Ricotta Blueberry Coffee Cake

By
Jennifer Meier
Jennifer Meier
Jennifer Meier
Food writer, cookbook author, and recipe developer Jennifer Meier specializes in creating healthy and diet-specific recipes.
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Updated on 05/16/21
Ricotta Coffee Cake

Jennifer Meier

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 60 mins
Total: 80 mins
Servings: 9 servings
Yield: 1 coffee cake
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
645 Calories
25g Fat
93g Carbs
13g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 9
Amount per serving
Calories 645
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g 33%
Saturated Fat 15g 75%
Cholesterol 126mg 42%
Sodium 364mg 16%
Total Carbohydrate 93g 34%
Dietary Fiber 3g 10%
Total Sugars 44g
Protein 13g
Vitamin C 3mg 16%
Calcium 201mg 15%
Iron 4mg 20%
Potassium 240mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

The perfect accompaniment to a hearty breakfast or afternoon tea, the ricotta in this ricotta in this recipe doesn't affect the flavor of the coffee cake, it just gives this easy-to-make cake an incredibly moist, dense texture.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter

  • 1 1/3 cups brown sugar, packed

  • 3 large eggs

  • 1 cup ricotta cheese

  • 1/2 cup milk

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 1 to 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

For the Streusel Topping:

  • 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats

  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

  2. Sift together flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Set aside.

  3. In an electric mixer, mix together butter and brown sugar until smooth, 5 to 8 minutes.

  4. Combine eggs, ricotta, milk, and vanilla extract. Add slowly to the butter and sugar, mixing after each addition.

  5. Slowly mix in dry ingredients.

  6. Fold in the blueberries, mixing only until incorporated.

  7. The batter will be very thick. Scrape it into a lightly greased baking pan. An 8x8 pan will yield a high, thick coffee cake (and take longer to bake). Larger pans will yield a thinner cake.

  8. For the streusel topping, mix together the brown sugar, oats, flour, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add butter, using your fingers or a fork to break it up into pea-sized pieces. Evenly sprinkle the streusel on top of the batter.

  9. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick or knife stuck in the cake comes out clean.

Tips

Ricotta

  • High-quality ricotta is smooth, rich, creamy and has the flavor of sweet cream. Traditionally, cheesemakers made fresh ricotta by heating whey (the liquid that remains after curds form during the cheesemaking process) until it thickened into soft, fluffy curds. Some cheesemakers still make ricotta from whey and some make it from whole milk. You can also make your own ricotta.
  • Less commonly, you might see ricotta salata and ricotta infornata at the store. Ricotta infornata is firm enough to be cut into wedges and has a soft, crumbly texture. It has a thin brown rind from being baked in the oven. Although the texture is different, the flavor is very similar to fresh ricotta. Ricotta salata is fresh ricotta that has been salted and pressed into a wheel of cheese that is aged for several months. Ricotta salata is crumbly and has a mild, salty flavor.