Baker by Nature

A Baking Blog by Ashley Manila

Chocolate Ricotta Layer Cake

Supremely moist, rich, and decadent Chocolate Ricotta Layer Cake. Dangerously delicious!

Supremely moist, rich, and decadent Chocolate Ricotta Layer Cake. Dangerously delicious!

Well hello, gorgeous. ♥♥♥ I mean, seriously you guys… how moist and chocolatey and out-of-this-world amazing does this chocolate ricotta cake look?

Hard to believe, but it tastes even better than it appears! So tender each rich, fudgy bite almost melts in your mouth. We can thank the creamy ricotta cheese for that.

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I must admit I’m kind of having a moment with ricotta cheese right now. Last week I made you those dreamy one-bowl lemon ricotta cupcakes, and now – this chocolate ricotta layer cake! I just can’t stop. If you’re a fellow ricotta lover, you know what I’m talking about and why. And if you’ve never tried baking with it, all I can say is look at that texture ↓↓↓

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Supremely moist, rich, and decadent Chocolate Ricotta Layer Cake. Dangerously delicious!

Last week I woke up with a chocolate craving the size of Texas and knew the only solution was a big fat slice of chocolate cake. I was tempted to make this Super Decadent Chocolate Cake with Fudge Frosting, but for the sake of shaking things up (and providing you with some new content!), I decided to get to work developing a new chocolate cake recipe that would satisfy us all 😉 That’s were this chocolate beauty comes into the picture. It took me 3 tries to get this cake just right… but on the third attempt I totally nailed it.

For this chocolate cake recipe you’re going to need granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, eggs (and a yolk!), ricotta cheese, oil (vegetable or melted coconut), vanilla extract, and water. I know, it seems like a long list. But I bet you have most of these ingredients on hand right now… am I right?

P.S. Did you know you can make homemade ricotta cheese with just a handful of simple ingredients? Worth checking out if you can’t easily find ricotta at your local grocery store.

The silky smooth chocolate frosting is made up of unsalted butter, confectioners’ sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and ricotta cheese. Again, pretty simple ingredients. The key thing to remember when making the frosting is your butter needs to be very soft but not melted. If your butter isn’t soft enough, it won’t cream properly, and the end result won’t be very satisfying. I recommend sitting your sticks of butter out on the counter for an hour or so before you plan on making the frosting.

Pro tip: You can also soften the butter in a microwave if you own one. Here’s what you do: place the cold sticks of butter in the microwave and heat them for 6 seconds. If there’s still too hard heat them for another 4 seconds. Less is more here because you can always add a few more seconds if they’re too solid, but if you melt the butter, you’ll have to start over with new sticks. This recipe will not work with melted butter.

Supremely moist, rich, and decadent Chocolate Ricotta Layer Cake. Dangerously delicious!

As you can see from my photos this creamy frosting spreads and pipes quite beautifully. I used this angled icing spatula  but I have frosted cakes with nothing more than a butter knife and made it work. So do you when it comes time to frost and decorate 😉

Rich chocolate cake + fluffy chocolate frosting + ice cold milk chaser = H-E-A-V-E-N on earth.

This recipe makes one 9″ layer cake (two layers) and will easily serve 10-12. The frosting recipe also makes just enough to cover the cake and pipe some cute little decoration around the top – if you’re into that sort of thing. I used a standard piping bag and this Wilton star tip to make the not-so-fancy stars on top of this cake. Also, if you’re not making this cake for an occasion and want to keep it fresh for a few days, I recommend storing it in an airtight container in the fridge, and letting it come to room temperature before serving/eating. It will stay moist and super delish for up to 4 days. Not that I think it will last you that long 😉

Supremely moist, rich, and decadent Chocolate Ricotta Layer Cake. Dangerously delicious!

 

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Chocolate Ricotta Layer Cake

Prep

Cook

Total

Supremely moist and packed with real chocolate flavor, this Chocolate Ricotta Layer Cake is a must for chocolate lovers!

Ingredients

  • For the chocolate ricotta cake:
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (not packed!)
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 1 and 1/4 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil (you may also sub in melted coconut oil)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup hot water
  • For the chocolate ricotta frosting:
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks, 8 ounces), softened
  • 3 and 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese

Instructions

  1. For the chocolate ricotta cake:
  2. Preheat oven to 350°(F). Generously spray two 9-inch round baking pans with non-stick baking spray, set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt; mix on low until dry ingredients are thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl combine the eggs, egg yolk, ricotta cheese, oil and vanilla, mix until completely combined. Pour mixture into the dry ingredients and beat on low until just incorporated. Pour in hot water and continue mixing until completely combined; about 1 minute. The batter will quite thin.
  3. Divide batter evenly into prepared pans.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until wooden toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached.
  5. Cool cakes for 10 minutes in the pan before removing from pans and transferring to a cooling rack; cool cakes completely before frosting.
  6. For the chocolate ricotta frosting:
  7. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter on medium-speed until completely smooth; about 3 minutes. Turn the mixer off and sift the powdered sugar and cocoa into the mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on the lowest speed and mix until the sugar/cocoa have been absorbed by the butter; about 2 minutes. Increase mixer speed to medium; add in vanilla extract, salt, and ricotta cheese; beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting appears a little too thin, add a little more sugar; If your frosting needs to be thinner, add additional ricotta cheese, 1 tablespoon at a time.
  8. Frost cooled cakes as desired.

Notes

This recipe should be followed exactly for best results.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 slice

Amount Per Serving

% Daily Value

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

 

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Comments

    • I am an experienced baker; no pro, but pretty good. Second time trying this cake and second time a fail. First time was too dry. Wanted to try again because i forgot about it but remembered that I loved the frosting so gave another try. Followed instructios EXACTLY. Waited all day for yummy slice! No kidding GENEROUSLY grease pan-cake stuck to bottom on both pans! Attempted to salvage with frosting ended up with frosting and crumbs. Never again

      Reply

  4. I didn’t make this but ate it at my friends house yesterday. It was, simply put, the BEST chocolate cake I’ve ever had. Not a fan of ricotta desserts but I could not detect the flavor of ricotta in this. The consistency was both dense like a flourless chocolate cake and moist and fluffy at the same time. It was a cake paradox! I’m making this asap!

    Reply

  5. I have now definitely found the cake I am making for my daughters 15th birthday next week ! looks incredibly yummy.

    Reply

  6. I just made this cake and it is delicious and has a great texture. The recipe is definitely a keeper! I was wondering if anyone tried adding a little coffee to the hot water.

    Reply

  7. I was surprised to read that I was to add the wet ingredients to the dry, instead of the other way around. I thought the rule with cakes was to add the flour first and last. Would that make a difference? I am going to follow your recipe exactly the first time though, because you cake looks absolutely perfect. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply

  8. This is by far my FAVORITE chocolate cake in all the world. Quick question – I’ve made this the last two years for my oldest son’s birthday party, but sometimes I wish we had cupcakes for ease of serving. Do you think it would work out in cupcake form? Thanks!

    Reply

  10. Hi Christie

    The quantities look generous. 400g sugar etc. and indeed you made two cakes form it. Can I assume each cake was levelled and used as one layer? They must have not risen that much seeing that they were loaded with the good stuff (ricotta, oil, water). Am I right?

    Thanks

    Barak

    Reply

  17. I made this cake Sunday for my birthday. It. Was. So. Good. I brought it to a friend’s house and everyone LOVED it. My friend’s daughter asked me to make it for her birthday! I used less of the frosting because I just don’t like a lot of frosting and I accidentally bought fat free ricotta. Nonetheless is was nothing short of amazing! Next time I will definitely get the full fat ricotta to taste the difference….. because I can assure you I will be making it again! Thank you for such a delicious recipe!

    Reply

  18. This has been my go-to chocolate cake recipe for about a year and a half since I found it. Everyone raves about it and asks me to bring it to every event. Extremely delicious, moist, and leaves you constantly wanting more. When I tort and level cakes the “bits” never last in my house for a day. I honestly haven’t made the directed filling for it but instead a hazelnut or cookies and cream because of requests but I’m sure it’s as delicious! Thank you so much for keeping our tastebuds overwhelemed in Southern California!

    Reply

  22. I made this cake as a surprise for my mum’s birthday and it was absolutely delicious. It came out moist but surprisingly light and absolutely decadent. Thank you for sharing

    Reply

  23. I love making this cake. It literally melts in your mouth. My co-workers will hide this cake so the other departments can’t have any. I use dark chocolate, Hershey special dark actually. Never fails to please.
    Thank you

    Reply

  24. Ok wow! This recipe is amazing. I cannot believe how good this came out, my baking is never this good!

    Reply

  26. I’ve made this cake twice now, and it just gets better… a big family favourite. My hubby normally prefers a sponge cake with cream and strawberries but I think this cake is now becoming one of his favourite. Thanks for sharing a great recipe with us ♥️✨✨

    Reply

  28. I baked this cake last night and it was delicious! Light and moist with a rich chocolate flavor. Everyone in my family got a second helping!
    Since I did not have two round cake pans, I baked it for 34 min. as a single layer in a 9”x12” pan. I sprayed the pan and lined it with parchment paper and did not have any problem unmolding the cake. After baking it the cake that was about 1 3/4” high. I cut it in half and proceeded to frosting and assembling the two 9”x6”. I added a Tbsp of sour cherry flavored liqueur to the frosting to make it even more yummy. This is really a delicious cake! Thank you

    Reply

  29. Hands down THE BEST chocolate cake I have ever had.

    So so moist and flavorful….. This is now my go-to chocolate cake recipe. I will often use different kind of frosting typese for a different themed/flavor of cake depending on the occasion but will always use the cake recipe.

    So So good.

    Reply

  30. I have made this cake many times over the last several years. I made it for a birthday party, my baby shower, and even for my mother-in-law’s wedding cake.

    The first time I made it, I used coconut oil and mid-read the recipe, using 1 cup of oil in the cake. It turned out amazing and i’ve been doing it that way since. I’ve used several different frosting recipes-
    Coconut pecan to make it like a German chocolate cake
    Simple chocolate ganache with fresh fruit
    Butter cream icing
    Cream cheese icing

    Every time, people comment that this is the best chocolate cake they’ve ever had!

    Reply

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