RECIPE: LEMON RICOTTA POUND CAKE

Living out in the sticks or always being on the road in someone else's kitchen, you would think I'd make sure I had everything I needed BEFORE I started cooking. I'm not sure how many times I need to learn that lesson... BUT if you watched me on Food Network Star, you know I am usually able to come up with something pretty good, even if I originally started out with plans to make a completely different dish. That's what happened yesterday. I planned to make my Mom's pound cake for Easter but as I was already in the middle of creaming the butter, I discovered the cream cheese was waaay past the expiration date. I did however, have some perfectly good ricotta cheese in the fridge so I ended up with a Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake. It was so light, so moist yet a bit fluffy and very good. It was so good, I've already gotten a request for the recipe so I thought I'd share it with all of you, too. This will never replace my Mom's pound cake but I gotta tell you, it is the perfect shower, party or afternoon tea cake. Put it on your list to try!

My Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake is a fluffy, light variation on my Mom's original pound cake recipe. An accident turned delicious!

LEMON RICOTTA POUND CAKE

Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean

INGREDIENTS

3 sticks butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese, room temperature

3 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons lemon zest

juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup)

4 whole eggs, room temperature

2 egg whites, room temperature

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp lemon extract

1/8 tsp salt

LEMON GLAZE

Juice of 1 lemon

1 1/2 cups Confectioners' sugar (plus more if desired)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 300. Prep two 9 x 5 loaf pans. Grease and flour or spray all sides with Baker's Joy.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Add the ricotta and beat until combined. Then add the sugar, a little at a time. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Next, add the lemon zest and the eggs, one at a time, beating until they are combined. Add the egg whites and beat until they are just incorporated. Turn the speed on the mixer down. Add the lemon juice. Combine the salt and the flour; adding a little at a time to the mixer until it is blended. Add the vanilla and lemon extracts.

Pour into the prepared pans. Place on a baking sheet and place on center rack of your oven. Bake for 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a wire cooling rack to allow it to cool until just slightly warm before icing.

For the glaze, combine the lemon juice and Confectioners' sugar and whisk; the glaze should be thick and creamy and not too stiff. You should be able to pour it. Add more lemon juice or sugar as necessary to achieve the pourable consistency.

Using a toothpick, poke a few holes into the top of the cake. Pour onto the top of the cake and spread. Allow to cool. Add a second layer if you want a thick glaze.

Serve with berries, whipped cream or any of your favorites.

WANT THE ORIGINAL RECIPE FOR MY MOM'S POUND CAKE? HERE YOU GO....

Martie's Easter Ideas: Speckled Egg Dye Techniques, Easter Menus, Deviled Egg Bar and more!

    

Easter is early this year and if you are just beginning to think about what to do next weekend with your children, family and friends, here are some easy ideas for Easter recipes, Easter egg dying techniques, and Easter egg hunt party ideas.... you get bonus points if you can convince a friend to dress up in a big bunny suit! 

 EASTER EGG DECORATING PARTY AND EGG HUNT

Want to have some fun with the kids and make memories that will last a lifetime? An Easter Egg Hunt that includes egg decorating along with a craft station is interactive and creative... much more fun than simply stuffing plastic eggs with candy and throwing them around the yard.

Set up a table with lots of decorating supplies... the dollar store is a good source. I usually dye the eggs in advance since that is the messy part and simply let kids decorate their own. Think Fabrege eggs... the kids use paint, glitter, felt, fabric scraps and beads to create their little jeweled masterpieces.

Use items you have or can easily get for decorating. I used bunnies, birdhouses and nests and a few daffodils in colorful little pails to tie the theme together.

 

Hide a few eggs and other inexpensive prizes and let the kids hunt for them afterwards. I also love to get those wind up bunnies and let the kids race them.

One fun tradition is to have the budding author in your group write an Easter story and read it to the kids. My niece even illustrated her story and I made copies of her "book" for the other children to take home. She even did a book signing for the kids. I still have my copy, of course.

EASTER EGG DYING TECHNIQUES: SPECKLED EASTER EGGS

Speckled eggs give your decorating an organic appeal... these eggs colored in a rich blue and speckled using tea are to dye for! For Easter Sunday, these natural looking speckled Easter eggs make a lovely table decoration and you can eat them! Bonus! The French often have a bowl or wheel of hard-boiled eggs on the table as a starter to a meal. One of my favorite French bistros always has a wheel of hard-boiled eggs at the bar. Guests are invited to simply crack them open and season with a little salt, pepper and perhaps a dollop of Dijon mustard.... yum! Here's how to make speckled Easter eggs: Read more...

Always have trouble getting your hard-boiled eggs just right? Click here to see how!

If you don't feel like dying eggs, try this virtual egg dye app from Heinz PAAS Easter's website! No muss, no fuss, and a lot of fun! Best of all, the Make-a-Wish Foundation will receive $1 from each decorated egg you make and share using this app! Get started now, it's free and for a great cause. heinzpaaseaster.com

EASTER MENU IDEAS

One of my favorite things to do for Easter Sunday is to have a deviled egg bar where guests can dress up their eggs in a very different way... by topping deviled eggs with with all sorts of favorite flavors and condiments. Here's how to do it...

Another Easter favorite is my Bourbon Baked Ham. Once you've tried it, this one will become an instant classic on your holiday menus. Get the recipe...

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