LEMON RICOTTA CAKE WITH STRAWBERRY ROSE COMPOTE
LEMON RICOTTA CAKE WITH STRAWBERRY ROSE COMPOTE
Recipe
Ricotta is an incredible ingredient to bake with. The result is an intensely creamy and pleasantly tangy cake, which stays moist for days. The strawberry rose compote acts as a fresh and light topping, and is also delicious by itself or swirled into some Greek yogurt.
SERVES 12
FOR THE CAKE
180g butter, softened
180g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 eggs, separated
300g store-bought ricotta
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
250g ground almonds
50g plain flour
FOR THE STRAWBERRY ROSE COMPOTE
200g frozen strawberries, defrosted
2 tsp rose water
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tbsp honey
- Preheat oven to 160C fan bake. Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla together until pale, light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well between each addition. Refrigerate the egg whites to use in another recipe. Add the ricotta, lemon juice and zest and gently mix. Finally, add the ground almonds and flour and mix until just combined.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for approximately 50 minutes or until springy to the touch and a skewer comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
- Meanwhile, make the compote. Drain the defrosted strawberries and discard the liquid. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the strawberries, rose water, lemon juice and honey and simmer until the mixture comes to the boil. Turn down the heat and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally until it thickens up – about 5 minutes. Allow it to cool down until warm but not hot.