A Non-Traditional Dessert:Lemon Riccota Almond Cake

At this point I'm confident that we have all recovered from prepping and eating the Dinner of the Year...Thanksgiving!

Our dinner was so great! We ate...I stuffed myself with brussels sprouts but of coarse I saved plenty of room for dessert.  This year I went totally non-traditional. No apple crumb pie.  No pumpkin pie.  No Pecan Pie here. 

I made 2 options:

1. I went with a Cranberry Walnut Pie that my Uncle Mark loves.

  

And 2. I took a hard left to unexpected.  My cousin is gluten intollerant.  That means almond flour and coconut flour.  I have said it before and I'll say it again...most (key word most not ALL) items made with Almond meal/coconut flour are as dry as dry could be.  So in order to make sure my cousin could have some dessert I went out on a limb and tried a Pinterest find. 

My mom always says don't try something new for a party because if it doesn't turn out...you're in trouble.  I never listen.  I say....throw caution to the wind and "just go right on!"

Lemon, Ricotta, and Almond Cake

From the blog Cakelets and Doilies





1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 1/3 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1/4 cup lemon zest
4 egg yolks, separated and at room temperature
2 1/2 cups almond meal
10 1/2 oz ricotta (SEE NOTE BELOW)
sliced almonds, for the top decorated
Icing sugar, for dusting

Before you start lets talk Ricotta Cheese.  If you live in or around NJ, I can not stress the deliciousness of Fulper Farms Ricotta Cheese.  Dairies in New Jersey are sadly few and far between...so I jump at any chance I get to support a local dairy.  I picked up my container at the last West Windsor Farmers Market...and normally I just eat it with a spoon as soon as I get home as a treat.  But this time I restrained myself for this recipe. You can pick up their products on farm or at a farmers market.  Check out their site!  

On with the recipe....

Heat oven to 325 degree.  Thoughly grease cake pan...the original author recommends lining the base and sides of round cake tin with baking paper and set aside...I however could not find scissors so I greased the pan.  This worked just fine.

Place the butter, sugar, vanilla seeds and lemon zest in an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until pale and creamy. Scrap down the sides of the bowl, then gradually add the egg yolks, one at a time, continuing to beat until fully combined. Add the almond meal and beat to combine. Fold ricotta through the almond meal mixture.

Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with a hand-held electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar to the egg whites mixture and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently fold a third of the egg whites into the cake mixture. Repeat with the rest of the egg whites.

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin, smooth the tops with a palette knife, decorate the cake with almond flakes, and bake for 40-45 minutes or until cooked and firm to touch. Allow to cool completely in the cake tin. Dust with icing sugar to serve.