When my kids were in elementary school, a few of the moms hosted a dinner for all the moms at the school and it was always a great evening. The menu was set by a mom who is a chef and everyone was sent a recipe for a soup, a main dish or a dessert. I love to bake and one year, I made the Raspberry Ricotta Cake from the Bon Appetit magazine March 2015.

My family loves this cake and because it is full of eggs, ricotta cheese and raspberries, I am happy for them to have it often (full of protein and fiber). I have modified the recipe slightly by increasing the ricotta from 1.5 cups to the full 16oz (2 cups) container (who needs a bit of ricotta left in the fridge). I also love the combination of raspberries and lemon so I add the zest from one lemon to the batter. Additionally I have made the mistake of adding the butter to the wet ingredients first and the cake turned out just as good. My kids eat it plain but I serve it with fresh raspberries and whipped cream to make it more fancy. It also is great with a dollop of lemon curd. It is a very easy cake to whip up for my book club friends and they love it!!

Raspberry Ricotta Cake

1 ½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp kosher salt
3 large eggs
2 cups whole milk ricotta (will work with part-skim as well)
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest from 1 lemon if desired
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup frozen raspberries or blackberries, divided (3/4 cup for the batter and ¼ cup sprinkled on top before baking)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9” round pan with parchment paper and give it a covering of non-stick spray.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
3. Whisk eggs, ricotta, vanilla and lemon zest (if using) in a medium bowl until smooth.
4. Fold in dry ingredients until just blended. Fold in melted buter, followed by ¾ cup of frozen raspberries, taking care to not crush them.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of raspberries on top.
6. Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Let cool before taking out of the pan. I leave it in the pan unless I am serving it to ‘special’ people!!
7. It keeps well in the fridge or can be stored tightly wrapped at room temperature for a day. It can be made the day before and I love that I can use frozen raspberries.