This Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake is an easy pound cake recipe made with ricotta cheese, flavored with lemon zest and fresh lemon juice. It’s delicious served on it’s own with a cup of tea or coffee or served for dessert with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.
Baking every day for 365 Days straight.
Do you think you could do it? I think you could.
If you put your mind to it.
SAVE THIS EASY POUND CAKE RECIPE TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!
Looking back, I still can’t believe that’s how this whole thing started, but I’m so very grateful it did.
I’ve done so many wonderful things over the past 10 years, built incredible life-long friendships, traveled the world with my family, and have received an incredible amount of support from my followers.
I know I’m blessed and I do not take it for granted.
Thank you.
It really is a lot of fun making all of these different recipes, changing some of them around and coming up with my own.
I love food.
I think I’ve always loved food, but in the past few years, I’ve really come to love food!
Especially when those foods are desserts.
But, I love them even more when they’re lemon flavored!
Lemon Desserts
I’ve got a bunch of them here on the blog, and of course, always working on more!
- you can enjoy this Lemon Curd so many different ways, including the with the crepes below.
- these Lemon Crepes are perfect for an Easter or Mother’s Day brunch.
- one of my favorites, Easy Lemon Bars.
- here is a whole collection of Out of This World Lemon Desserts.
- this No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake has been one of THE most popular recipes here on the blog.
- if you’re a lemon meringue lover, try these Lemon Meringue Rice Krispie Treats!
- and of course, there’s a Day 79 – Lemon Meringue Pie.
- I’ve made my grandmother-in-law’s Easy Lemon Cake.
- here’s a lemon bread with blueberries in it.
- there have to be cookies, right? But, of course!
These were even featured on ABC’s ‘The Chew’ a few years ago with Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly, and Michael Symon. They LOVED them! So you know they’ve got to be good! - another cookie are these Lemon Sugar Snaps.
This recipe was gently adapted from a pound cake Giada had made on the Food Network.
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Lemon Pound Cake
This easy and delicious cake recipe will be even more incredible when you top it with this 3 Ingredient Strawberry Sauce!
AND if you find that you’re out of cake flour, you can make your own at home in a jiffy so you never have to make a last minute run to the store!
You’ll only need two ingredients that you probably already have on hand.
Lemon Ricotta Poundcake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cake flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cups unsalted butter room temperature, plus more for the baking pan
- 1 ½ cups part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 ½ cups sugar plus one tablespoon
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- zest from one lemon
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare a 9 X 5-inch loaf pan by greasing it with butter.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, ricotta cheese and sugar until light and fluffy (approximately 3 minutes).
- Add each of the eggs, one at a time, while the mixer is running and blend until incorporated.
- Mix in the vanilla and lemon juice.
- Gradually add the flour mixture and beat until just blended.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the sides begin to pull away from the pan and a toothpick or knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out of pan to cool on the wire rack completely.
- If desired, dust top with confectioners’ sugar.
Nutrition
I previously rated everything I baked on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and this Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake earned 4 rolling pins.
It is very moist and lemony delicious! I really think you’ll like it.
Mr. 365 said it was the best thing he thinks I’ve EVER made.
Oye vey!
Our oldest said, “Really Dad? Lately, you’ve been saying that about everything she’s made.” I think he’s lost his credibility. haha
This post was originally published March 5, 2014, and has been update in format and with new pictures on February, 26, 2021, and republished again on July 11, 2022.
Comments & Reviews
I love lemon! This looks so refreshing and yummy!
Thanks, Amy!
I LOVE lemon treats, and this one looks amazing Lynne!! I can’t wait to try it. 🙂
Thank you, Lisa! Let me know if you do.
This will be tomorrow’s project! Sounds great!!! Thank you
Thanks, Leah! Let me know what you think of it!
I just stopped by to see how you are and drool a bit, shared on Moore or Less Cooking, can’t wait to try this yummy pound cake, yeah pound cake is my true love <3 Nettie
Thanks so much, Nettie!
Hugs and love!
Aloha from Hawai’i! Made this twice already (awseome!), but both times the center sunk in drastically and the top was VERY browned (but the center cooked perfect). Any suggestions? Could it be I am using a glass loaf pan? Mahalo!
do I have to use cake flour an I use regular flour?
Carolyn,
I suggest sticking to using cake flour as you’ll probably get a different result with regular flour. I have a recipe for how to make cake flour at home, so you’ll never have to be without it:
Can I double this recipe and use it in a bundt pan?
Good idea, Wisteria! I think that might just work.
my friend loves lemon however she cannot eat flour. Any recipes up your sleeve without flour in them?
Thank You
Sharon, are you looking for gluten free recipes for your friend? I have a few and if you type gluten free into the search box on the top right sidebar they will come up.
Also, my friend, Carolyn has a great gluten free site, All Day I Dream About Food: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/
And there’s this one, Gluten Free Girl and the Chef: http://glutenfreegirl.com/
Good luck!
I use Bobs Red Mill 1:1 flour and it is fabulous. You can sub it into any recipe no altering the recipe needed or special gluten free recipes. I make all my favourites that my Grandmother made using this GF flour.
Hi, This recipe looks wonderful! I actually have mine baking right now. I followed your recipes exactly but when I put it in the loaf pan (9×5) it went to the top so I knew that I had to split it into 2 pans. This is only supposed to make one loaf right? It has 10 minutes to go and is still very “soupy” in the middle but it smells fabulous!
I am having the same problem. Mine is still in the oven now, already cook for an hour and 15 minutes. The middle is still not done and it over flowed.
bread butter and lemon too great thanhks for sharing
Thanks, Jeanette!
This is really good & easy. Thanks
Thank you, Donna!
I am not a baker. This was easy and delicious.
Thanks, Kellie! That is so great to hear. I hope your success in the kitchen continues!
Great! I’ll make this poundcake as soon as I can!
You have explained it so well – “Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake – a pound cake with ricotta cheese, fresh lemon zest”. This was so easy and delicious. Can’t wait to see the next recipe!
This recipe is a home run!!
Interested in best way to store it?
Room temp or refrigerator?
Ty
Thanks so much, Bj! I’m so very glad you liked it.
I would wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge.
Followed the recipe almost exactly, just cut the sugar in half since my family doesn’t like super sweet things. Came out perfect and couldn’t have been easier!
I never leave comments on sites but this cake deserved a shout out. It is so moist and tasty! Only negative was this cake needed to cook an extra 7 minutes in my oven. The whole family really loved this recipe! A great way to use up leftover ricotta that hangs around after making lasagna.
So awesome to hear, Tammie! Thank you so much. I’m thrilled your family enjoyed it, and using up the leftover ricotta is precisely why I make it as well!
This was a delicious recipe, but I had to bake it at least 30 minutes longer at a lower temp. Once the middle was set, it had a dark crust. If I were to make it again, I’d probably start off at a lower temp and split it into 2 smaller loaf pans to cut baking time. I also added a splash of lemon extract.
Tressy, I’m sorry to hear that. Could it be that the temperature of your oven is off. I’ve had a few baking mishaps os of late, and after using an oven thermometer, found out that was the cause. I like the idea of dividing it into two pans and reducing the baking time, I think that would work well. I also love the idea of the lemon extract. I’m sure that really improved the flavor.
Thanks for your feedback!
I tried this recipe and decided to add blueberries (tossed them in flour). Unfortunately, the center did not cook. but the perimeter was good.
Connie, the blueberries sound like a great addition. Since the center didn’t cook, it probably just needed a bit more time. My recommendation would be to cover it with a sheet of tin foil and cook it until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Perhaps that will help.
Thanks for the feedback!
Love anything lemon. Can’t wait to try this.
Thanks, Mary. I hope you enjoy it!
Made this last night (and I’m only going to tell you this because you don’t know me) and it’s gone. 4:00pm. There are only three of us here. This was so good so light and lemony and delicious. The only thing I did was cut sugar to a cup. I was told I can’t make it again until next Monday because that is probably when we should have finished this. 5 stars…
LOL BEST comment EVER!! Thank you, Pam!! I’m so glad the three of you enjoyed it and so appreciate the rating and that you let me know. You absolutely made my Sunday, thank you.
Can I use a glass loaf pan?
Theresa, you can. I haven’t made it with anything other than a metal pan, but I’ve read that when doing so you should decrease the cooking temperature by 25°F because the bottom and sides will brown more quickly than the inside bakes. Also, you should increase the baking time by 5-15 minutes. So, in a nutshell, preheat the oven to 325°F. and bake for a minimum of 60 minutes, checking every 5 minutes or so to see if it’s baked all the way through. If the top is browning too quickly before it’s finished, cover the top lightly with a piece of aluminum foil.
I’d love to hear how it turned out and exactly how long you baked it for, so please return and leave me a comment as other people may be interested in doing the same.
Enjoy!
Something went very wrong. It was salty , sunken in the middle, and since I didn’t have cake flour, I followed directions to substitute. It was so bad, I threw it away. I feel so bad.