Ricotta Orange Pound Cake

It's been quite the hectic and crazy busy summer around here..... my oven hasn't seen too much action in the last several weeks....


Last week I found myself in desperate need of a piece of cake.


Something light, sweet, and easy to make.


Naturally, I turned to Giada.  Naturally. My obsession remains undiminished by the passage of time.....just in case you were wondering.


Cake therapy....if you will.


This was just what the doctor ordered... I think I'll have to make this therapy thing a regularly occurring habit.


I drizzled a simple orange flavored glaze over it.


And voila!  Simple.  Perfect.  Delicious.
Thank you Giada.  I needed that.



Ricotta Orange Pound Cake
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis and foodnetwork.com

Note:  I made a few major changes to this recipe.... the original has fresh fruit alongside it, and amaretto in the batter.  I didn't have any strawberries, and I have no amaretto in the house...so I simplified things a little.  A friend of mine made this cake for a cookout recently and used Cointreau instead of Amaretto, and it was also delish.  I think you would have to try pretty hard to screw it up....  You can find the original recipe on foodnetwork.com, or in 'Giada's Kitchen' listed by the same name.

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 (I used an entire 15 oz container)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 orange, zested

4 tablespoons orange juice
2 cups confectioners sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan.  (I used an 11" x 7" x 1 1/2" stoneware baking dish, and the baking time was unaffected, but if you sub out baking pans, make sure you do the toothpick test for done-ness... I have messed up quite a few cakes due to my need to change the called-for pan for something else.)

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 and orange zest, and mix until combined.

Add the dry ingredients, in three batches, 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.

Mix orange juice and confectioners sugar to the consistency that you would like.  Feel free to add either less sugar or less orange juice to suit your liking... Add more juice if glaze is too thick.  Drizzle over cake and eat.