Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Orange and Ricotta Pound Cake


There is something wonderfully traditional about making pound cake. Pound cakes are simple to make, tasty, and a great canvas for additional flavor. You can serve it the most simple of ways - with a few strawberries and powdered sugar - or dress it up with chocolate or citrus glazes, fresh fruit coulis or homemade ice cream. This recipe caught my eye because it uses ricotta in the batter. Ricotta is a great way to ensure that a cake stays moist and gives that extra something to such a simple recipe.

Orange and Ricotta Pound Cake (adapted from Giada de Laurentiis)
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature, plus more to grease the baking pan
1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 orange, zested
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan with butter. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, ricotta, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla, orange zest, and Grand Marnier until combined. Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 45 to 50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Using a mesh sieve, dust the cooled cake with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

24 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

LOVELY pound cake!!

Coco Bean said...

LOVE orange
LOVE Ricaotta
LOVE pound cake...
this one is going in the save file.

Noodlegirl said...

omg I want some!

Elyse said...

Your pound cake looks fabulous. I just love what the addition of ricotta does for a cake. Man, oh man, how yummy!

Anonymous said...

What a lovely cake - I love the Grand Marnier flavor here!

Finla said...

Wow the cake looks so moist and delicous.
Wish i had a slice with my afternoon tea.

Anonymous said...

That cake DOES look good, I haven't tried making a pound cake yet though. I wonder, can you substitute anything for the Grand Marnier? Maybe some orange juice.

Debbie said...

I love pound cakes and are always looking for new ones....I will give this a try...thanks!

Anonymous said...

the cake looks yummy. how do you think it would do w/ the addition of some blueberries? combine well w/ the flavors already going or detract from them?

Deeba PAB said...

As good as it gets...all my fave things in one...YUM! Beautiful picture too!

CookiePie said...

Gorgeous!! And I do have some extra ricotta laying around that I was going to use for pancakes this weekend... but your cake looks too good!

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a delicious and moist pound cake. Love the orange and use of ricotta. Pretty cake!

Patricia Scarpin said...

That looks so light... I love orange cake but have never tried a ricotta one. YUM!

Chocolate Shavings said...

Jacquie: I think blueberries would work nicely with the base flavor of the cake. You could serve it with a chunky blackberry coulis and I'm sure it would be delicious. Let me know if you get a change to try it!

MaryBeth said...

Beautiful looking cake...so light but very full of flavor.

test it comm said...

That cake look nice and light and good!

Deborah said...

I love a simple cake like this one!

Liska said...

What a beautiful photo!

Amanda said...

Mmm that looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

This looks quite tasty. I couldn't agree more with your statement about ricotta helping to keep things moist.

If you have access to homogenized milk I highly recommend making some fresh - there is nothing quite like it (and it is super easy).

Anonymous said...

UN-homogenized milk that is (stupid automatic spell check).

I love the way technology has the uncanny ability to magnify the prevalence of my stupidity to completely new heights!

This is the second time today I looked at this post. Now I want a pound cake...

Anouk said...

ta photo m'as donné envie de le faire !
c'était super bon ... Victoria et Philippe ont adoré !

Anonymous said...

ta photo m'as donné envie de le faire !
c'était super bon ... Victoria et Philippe ont adoré !
Anouk

Olga said...

That looks so delicious!

I've made a pound cake a few times, but only using the "regular" recipe.

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