially gluing your cake in place.
- Serving: I recommend serving this cake at room temp (not chilled/frozen) – the flavors and textures are sooooo much better at this temperature!
If you love lemon a lot, check out these other treats: Kendra’s lemon ricotta cupcakes, my strawberry lemonade cake, these raspberry lemonade bars, these classic lemon bars, these lemon saffron muffins, these lemon raspberry muffins, this lemon poppyseed bundt cake, or these lemon poppyseed shortbread bars!
Gluten Free Lemon Ricotta Cake
Equipment
- Three 9-inch round cake pans
- Piping bags and tips
- Cake scraper
- Palette knife
- Electric mixer
- Three cake pan strips
Ingredients
For the cakes layers:
- 4 large eggs plus one egg whites
- 2 ½ Cups white sugar 596g
- 1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp canola oil 300ml
- 2 ¼ Cups ricotta 573g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract 5ml
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice 30ml
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest 9g
- 3 tsp lemon extract 15ml
- 2 Cups gluten free 1-1 flour mix (415g) with xanthan gum in it if your mix doesn't have xanthan gum, add 3/4 tsp now
- 1 Cup almond meal/flour 67g
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
For the lemon glaze:
- 1/4 Cup lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 3/4 Cup powdered sugar
For the ricotta filling:
- 250 g ricotta
- 300 ml double/heavy cream
- ½ Tbsp powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp vanilla
For the lemon buttercream:
- 3 Cups salted butter room temperature
- 5 Cups powdered sugar 132 per cupg
- 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon extract
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- yellow food coloring optional
Instructions
For the cake layers:
- First, preheat the oven to 350° and start soaking your cake pan strips in a large bowl of cool water. Then make the cake batter! In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, ricotta, vanilla and lemon extracts, lemon juice, and lemon zest until smooth. Add in the gluten free 1-1 flour mix, blanched almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk until just-mixed. Add the yellow food coloring if using and mix to combine.
- Squeeze the excess water from your cake pan strips then affix them to each of the three 9-inch round cake pans. Then grease the pans with butter or cooking spray and pour the cake batter evenly into the two pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely before turning out, then wash and dry the cake pans and carefully wrap each cake layer in two layers of plastic wrap and return the wrapped cakes to the cake pans, then freeze for at least two hours.
To make the fillings and frosting:
- First, the frosting. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the room temp butter for 1-2 minutes until fluffier, then add 1 cup of the sifted powdered sugar, and the vanilla and lemon extracts, lemon juice, lemon zest, and yellow food coloring, and beat to combine. Then continue adding the remaining powdered sugar until the frosting is thick enough to frost with and the flavor is to your liking, then set aside.
- Make the lemon glaze! Combine all of the glaze ingredients in a small bowl and stir until smooth, then set aside.
- Make the whipped ricotta! Whip the heavy cream (or double cream in the UK) in a medium bowl until medium peaks form. Add in the ricotta, powdered sugar, and vanilla and whip to combine until stiff, then set aside.
Construct the cake:
- Once the cake layers are frozen, carefully unwrap the plastic wrap, and prepare a cake decorating stand. Place one of the cake layers on a cake board on the cake decorating stand. Then frost the layer with a thin layer of the lemon buttercream, using a palette knife to smooth the frosting. Then scoop some of the buttercream into a piping bag and cut a 1/2 inch opening in the tip. Pipe a ring around the edge of the cake layer as a barrier and fill the circle with half of the whipped ricotta. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of the lemon glaze on top of the whipped ricotta. Then place a second cake layer on top of this and repeat the layer and ring of buttercream, whipped ricotta cream, and lemon glaze. Then place the final layer on top.
- Crumb coat the entire cake with more of the lemon buttercream, then freeze or chill the entire cake for 15 minutes to set the cake and the frosting. Remove the cake from the freezer and add a final layer of the lemon buttercream. Scoop the excess buttercream into a piping bag with a tip of your choice. Pipe buttercream around the top and bottom edges of the cake. Then freeze for 10 minutes to set the frosting.
- Add any other decor desired like fresh flowers or lemon slices. Store in the fridge and then let it come to room temperature before serving. Store leftover cake in the fridge.
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cake!
Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber
