I have been feeling super excited recently. After 12 years together and two children my partner and I have decided to get married.
It will be a small ceremony next July with my closest friends and relatives and I am really looking forward to it! I am hoping to make my own Italian style wedding cake so I am busy making plans now. I cannot wait for it! I will soon be a respectable married woman :-0
This past weekend it was mother’s day in the UK and I celebrated with a cake rich in ground almonds and ricotta, moist and dense and with no added flour which makes it suitable for people with intolerance to gluten too.
You don’t need to add too much sugar either as the almonds are quite sweet already and the zest of one lemon will make this cake really perfumed and incredibly delicious.
- Prep Time : 20 minutes
- Cook Time : 40 minutes
Ingredients
- ground almonds – 300 g – 2 + 1/2 cup
- ricotta cheese – 250 g – 1 cup
- sugar – 130 g – 5/8 cup
- vanilla extract – 2 tsp
- eggs – 4
- salt – a pinch
- butter – 130 g – 1/2 cup
- lemon organic or unwaxed – the zest of one
- almond flakes – 5 tbsp to sprinkle
Instructions
Whip the egg yolks with the sugar

Add the melted butter (at room temperature), the ground almonds, the ricotta cheese, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Mix well.

Whip the egg whites with the salt and gently incorporate them to the mixture.

Pour the mixture on a greased round mold, (diameter 24 cm / 9.44 inch) level it well with the spoon. Wet your almond flakes with little water to prevent them from burning in the oven and sprinkle them over the mixture. Cook the cake at 160C – 320 F for 40 minutes.

Check with a toothpick if the cake is ready. If not leave it in the oven for a little longer.

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage, Alida! I hope all your dreams come true. You must let us know your wedding menu and wedding cake design. I am sure all of it will be spectacular.
You made me laugh with your remark: “I will soon be a respectable married woman.” You are very respectable now but will be doubly so in July.
Blessings to you and your family!
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Thank you Louise! I will certainly have fun designing the cake 😉
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Dear Alida,
First, I hope that you enjoyed your Mother’s Day yesterday! Our Mother’s day you know is not until May. Now, Congratulations! I had no idea that you were not legally married! Here in the states if you live with a person for over 7 years, they call that Common Law marriage. My wish for you dear friend is that all your days be filled with love, happiness, family, and of course food. You must keep us updated as to your plans. I am so excited for you…Now your recipe Almond Ricotta and Lemon Cake is outrageous looking! Your baking skills are awesome.. Love the combo of flavors…and I love the top with all the almonds, just beautiful. Thanks for sharing so much of your life and this fabulous recipe….Enjoy your week…
Dottie 🙂
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In Italy mother’s day is in May too probably the same day as where you are.
I am quite excited now, looking forward to July! xx
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am I reading the recipe ingredients correctly? Almost 3 and 1/2 cups of ground almonds?? This looks sooo good, I would like to make it for Easter! Thanks!!
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Hi Debbie,
Yes it is correct as ground almonds replace the flour so you will need quite a lot of it.
If you are making it for Easter you could drizzle it with melted chocolate on top too if you like! 🙂
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Hi Alida i would like to share this recipe with you
250 g ricotta
250 g almond
230 g sugar
2 eggs
few vanilla
half cup cherries not fresh
half cup almond flake
you will need 250 g sweet pastry
lay it in a dish ,mix all ingredients and put them on the pastry ,
cook for 45 minutes on gas mark 170
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Sounds lovely! An interesting cake! If you have a photo of your recipe I can put it on my blog on one of my next posts!
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I read this as 2 and 1/2 cups ground almonds or 300 gr. The above question states 3 and 1/2. Which is correct?
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Hello Beth,
The correct amount is 2 + 1/2 cups of ground almonds.
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Congrats on your marriage, my husband and I were together 17 years before we got married, love this cake.
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Thank you Cheri!
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Che meraviglia questa torta con ricotta e mandorle, bravissima, me la segno! Sono felice per i tuoi preparativi di matrimonio, non vedo l’ora di vedere la torta nuziale che preparerai, sono certa che sarà fantastica! Un abbraccio!
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Grazie cara!xx
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Totally lush, love this cake, thank you so much for entering it into #creditcrunchmunch:-)
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Thank you Camilla!
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Rushing out to buy almonds now, looks delicious
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Thank you!
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With that amount of almonds, I am very sure this cake will be a hit!
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Alida, how wonderful you will soon be a married lady. I am so thrilled for you. Will you be getting married in Italy, will it be a church ceremony?
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Ciao Elisabetta!
I am getting married in the UK in the register office. A small intimate ceremony is what I have always wanted without too much stress. x
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Ooh massive congratulations – what lovely news! I love being married and hope you will have many years of married bliss to come. xx
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Thank you Helen!
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Wow! That’s lovely news…. congratulations. I absolutely loved planning my wedding and making it very special and personal. Sadly I didn’t make my own cake, but I am certain you will make yours amazing…… How exciting!!!!
Your almond, ricotta & lemon cake looks delicious!
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Congratulations Alida, and what a lovely cake!
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Huge congratulations!!!! How exciting is that…and yum to the cake. XX
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Thank you! x
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Congratulations! I love the idea of making your own wedding cake – I’m looking forward to seeing how your ideas develop and to trying this recipe! Thank you. #creditcrunchmunch
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Bravissima Alida, una torta soffice e tanto golosa… e anche gluten free!!!!
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I love cooking and I would love to try your recipes! This recipe looks quite yummy and my family would surely love it. Thanks
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Thank you Josephine. I am pleased you like the recipes 🙂
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Will this recipe work with truvia or other natural sugar replacement
instead of sugar?
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Sure, you can use Truvia or other sweeteners too instead of sugar.
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Can I used almond meal instead of ground almonds?
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Hi Michelle,
Almond meal will be fine too.
Happy baking!
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Hi…what can be used in this recipe instead of ricotta cheese..as im lactose intolerant..thks
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You could use tofu instead, I think this could be a good alternative to ricotta.
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We been holidaying in Anglesea and was my turn to surprise the family preparing a dessert. So I decided to go with your recipe.
It was absolute stunning success. Thank you!…
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Thanks Greg! I am really pleased you enjoyed the cake! I made this several times, it always seems to be a winner.
All the best!
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Dear Alida since I came across this recipe, I haven t stopped making it. I have passed it on to many relatives and friends as everyone says it s delicious. My kind of taste.
I look forward to baking more of your wonderful recipes and will keep on following you. My grandad was italian so I love anything that s italian. Btw I am fro Malta which is very near to Italy.
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Dear Nathalie,
It is so nice to read comments like yours, I am really pleased you are enjoying the recipe; this makes me happy!
It is nice that you want to cherish your Italian heritage and as you know food is so important to us.
All the best!
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Hi Alida, your recipe travels the world. I live in Mauritius and just made this cake on a rainy morning just before Easter. It turned out delicious and it’s very easy to make. I will definitely make it again.
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Oh it must be fab in the Mauritius! I wish I was there enjoying the sunshine and swimming in your blue sea 🙂
I am pleased you enjoyed the recipe!
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Can I use almond flour?
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Hi Ida, yes almond flour would do.
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I made this for Jewish Passover and it was perfect. Wished I had some Meyer lemons but this was amazing. Will be making this over and over again thank you. By the way yours is the best recipe so many others are just too sweet.
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That’s great! I don’t like much sugar in cakes either. I am pleased you like the recipe 🙂
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The best almond cake. Very moist, not sweet and gluten free. Perfect. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
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Thank you Iza for trying the recipe, I am very pleased you enjoyed it 🙂
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I’m a pretty good cook and love to try new things. For some reason, I don’t think my cake came out the way it is suppose to which is really disappointing given the price of these ingredients. It’s a mushy wet consistency. Not sure what happened as I followed the recipie exactly. Very disappointing.
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Hi Meg,
I am sorry the recipe didn’t work for you. Perhaps it is the type of ricotta you used? Some ricotta has still got lots of whey which makes it very wet and it needs to be strained a little. If the cake is still very wet inside after you have baked it, it helps leaving it in the oven with the door left ajar.
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I just made this cake ,I followed the recipe until it came to the butter. I thought that it would be nice to just go ahead and brown the butter.( I love brown butter) . I don’t know what it tastes like without Brown butter, but with it the cake is great. Thanks again for sharing this recipe I plan on making it again very soon.
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That’s an interesting twist. I have never tried it with browned butter..thank you for your comment! 🙂
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Hello, by now you will be well and truly married and celebrating anniversaries! I’m wondering if this cake would freeze, or even keep for a few days, if I wanted to make it ahead. I look forward to making it for mu upcoming birthday event with the family.
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Yes you can freeze it but I would not make it too many days ahead. Two days at the most as it won’t taste as fresh otherwise.
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I made it and was very happy with it for a celebration cake. Suits my Coeliac husband perfectly. Just made another one this morning!
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I am very pleased to hear that. Thank you for your comment.
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Can I use almond flour? If so how much?
Thank you
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Yes, the same quantity as the ground almonds.
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Made this cake tonight for a New Years Eve celebration for my husband and I. Light, moist and delicious. Thanks to my Alexa, I was able to easily convert recipe equivalents for grams to cups while baking. Used 3 1/8 C almond flour and the consistency was perfect. Next time will have blueberries on the side and share with my in-laws. Thank you!
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I am very pleased you enjoyed it Nancy. All the best for the new year!
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Hello can I use almond flour for this recipe instead of all this grounded almond?
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Hi Roger, yes you can. Best wishes. Alida
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