Blueberry Ricotta Cake Recipe
Easy Blueberry Ricotta Cake with lemon glaze is perfect served as a coffee or breakfast cake. Ricotta cake is a delicately sweet and elegant dessert with a clafoutis-like texture.
We love blueberry desserts like our popular Blueberry Lemon Cake, epic Blueberry Pie, or loaded Blueberry Crumble. This blueberry ricotta cake does not disappoint.
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Blueberry Ricotta Cake Recipe:
I was tempted to call this a cheesecake but the texture isn’t what you would expect from cheesecake. Ricotta cake is a cross between a clafoutis, custard, soufflé and cheesecake. You’ll have to try it for yourself, then report back and share your thoughts. This blueberry lemon ricotta cake is a delight and I particularly good served slightly warm, dripping with lemon glaze.
What is Ricotta Cheese?
Ricotta cheese is made from whey leftover from making other cheeses. It is inexpensive and available in the refrigerated cheese aisle of most grocery stores, or you can make homemade ricotta. It is smooth and slightly grainy in texture. Ricotta is a versatile cheese and works well in sweet desserts like this ricotta cake and in savory dishes like Classic Lasagna.
Can I substitute with Cottage Cheese?
The flavor profile of cottage cheese is similar to ricotta but the texture is different as even “small curd” cottage cheese has significantly larger curd than ricotta cheese. If you must substitute, drain and mash the cottage cheese first.
How to Make Ricotta Cake:
This cake is simple to assemble and your oven does the rest.
- Pre-heat the oven, grease and line a 9″ springform pan and whisk together dry ingredients.
- Beat eggs and sugar until frothy
- Blend in melted butter, ricotta, sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest.
- Add flour mixture, mixing until combined then transfer to pan, top with blueberries and bake
It will poof up slightly in the center like a typical cheesecake and relax down slightly as it cools. Once it’s out of the oven, let it rest in the pan for 20 minutes then transfer to a cake platter and serve warm with lemon glaze.
How to Make Lemon Glaze:
It really doesn’t get any easier and all you need for a good lemon glaze are 2 ingredients: (1) FRESH lemon juice and (2) powdered sugar. Stir to combine and add more lemon juice for a thinner glaze or add more powdered sugar for a thicker glaze. Lemon glaze adds a fresh pop of lemon flavor to many fruit-based cakes or these Blueberry Muffins.
More Breakfast Cake Recipes:
These breakfast cakes all have 2 things in common: easy and delicious! They come together fast and are wonderful for unexpected (or expected) company.
- Easy Strawberry Cake drizzled with irresistible strawberry sauce
- Berry Crumb Cake with buttery crumb topping
- Easy Almond Cake (naturally gluten free!)
- Apple Cake – a classic “sharlotka” cake
- Fresh Peach Cake – with the softest crumb
- Apple Dapple Cake – glazed apple coffee cake
This Ricotta Cake was inspired by the Blueberry Breakfast Cake from King Arthur Flour.
Blueberry Ricotta Cake
This easy Blueberry Ricotta Cake is perfect served as a breakfast or coffee cake. Ricotta cake is a delicately sweet and elegant dessert with a clafoutis-like texture.
Ingredients
For the Blueberry Ricotta Cake:
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter melted (not hot)
- 15 oz ricotta cheese (about 2 cups)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest from 1 large lemon
- 8 oz blueberries (1 1/2 cups) rinsed and dried
For the Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
Instructions
How to Make Ricotta Cake:
-
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease a 9” springform pan and line the bottom with a ring of parchment. Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder and set aside.
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In a large mixing bowl, beat together eggs and sugar on high speed for 2 minutes until frothy.
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Blend in melted butter until smooth. Add 15 oz ricotta, 1/4 cup sour cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 Tbsp lemon zest and beat on medium speed for 1 minute or just until blended.
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Add flour mixture and beat on low speed just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle 1 1/2 cups blueberries evenly over the top.
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Bake in the center of oven at 350˚F for 60-65 min or until edges are lightly browned and cake appears set. It will still have a slight jiggle in the center. Remove from oven and cool 20 minutes in the pan then transfer to a cake platter. Once cake is on the cake platter, you should be apple to easily slide out the parchment from under the cake.
How to Make Lemon Glaze:
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In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice, adding more juice or powdered sugar to thin or thicken the glaze to desired consistency. Drizzle over warm cake and serve.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
natashaskitchen
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Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hey Natasha, I can’t seem to find any 9 inch baking pans… What can I use to substitute for them.
Hi Michael, do you have a 10″ or 8″ pan you can use?
I made the Blueberry Ricotta cake for the New Year family lunch and honestly my mother in law said it was the best cake I ever made!! This is incredible praise, because I am a good baker and I am the “go to” person in the family for cakes and deserts. Everyone loved the texture of the ricotta cheese and the fact that the cake was not too sweet. One of the best cakes I ever made. Thanks Natasha for a great recipe that I will make again.
Sounds like you found your new favorite & go-to cake! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Alina!
Think I can substitute the sugar with honey? If so – how much should I use?
I haven’t tested that to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Thank you, Natasha! So yummy! We ate the whole cake at once! I would put 10 stars if I could. The texture is so creamy and moist, it reminds cheesecake but it’s 100 times better.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Elena!
Does this need to be refrigerated?
Hi Carolyn, it could keep well for a day at room temperature, but I would cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.
Another amazing recipe, easy to make and delicious love all the combos
Thank you for sharing that awesome feedback and review with us, Nata!
Fantastic cake. I made it with home made ricotta and organic blueberries from the farm up the road. Since I learned how to make ricotta I have been looking for recipes using it. Thanks for this.
I can imagine how great this tastes with farm fresh ingredients.
Such a fabulous recipe, Natasha! I replaced the sugar with stevia/monkfruit sweetener and used spelt flour instead of regular plain flour. It came out beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and for sharing that with me.
Is there any reason why the blueberries would all sink to the bottom?
Hi Natalia, I haven’t had that happen. We are more than happy to troubleshoot, was anything altered in the recipe?
Wow ! The recipe was so simple to follow – for someone like me who isn’t good at cooking or baking. It surprised me how perfect the cake came out from the very first try. I will bake it again this weekend for the family.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
I concur completely: this is a favorite recipe for me to make with my five-year-old, who is much more meticulious about beating the eggs to a proper froth (“It says TWO MINUTES, Papa!”) than I… and I get better results with his help!
I made it with mascarpone+cream cheese as I couldn’t find ricotta. The result was still amazing.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
Hello Natasha,
Thank you for this delicious recipe!
How long can this cake go without refrigeration?
Hi Min, Yes, you would want to refrigerate this cake. We haven’t tested leaving it out for an extended period of time so I cannot advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
This cake was delicious!! Easy and cool on a hot summer day.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that.
I would love a gluten free low calorie birthday cake. My birthday is Sunday and would love a great idea for a low calorie,cause i am on a diet and would love my cake thank you and will be waiting to here.
Happy Birthday Lucille! Have you tried our Almond Cake yet?
Thank Natasha! This cake is amazingly delicious!! I just love how the blueberries sit on the top. I’ve got two pie crusts chilling (thanks for that recipe too!) Blueberry pie tomorrow :). I just love blueberry season here in NJ.
Thanks again for the great recipe!
Thank you for the wonderful review! I’m so happy you enjoyed that.
Hey Natasha, I was wondering do you think cherries would work instead of blueberries?
Hi Lyuda, I haven’t tested that so I cannot advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I love the cake I tried making it with strawberries instead of blueberries today and it wasn’t nearly as good, I have made alot of recipes from your site and my family and I have enjoyed all of them,thank you
Hi Gail! Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
I have a 10 inch spring form pan will it still work for this cake?
Hi Gail, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work, the outcome may be a little thinner. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
I have made this delicious cake twice already. I am making 2 more this weekend doe Father’s Day. Question…any way I can make this gluten free? Can I use almond flour instead of regular flour? Would the measurements be the same?
Thank for all the wonderful recipes!
Hi Renee, I honestly have not tested this gluten free so I cannot advise. If you experiment I would love to know how you like that!
I have tried this recipe for the first time yesterday with slight alteration: 1 cup of sugar and 1 dry pint of blueberries. It tastes heavenly good. Lemon glaze is so amazingly complimentary to blueberries and creaminess of ricotta. It is quite refreshing (if you can use this definition towards cakes per se) especially once the cake left overnight in the refrigerator. Yummmmmm. I have a picture how it turned out, just do not know how to send it;)
Hi Olga! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for that feedback & great review!
Hey Natasha !
Awesome recipe. Thanks for sharing. Quick question. When my cake comes out of the oven its nice and fluffy but as soon as it cools it shrinks . Why is that? Any tips?
Thanks.
Hi Lidiya, as with most cheesecakes, that is expected and normal. You will note in the photos, it is slightly raised at the edges. I hope you love the recipe!
Absolutely love this combination and uniqueness! I already made it 3 times and one of the times I made it with fresh strawberries. It wasn’t too bad with the strawberries but I liked it with blueberries better. 5 stars!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review Gina!
This sounds absolutely delicious. Do you think it would work with blackberries?
Hi Kseniya, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Thank you for this recipe. I actually decided not to risk it and ended up making it with blueberries. It is perfect. Not too sweet, just right!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Kseniya!! Thank you for sharing that with me
How should you store the cake once it’s baked? Room temp or refrigerator? Thanks! Can’t wait to try it!!!
Hi Taylor, we covered it with plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator overnight.
Does the cake need to be refrigerated
It came out beautiful
Hi Steven, Yes, you would want to refrigerate this cake.
Can you make this with farmers cheese instead of ricotta?
Hi Rose, I haven’t tested that so I cannot advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
RE: Farmer’s Cheese. There’s a very similiar product from Eastern Europe called twarog (so similar it might just be the translation of “Farmer’s Cheese”?)… I used twarog instead of ricotta once and the results were every bit as delicious.
NOTE: There’s also a dessert called zapikanka (apologies for bad transliteration) that’s common in Russia (but may be a recipe imported from elsewhere) made with twarog, but without the fruit: my Russian in-laws were very impressed with this version. This recipe is moister. Yum.
Also pretty easy: my five-year-old usually helps make it.
Hi Jesse, that is so great to know that it works well with Twarog. Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Hi Natasha. Is this kinda custardy? I’ve had a ricotta cake only one other time. This looks delicious. Can’t wait to make it for my family.
Hi Sarah! I wouldn’t say so. We posted a few photos in the recipe that show the texture. I hope that helps.
Absolutely delicious!! Made it for mothers day and it was gone within minutes!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review Victoria!!
Can I substitute the sour cream with full fat plain greek yogurt?
Hi Jenny, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Made this for a birthday and there wasn’t a piece leftover!
Sounds like you found a new favorite Sommer! Thank you for your awesome review!
This is what I want for Mother’s Day! YUM!
So perfect for Mother’s day! Thanks Lauren!!
WOW!!! How had I never had ricotta cake before! This is seriously amazing!!
Isn’t it amazing Chelsea! Thank you for that great review!
I seriously love the combination of flavors! It was a huge hit!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that Toni! Thank you for that awesome feecback!
I had not had ricotta cake before – wow, this is good!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that Sarah!
Do not have the right size pan. Would a bundt pan work?
Hi Robin, I haven’t tested this in a bundt pan but I think it could work. I just wouldn’t be able to tell you how much you need to modify the bake time.
I just made the Blueberry Ricotta cake and it was AMAZING. I used salted butter and it came out perfect. I also used lemon juice from concentrate. This is so good and it’s not too sweet. A must do recipe. I wanted to send a photo but it doesn’t show how .
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Can I use frozen blueberries?
Hi Julie, frozen blueberries should work fine but I would suggest baking an extra 5 minutes.
Can I make this ahead of time and freeze it with icing etc until a later date? Thanks, Lydia
Hi Lydia, I honestly haven’t tried freezing it, so I’m not sure.
Just on time. I have all ingredients for that cake, except blueberries. Need to hurry up to buy blueberries and make that cake. Thanks so much
Yes! I hope you love it Ann!
Hi Natasha,
Can this be made with frozen blueberries?
Hi Tanya, yes frozen blueberries would work but your bake time might be 5 minutes longer.