Ricotta & Olive Oil Cake

ByIan Akerlind

I know I spent most of last week complaining about the heat wave, and dog days, and sweating profusely, and my AC inflated electric bill… but… WHAT THE HECK! HOW IS IT ALMOST SEPTEMBER! WHERE DID THE SUMMER GO?! I BARELY ACCOMPLISHED HALF OF MY “FUN IN THE SUN BUCKET LIST“!!!

There were a few days this past week where I stepped out on my morning walk with Haku, felt the tease of crisp air, and simultaneously began drooling at the thought of an abundance of root vegetables; apples; fall herbs; and yes, even pumpkin, and mourning the upcoming loss of my beloved tomatoes, corn, berries, peaches, and summer squash. 

Upon frantically returning to my apartment, I shook my boyfriend, Niko, awake and damn near shouted “WE MUST HAVE A PICNIC BEFORE SUMMER ENDS” which was met with a confused/annoyed/sleepy groan, as he buried his head under the comforter, unwilling to hear me say any more. I stormed out of the room, plopped myself in front of my laptop and made a Google doc titled “YUMMY PERFECT END OF SUMMER PICNIC MENU” and began typing away…

  • Lemonade… lots of lemonade (make it pink with some strawberry puree?)
  • Summer squash and ricotta tart with preserved lemon
  • Wedges of watermelon sprinkled with chili
  • Potato salad, the German kind (sorry, I have a firm absolutely no mayo sitting in the sun rule)
  • Quartered tomatoes drizzled with almost too much olive oil, almost too much salt, and a sprinkling of za’atar
  • Dessert? Just more fruit? Snacking cake? What are the vibes?

I stared at this last bullet point for a while, unsure of what direction I wanted to go in to ensure a perfect finale for our Rest In Peace Summer Picnic. As I looked over my menu again, desperate for inspiration, words from other dishes began to jump out… ricotta… lemon…. too much olive oil… strawberry… and thus my Ricotta & Olive Oil Cake was born.

I start by massaging a full lemon’s worth of zest into the sugar to give the cake a bright citrus undertone, before adding the eggs and whipping the mixture into oblivion. Once it’s thick and light in color, I slowly stream in my olive oil. The more fruity, floral, or spicy your olive oil is, the better your cake will be. I recommend splurging on something of good quality here. The cake gets even more fat from a generous portion of ricotta, which ensures that it comes out incredibly moist. I developed the recipe to be the perfect-afternoon-snack vibe, making sure that it wasn’t too sweet. Once it has come out of the oven and cooled, I top it with more ricotta and my Black Pepper Strawberry Jam, to resemble the colors of your good old classic gingham picnic blanket, and to provide a bit of additional salt, sweetness, and spice.

It’s the perfect little bake for your penultimate picnics, barbecues, and rooftop hangs. We still have a few weeks left, so make sure you make the fricken most of it! I’ve got to spend some time crossing a few more things off the summer bucket list (lmk if anyone is trying to get queasy on the Coney Island ferris wheel after pounding a few Nathan’s Hot Dogs), but I’ll be back the next few weeks with a couple more summer vibes recipes before I start promoting maple-ginger-cinnamon-apple-pumpkin-caramel-cranberry-gingerbread propaganda in your inboxes.

Get out there and don’t get a sunburn!

xx,
Ian

Ricotta & Olive Oil Cake

Yield: One 8x8in cake

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven and prepare your pans: Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease an 8x8in pan*** with olive oil, and line with parchment paper****.
  2. Whisk together you dry ingredients: In a medium sized bowl whisk together your baking soda, baking powder, flour, salt, until combined.
  3. Make the cake batter: In the bowl of your stand mixer massage the lemon zest into the sugar by rubbing between your fingers to release any oils. Fit your mixer with the whisk attachment and add you eggs to the sugar mixture. Whisk on medium high until the mixture is light in color, thick, and ribbon stage (this means that it will dribble off your whisk and leave a ribbonlike imprint on the surface) around 4 minutes. Once ribbon stage, with the mixer on medium high, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and whisk until homogenous, with no streaks of fat. Add in your ricotta and lemon juice and whisk on medium until just combined. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and gently fold in your dry ingredients until they are just combine (a few flour lumps are alright).
  4. Bake: Transfer the batter to your prepared 8x8in cake pan, and bake on the middle rack of your oven until the cake is golden, bounces back when lightly pressed along the edge, and a toothpick comes out clean, 32-35 minutes, rotating once halfway through the bake time. Let the cake cool completely in the pan.
  5. Top and serve: Lift the cake from the pan and transfer a serving platter. When ready to serve, top the cake with swoops of additional ricotta, the jam, and a hefty drizzle of olive oil. Store any leftover cake in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes:

*The better quality the olive oil the better the cake will be. This will be the major flavor so you want something with a hefty taste.
**If you’re using any other type or brand of salt (i.e. Morton, or sea salt), I suggest scaling back to 1/2 tsp.
***In a pinch you can use an 8 or 9 inch round pan. Just be sure to keep an eye on the cake and adjust the baking time by a few minutes on either side.
****When I line my cake pans, I like to leave a bit of overhang on the long sides so it is super easy to just lift the cake out of the tin.

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