Ricotta Orange Pound Cake
Description
Brock was away all week, so Tuesday night my in-laws joined us for Tuscan Baked Chicken and Beans and orzo, Wednesday was leftovers, Thursday my parents came over for some Saturday Night Special that I had in the freezer, Friday my sister-in-law invited us over and today, even though Brock made it home, we’re finishing up the leftovers with some Caesar Salad and having a movie night with the girls. It’s their birthday next week, so there will be a lot of cooking – though mostly cake. This recipe is Giada De Laurentiis’ and I found it in the Food Network Magazine.
Ingredients
Ricotta Orange Pound Cake
3/4 c. butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c. ricotta cheese (I used an entire 425 g container)
1 1/2 c. + 1 T. sugar
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
zest from 1 orange
2 T. amaretto
1 1/2 c. cake (and pastry) flour
2 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
icing sugar for dusting
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 and heavily butter a 9 x 5 loaf pan – use parchment as well and butter that also…this is a tough recipe to get out in 1 perfect loaf, but so worth the effort! Using your electric mixer, cream together the butter, ricotta and sugar and beat it for about 3 minutes until it’s fluffy. With the mixer on low, add in the eggs one at a time and mix well in between, then add in the vanilla, orange zest and amaretto.
In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and then add to the wet mixture a bit at a time until it’s just blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 55 to 60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center – a full hour works for me. The outside crust gets disconcertingly dark, but still make sure to test the middle.
Allow the cake to rest in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning it out onto a rack to cool, then give it a good dusting with icing sugar before serving. Very tasty.
- Category: Loaves, Orange, Ricotta
