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Supremely moist, rich, and decadent Chocolate Ricotta Layer Cake. This cake is always a crowd-pleaser and so good with a cup of coffee! Dangerously delicious!
Italian Chocolate Cake Recipe
Chocolate Ricotta Cake
Well hello, gorgeous. ♥♥♥ I mean, seriously you guys… how moist and chocolatey and out-of-this-world amazing does this ricotta chocolate 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.
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 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 ↓↓↓
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 where 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.
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
If you’ve been looking for a cake using ricotta cheese, this is a great place to start! Enjoy!!!
More Ricotta Recipes:
Chocolate Ricotta Layer Cake
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
For the chocolate ricotta cake:
- 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.
- Divide batter evenly into prepared pans.
- 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.
- Cool cakes for 10 minutes in the pan before removing from pans and transferring to a cooling rack; cool cakes completely before frosting.
For the chocolate ricotta frosting:
- 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.
- Frost cooled cakes as desired.
Notes
looks so delish! xO!
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It really is 🙂 Thank you!
About to make your cake… If you bake in 2 pans, why are you slicing it in half? donna
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
Try this suggestion. Use parchment paper. It is used for baking cakes on the PBS show Americans Test Kitchen. Trace a circle around the pan and cut just insidegot the lines of the circle. Spray the pan with Pam then add the parchment paper then spray the entire pan. Never had a problem removing cakes from pans
Get a new pan
Never has failed me!! This cake is the best ever.
This is the most amazing chocolate cake ever!! U send the special dark chocolate by Hershey !!
So moist, so luscious!!! You can not make anything better than this one! And that frosting … yummmm the only thing I did was I made 2 separate batches of frosting to cover appropriately !!! Yum yum. This is a keeper and going down in my history of cakes!!!!
Again !! I have made several of these cakes since my first one ….I have even made it in the 9×13 baking tin… and it comes out just as yummy. Every screams with enjoyment with this cake!!! A must have!!!!
I would love to know your bake time for a 9X13 pan, please.
Thank you!
I made this today for the 1st time in a 9 x13 pan. Took about 30 min. But I have an old oven. Check with toothpick. Mine came out great. Very moist and delicious!
That cake does look out of this world! Never would have thought of using ricotta in cake, but it sounds delicious 🙂 Love the creamy frosting too!
mmm.. moist chocolaty cake! looks amazing!
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!
This comment just made my day! Thank you for letting me know how much you enjoyed this recipe, Andrea 🙂
I have now definitely found the cake I am making for my daughters 15th birthday next week ! looks incredibly yummy.
Yay! I hope it’s a hit, Reem. And happy birthday to your daughter 🙂
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.
Hi Dossy. You can definitely use an equal amount of hot coffee in place of the water 🙂
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.
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!
This looks amazing, can’t wait to try it! Do you think this recipe would work out in cupcake form?
Hi Christie. I haven’t tried making this recipe into cupcakes. If you try, be sure to reduce the bake time to around 18 minutes per batch 🙂
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
Have you made this into cupcakes? If so do you have the baking time and how ful the cups should be? Thanks!!
Can This be made into cupcakes? What would the cook time be? Thanks
Are you able to substitute melted chocolate for the frosting?
Thanks, Dimple
What would be the baking time if I wanted to make into cupcakes instead of cake?
I haven’t tried making this recipe into cupcakes, so I can’t say for sure. However I usually bake my chocolate cupcakes at 350 degrees (F) for 16 to 18 minutes.
Hi, can I halve this recipe?
Would it then be 1 whole egg?
How much ricotta cheese in frosting?
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!
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!
Can you sub butter for oil?
This cake looks moist and decadent!
Wow this looks super delicious, I need a slice right now!
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
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
Ok wow! This recipe is amazing. I cannot believe how good this came out, my baking is never this good!
Glad you love the recipe! Thanks for letting us know!
Would like to know why u haven’t posted my review. Tamera jones; [email protected]
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 ♥️✨✨
Could I use either dutch process cocoa powder or regular cocoa powder? Will it make a difference?
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
Hi, made this cake last night and it was delicious! I have it on a glass cake stand with a lid, but should it be refrigerated because of the ricotta?
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.
So happy you enjoyed it, Johanna 🙂
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!
I followed the recipe exactly. Used non-stick spray. Couldn’t get them out of the pans. I would highly advise using parchment paper.
Hello,
May i ask, can i change ricotta cheese into cream cheese? Its so hard to find ricotta cheese in my area. But i really want to try your recipe, looks delicious:)
I would like to make this cake a day ahead of time and frost it on the day we will eat it. Do you recommend refrigerating or freezing the cake if I’m making it ahead? Or would it be ok out on the counter?
Great recipe! I followed it exactly but made cupcakes instead (baked for about 17 mins). I was a little skeptical at first, once the cupcakes were cooled and decorated I tried one and wasn’t thrilled. They sat in the fridge overnight and were brought to a family gathering the next day and wow, they were amazing! Perfectly moist, not overly rich, just the right amount of sweetness from the icing. Really well balanced and the family raved about them! Definitely recommend giving it a go but make in advanced to have some chill time.
My first thought was to use espresso or strong coffe in place of the hot water. I think I will try that.
Yes! You can use an equal amount of hot coffee.
Marvelous. Just Marvelous. I did in fact makr these into cupcakes and they turned out just dandy. You’re right, about 18 minutes. I altered the frosting recipe as I wanted the ricotta to be the star of the show. Wonderful recipe. I rarely say this, and I certainly never comment on food blogs but this one is a keeper. Thanks for sharing. Now I’m gonna go peruse the rest of your recipes.
Since here in Macedonia I cannot always find ricotta, is it possible to modify the recipe using cottage cheese or cream cheese (or possibly both mixed) instead of ricotta?
Thanks in advance. The cake looks so delicious. Can’t wait to try it.
I made this for tomorrow at lunch. Do I need to refrigerate it?
The frosting is yummy!
Would subbing avocado oil for the vegetable oil work?
OMG! This is the absolute, hands down BEST chocolate cake I have ever baked in my fifty years of baking! So rich and moist with a perfect texture-not too dense, not too light. I will never use any other chocolate cake recipe! Thank you!
I have made this cake four times in the last two weeks for family and friends….and haven’t had any issues with the cake itself…I always prepare my pans with a spray and parchment paper….or grease and flour pans then add parchment paper….also I have always baked my cake layers on 290-300 ….low and slow has kept my cake layers from getting the dome in the middle as some might do…..so big brownie points on a great cake. Also, I make a Chocolate Swiss Meringue Frosting instead of the butter….it’s just a little too sweet for me. But wanted to ask you…. If I do make the cake next time with a chocolate buttercream frosting can I freeze the whole cake ???? Thanks again for a great recipe !!!!
Made last night for my dad’s bday. Subbed in gluten free flour and greased pan w/butter and dusted w/cocoa powder. Used parchment as well. This is the most moist, chocolate-y, DELICIOUS cake. Everyone loved it. Will be my go-to forevermore.
My cake turned out exactly as pictured. I did put parchment paper in the pans just in case.
I did cut down the sugar to 1 3/4 for the cake and less 1/4 sugar for the frosting.
All went perfectly.
Thank you !
Virginia
This looks absolutely delicious. Can I freeze the whole cake without the frosting
Let me say that this cake is amazing! It was gone in a night! I baked it for my husbands birthday party and everyone raved about it! The only addition I made was a tablespoon of espresso powder and I made vanilla cream cheese frosting which really brought out the chocolate flavor! I’ve had several requests to make again for Christmas! Thanks so much!
Let me say that this cake is amazing! It was gone in a night! I baked it for my husbands birthday party and everyone raved about it! The only addition I made was a tablespoon of espresso powder and I made vanilla cream cheese frosting which really brought out the chocolate flavor! I’ve had several requests to make again for Christmas! Thanks so much!
I have made a lot of chocolate cakes in my life and have eaten a lot of them too! This cake is simply devine. The best I have ever made or eaten. I usually don’t post comments on blogs either but I had to for this one.
Made this today for first time, cake was nice and moist but make sure you really mix the ricotta in, Otherwise, you get little cheese lumps. I’m not sure if there are different types of ricotta, I just used normal ricotta, but the icing was not nice, I ended up adding lots more cocoa and icing sugar and then some milk. I would make the cake again but not the icing.
Don’t know what you did with the icing but I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfectly. And I had no issues with the Ricotta in the cake, maybe next time stir your Ricotta before adding it to the batter.
Hi ! What kind of ricotta cheese should I use ? Can it be cream of ricotta or the actual cheese?
Thank you so much!
Love all your recipes!!
FYI for everyone wondering… this recipe made 30 cupcakes. I baked them for 16 minutes and they came out perfectly! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
I made this for my moms birthday and everyone loved it! The cake is very moist and tasty and the frosting is very tasty! Wonderful recipe!
I have made this cake so many times. It is the most delicious chocolate cake I’ve ever had. I only change one thing- I use a cup of hot super strong coffee instead of hot water. Cannot recommend highly enough:)
This is the nicest, moist chocolate cake I have ever made! I totally followed the recipe and it worked really well. Only did half the frosting, which I found to be sufficient for me. After reading comments I am going to try the recipe to make cupcakes and see how I go.
Thank you for a fabulous recipe.
Hi! I made this cake today and it was so delicious!! This will definitely be the only chocolate cake recipe I use in the future. I followed the recipe to the letter and added the wet ingredients into the dry mix as directed. I have a different preferred chocolate frosting recipe and wasn’t thrilled about one that had Ricotta in it. However, I wanted to give everything a fair try so I followed your recipe as-is. I’m still not sure which frosting I prefer, but this one is very good. Overall, I was extremely pleased with the whole cake. I have a delicious Michigan Cherry coffee that I hope to use with it the next time I bake this cake. I’ll use that coffee instead of the hot water.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I’ve been wanting to try a chocolate ricotta-based cake since making Karen Krasne’s Lemon-Berry Wedding cake a couple of months ago. I’m fighting the urge to go get a second piece of cake right now!!
Absolutely amazing. I ran into a few hitches but overall great. I had to cook it for 45 min and I personally would have used 1/4 cup less powder sugar in the frosting but overall I loved the whole recipe. I’ve been trying to get rid of all of my ricotta and this used a whole container!
BEST chocolate cake EVER!!!!!!
Seriously delicious! Was a big hit at the office!
That’s wonderful to hear!
Do you know what bake time would be if I made this in a metal bundt cake pan? I want to make this tonight but that’s the only pan I have.
Thank you!!
Hi there, I absolutely love this recipe and make it all the time. I was wondering if you happen to have this same recipe in a “vanilla cake” version instead of chocolate? The reason I ask is because I really like how this recipe does NOT need butter in the cake — and it’s so easy to just use ricotta and not have to cream butter/sugar.
If there is a vanilla version of this cake, that would be great! Thanks!
This cake has great flavor and a wonderful light, spongey texture. I’ve made it as cupcakes 3-4 times but I’m constantly challenged with sinking cupcakes. My ingredients aren’t stale, I’ve tried my best not to overmix, and all the checks for done-ness seem right.
I love baking with ricotta cheese. Amazing flavor. Have baked several fruit cakes, Raspberry & blueberry) all single layer cakes. This will be my first layer cake receipe. I can’t get enough now that I have tasted it in cakes. My sins are many, with ricotta cheese is at the top of the heavy hitter list.
Do you think I could change ricotta cheese for sour cream 14% ? Thanks in advance
Possibly my favorite chocolate cake ever! Moist, rich, spongy, and delicious. I didn’t have time to let the cake cool before putting the frosting on and it was basically chocolate lava cake.
Should the cake without the frosting be refrigerated for safety? The recipe doesn’t say anything about storage.
The absolutely best amazing chocolate cake EVER!!!! Thanks for making me pretty much famous! I’ve made this several times and it has never failed me yet!