Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake

So if I were an annoying recipe blogger I'd start with a too-long story about buying huge tubs of ricotta for practically nothing at Sam's or Costco, but then what to do with all the leftovers?  Anyway, make this cake.

¾ cup butter, softened 1 ½ sticks

1 ½ cups sugar

15 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large lemon, zested and juiced

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups flour

powdered sugar for dusting top of cake (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch springform pan using butter and powdered sugar; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until combined. Add in the ricotta cheese and blend until light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Mix in the eggs, one at a time. Add in the vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice and mix to combine. In the same bowl, stir in the baking soda and salt. Lastly, add in the flour and mix until just combined, scraping down the sides of bowl to full incorporate all of the ingredients.

Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the cake is set and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing the collar and base of the pan. Cool on a wire rack and dust with powdered sugar before serving.

NOTES:

• This cake is recommended for brunch or even breakfast and we agree it would be delicious.  It's denser, like a pound cake and not too sweet.  It would be pretty excellent with fruit on top,
• I didn't have a lemon (alas, no zest) but I did add 4 Tbsp of lemon juice and about a teaspoon of lemon extract.
• I also put a little lemon glaze on top (juice and powdered sugar).  It was good.
• AND, we didn't have it in the oven long enough and ended up throwing out all the center part.  The edges were excellent though and I'll definitely make it again.
• It would probably be amazing as a layer cake with lemon curd spread in the middle.

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

 1 lb. chicken breast sliced or pounded to 3/8”

BBQ sauce

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked

4 slices of havarti

1 medium onion, caramelized(optional)

4 onion rolls

Butter

Coat chicken with BBQ sauce and grill for approximately 3 minutes per side, until just cooked through, slice each piece in half.  Toast and butter the onion rolls, top with 2 pieces of chicken, bacon, onions, and havarti; broil until the cheese melts and is bubbly, top with second half of bun.

Notes:

We buy frozen chicken that’s pre-sliced to a good sandwich thickness; 1lb. is usually 4 pieces.

The onion rolls I use have onion pieces in the dough not just on top, so I usually skip adding caramelized onions.