The strawberry season kicks off in many parts of Germany in late April or early May. When the first strawberry stands start popping up, you know it’s finally that time of year again! It’s the perfect time to bake a delicious Strawberry Ricotta Cake! At least for me. It’s an incredibly simple cake that’s made truly delicious by juicy strawberries. If you want to celebrate the start of the season with some delicious berries, this treat is the one to bake!
When it comes to cakes and stuff like that, there’s no need to make life more complicated than necessary. All those cakes with fondant and other lavish decorations are great, sure, but they require a significant investment of time and effort… and then the guests normally devour that cake in the blink of an eye. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, of course, but basically, that’s how it always turns out. As soon as a cake like that hits the table and gets cut into, the pretty decorations are history.
A simple sponge cake like this ricotta cake is quick to make and still looks great on the table. And of course, it tastes spectacular too. Thanks to the ricotta, the cake is nice and moist. Well… and the strawberries add a lot of flavor. The combination makes this cake simply delicious!
Of course, beautiful, fresh, and ripe strawberries are essential for great flavors. The earliest strawberries available each year aren’t always quite as aromatic and sweet – it’s true, I did not make the rules. When strawberries in Germany aren’t yet ripe enough for harvest, they’re often imported from Spain or other warm regions of Europe. Even though the strawberries from there aren’t bad in general, of course – the early-harvested ones typically haven’t had enough time to develop proper flavors. Long transport routes certainly don’t help matters either…
So always test the strawberries first to see if the ones you’ve just bought are nice and sweet. A little strawberry snacking never hurt anyone, right? I mean after you’ve bought the strawberries, not before at the store or market stall. Unless, of course, the vendor gives you a sample to try.
Anyway. Making the cake is incredibly simple. The base is a basic sponge cake batter with a bit of ricotta added. Adding the cheese makes the cake nice and moist and helps it not dry out as quickly – just in case the cake has to sit out in the open for a while. Then you simply top the batter with halved strawberries, and after a short time in the oven, you’ve got something delicious to snack on.
Instead of strawberries, you could of course use other fruits or berries here. For example, we’ve already tried the cake with fresh raspberries, and it worked perfectly. I can also imagine the cake working well with other types of berries or thinly sliced apples. It’s important, though, that the topping you use softens and cooks through properly within the intended baking time. That should be the case with most types of fruit…
Anyone who knows me can probably imagine that we’ve already got several ricotta cake recipes on the blog. The simple cake batter is a great base for many cakes. Our Damson Plum Ricotta Cake is an excellent example. Really nice and moist and extremely delicious. Definitely a great option for late summer or fall.
For summer, I recommend our Easy-Peasy Ricotta Cherry Cake. As I mentioned before, you can use many berries and fruits for a cake like that – and cherries undoubtedly belong on that list. A truly delicious, yet extremely simple cake that tastes absolutely wonderful with a little whipped cream!
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
For the cake batter:
3.5 oz. (100g) butter
3/4 cup (150g) sugar (fine)*
3 medium eggs
8.8 oz. (250g) ricotta
1 tsp. vanilla extract*
1/2 organic lemon, zest & juice
2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour*
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
For the topping:
5.3 oz. (150g) strawberries, halved
some coarse sugar for sprinkling
some confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)
Für den Teig:
100g weiche Butter
150g Zucker (fein)*
3 Eier (L)
250g Ricotta
1 TL Vanille Extrakt*
1/2 Bio-Zitrone, Abrieb & Saft
260g Mehl (Type 405)*
2 TL Backpulver
1/2 TL Natron
1/4 TL Salz
Für den Belag:
150g Erdbeeren, halbiert
etwas grober Zucker zum Bestreuen
etwas Puderzucker zum Bestäuben (optional)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 23cm baking tin with a loose bottom* with baking parchment and grease lightly. Wash and dry the strawberries, remove the green parts and cut them in half. Set aside.
2. Add the butter and sugar to a large bowl and mix until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one after another and mix well after each addition. Next, add the ricotta, vanilla extract, lemon zest and juice, and mix until very well combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour with baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the large bowl and fold them in with a rubber spatula* – do not overmix.
3. Transfer the cake batter to the prepared baking tin and distribute it evenly, smooth out the top. Add the halved strawberries on top and sprinkle everything with some coarse sugar. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool down completely on a wire rack. When cooled, dust with some confectioners’ sugar (optional). Serve with whipped cream or vanilla custard.
1. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Eine 23cm Backform mit Hebeboden* mit Backpapier auslegen und leicht einfetten. Die Erdbeeren waschen, trocknen, das Grün entfernen und dann halbieren. Zur Seite stellen.
2. Butter und Zucker in einer großen Schüssel hell und luftig aufschlagen. Die Eier einzeln dazugeben und jeweils gut unterrühren. Ricotta, Vanille Extrakt, Zitronenabrieb und -saft dazugeben und gut unterrühren. Das Mehl mit dem Backpulver, Natron und Salz vermischen, dann zur großen Schüssel dazugeben und mit einem Gummispatel* unterheben – man sollte hier nicht viel rühren.
3. Den Teig in die vorbereitete Form füllen und glatt streichen. Die halbierten Erdbeeren gleichmäßig auf dem Teig verteilen und dann mit etwas grobem Zucker bestreuen. Den Kuchen für etwa 45-50 Minuten im vorgeheizten Ofen backen. Mit einem Holzspieß testen, ob noch Teig kleben bleibt, und den Kuchen erst herausholen, wenn dieser sauber herauskommt. Den fertigen Kuchen aus dem Ofen nehmen und auf einem Kuchengitter abkühlen lassen. Vor dem Servieren noch mit etwas Puderzucker bestäuben (optional) und dann mit Schlagsahne oder Vanillesoße servieren – jeder, wie er/sie mag.
Craving more? Keep in touch on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for new post updates and more. You can also contact me with any questions or inquiries!
Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
Easy Strawberry Ricotta Cake
- Prep Time: 00:15
- Cook Time: 00:50
- Total Time: 01:30
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Method: -
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This is one of our favorite cakes – easy to make and really delicious: a simple & easy Strawberry Ricotta Cake. The perfect cake for a picnic!
Ingredients
For the cake batter:
3.5 oz. (100g) butter
3/4 cup (150g) sugar (fine)*
3 medium eggs
8.8 oz. (250g) ricotta
1 tsp. vanilla extract*
1/2 organic lemon, zest & juice
2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour*
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
For the topping:
5.3 oz. (150g) strawberries, halved
some coarse sugar for sprinkling
some confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 23cm baking tin with a loose bottom* with baking parchment and grease lightly. Wash and dry the strawberries, remove the green parts and cut them in half. Set aside.
2. Add the butter and sugar to a large bowl and mix until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one after another and mix well after each addition. Next, add the ricotta, vanilla extract, lemon zest and juice, and mix until very well combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour with baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the large bowl and fold them in with a rubber spatula* – do not overmix.
3. Transfer the cake batter to the prepared baking tin and distribute it evenly, smooth out the top. Add the halved strawberries on top and sprinkle everything with some coarse sugar. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool down completely on a wire rack. When cooled, dust with some confectioners’ sugar (optional). Serve with whipped cream or vanilla custard.
Notes
Let’s get baking!
Links marked with an asterisk (*) are affiliate links (advertising/Werbung) to Amazon Germany. If you click on one of those links and buy something via this link, I will get a commission for that sale. The price of whatever you buy is not affected in any way by this.
