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A straight on shot of lemon pound cake with blueberry glaze dripping over the edges of the cake
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5 from 6 votes

Lemon Ricotta Cake with Blueberry Glaze

This citrus-packed Lemon Ricotta Cake is a quick and easy bake with a fluffy texture and moist crumb. Top the cake with a colorful blueberry glaze for a truly perfect dessert!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Rest time1 hour
Total Time2 hours 10 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16 people
Calories: 311kcal

Equipment

  • Food processor, microplane, or zester
  • Stand mixer with paddle attachment, or handheld mixer
  • Bundt pan
  • Fine mesh sieve

Ingredients

Lemon Ricotta Cake

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour 360g
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 large eggs two whole eggs, two egg whites (room temperature)
  • cups granulated sugar 300g
  • 3-4 tablespoons lemon zest or 1½ peeled lemons
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil 60ml
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter melted (57g)
  • ¼ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed (60ml)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
  • ¾ cup ricotta cheese (full-fat) room temperature (180g)
  • 1 cup whole milk (240ml)

Blueberry Glaze

  • 1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen (115g fresh)
  • cups powdered sugar sifted (180g)
  • 1-2 tablespoons water, milk, or heavy cream

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350℉/180℃. Grease and flour a bundt pan and set aside.
  • Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
    3 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Separate two of the eggs, keeping the whites and saving the yolks for another time.
    4 large eggs
  • Peel one and a half lemons and add the peels to the food processor with the sugar. Blend until no chunks of peels remain. Alternatively, zest 3-4 tablespoons of lemon zest using a microplane and mix it into the sugar with your fingertips.
    1½ cups granulated sugar, 3-4 tablespoons lemon zest
  • Add the eggs and egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium high speed for about 3 minutes until foamy and fluffy.
  • Add the lemon zest sugar, vegetable oil, melted butter, lemon juice, vanilla, and ricotta and mix to combine, then scrape down the sides.
    ¼ cup vegetable oil, ¼ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup lemon juice, 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract, ¾ cup ricotta cheese (full-fat)
  • With the mixer running on low speed, add half of the flour mixture, drizzle in the milk, then add the remaining flour. Stop mixing as soon as the flour is incoprorated.
    1 cup whole milk
  • Pour the mixture into the prepared bundt pan and spread evenly. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the center (but still has moist crumbs).
  • Remove the pound cake from the oven and rest on a cooling rack for 20 minutes, then turn the cake out of the pan onto a serving platter to finish cooling.

Blueberry Glaze

  • When the cake has finished cooling, add the blueberries to a small saucepan over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Gently mash down the blueberries as they are cooking to release all the juices.
    1 cup blueberries
  • Once the blueberries have started to break down and produce juices, pass them through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl so you are left with only the thick liquid.
  • Sift the powdered sugar into a separate bowl, and start by adding only 1 - 2 tablespoons of the blueberry juice to the sugar. Mix until incorporated (it will be very thick and pasty at this point), then slowly add in a small drizzle of liquid at a time and whisk together. The glaze should be thick, but pourable.
    1½ cups powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons water, milk, or heavy cream
  • Once the cake is cool, spoon or pour as much glaze as desired over the cake. Slice, and serve!

Notes

Store the cake at room temperature for one day, then in the refrigerator for an additional three days, tightly covered. 
Test the pour of the glaze on an overturned drinking glass to see how it falls. Add more powdered sugar if it's too thin, and more liquid if it's too thick.
Note that the glaze can be a different color and shade each time it's made and depends on the batch of blueberries. Follow my blueberry glaze post for guidance on how to make different shades of glaze.
Note: This recipe has been adjusted to create a lighter, fluffier texture and was updated on June 22, 2022.

Nutrition

Calories: 311kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 195mg | Potassium: 92mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 238IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 1mg