Orange Ricotta Cake with Raspberry Sauce

Orange Ricotta Cake with Raspberry Sauce

There is nothing more delicious than a slice of warm buttery sweet cake accompanied by a cup of hot tea, or a glass of milk...if tea ain't your thang. Orange cake is my absolute favorite!!! It is one of those foods that take me back in time. This cake reminds me of my grandmother. Teta (what we call grandmother in Arabic) is an amazing cook, but is not much of a baker. There were a few baked items she made, but she perfected them. This was one of them. Orange cake is the most popular cake in the Middle East. Because they used orange as a natural flavor used and substitute for vanilla extract to mask the flavor of eggs.
She would bake the cake in a special bunt pan on the stove. Not sure why. Although she had a perfectly working oven, she just prefered it that way. It would make her whole apartment smell so sweet. She would let it cool just enough to cut into. Then, she would serve it to us with hot tea.


I have had this recipe for a long while. Not sure how I came across it, I found it in one of my old recipe binders. I did a few adjustments to the original recipe. I hope you like mine :)

Ingredients

2 Cups Cake Flour
2 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature
15 oz tub Ricotta Cheese (almost 2 cups)
2 Cups Sugar + 2 Tbsp.
4 Eggs, room temperature
Zest of one whole Orange
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp.Fresh Orange Juice
2 Tbsp. Grande Marnier (*you can substitute this with orange juice)

Directions

1.  Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.
2. Generously spray or butter a 8 by 11.5" pan.
3. In small bowl combing 2 Tbsp sugar, orange zest, Grand Marnier (if using), orange juice and vanilla.
4. In bowl whisk together flour, 2 cups sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside
5. In a mixing bowl add butter and ricotta cheese. Mix on medium high until light and fluffy. 2-3 minutes.
6.  Add one egg at a time until incorporated.
7. Pour in the liquids and orange zest mixture.
8. Slowly incorporate the flour, just until combined. Do not over mix.
9. Pour the batter in buttered dish and bake 45-60 minutes. When golden brown, and tooth pick comes out clean. Let cool for 30 minutes.

Raspberry Sauce
2 pints fresh Rasberries
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 Cup water
(*Feel free to use frozen raspberries. Add 2 Tbsp sugar with all contents of bag.)

• Add all ingredients in a pot, and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. 
• Transfer to processor and puree. Pour through a sieve preserve juice in a bowl, discard the seeds.

Finished straight from the oven.

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!