Moist and delicious glazed Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake is the perfect dessert to serve at your next brunch or dinner. Full of flavor, this cake can be made up to 3 days in advance. Glaze with limoncello and sprinkle with Paradise Lemon Peel.
This light and flavorful Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake will definitely become one of your favorite Italian desserts. Because of the creamy ricotta, this cake stays super moist and airy.
When I first tried this cake, I couldn’t believe the flavor. I’ve never been a huge lemon dessert fan, but this cake is the exception. It is truly the perfect balance of sweetness with a hint of delicious lemon flavor.
Incorporate Paradise Lemon Peel
Moreover, incorporate Paradise Diced Lemon Peel to this delicious dessert to add a sweet lemony bite. Sprinkle on top for a beautiful finish.
How to Make Lemon Ricotta Cake
If you have a stand up mixer, this is a great time to pull it out! Otherwise, a handheld mixer works well. First, you want to butter and flour a bundt pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Second, cream together the butter and sugar. Then add the ricotta and cream until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Incorporate in the eggs, vanilla, lemon peel and zest. Sift the dry ingredients and add those in. Fold in the candied lemon peel. Pour in prepared pan.
Bake for 40-45 minutes until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan.
For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until desired consistency is reached. Pour over the bundt cake and sprinkle on candied lemon peel. Serve warm or refrigerate for up to three days.
Tips for Making Lemon Cake
- Be sure to cream together the ricotta, butter, and sugar well so that you get an airy and fluffy cake.
- You could also use this recipe to make a layer cake by dividing the batter between two cake pans and reducing the baking time.
- Poke holes in the cake using a wooden skewer before pouring on the glaze.
- For thinner glaze, add more water or lemon juice. For thicker, add less.
- Substitute the lemon in the glaze for limoncello liquor if serving this for adults.
Looking for more delicious and easy cake recipes? Don’t miss Chocolate Toffee Caramel Cake or Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake.
Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 15 ounces whole milk ricotta
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup Candied Lemon Peel like Paradise
Lemon Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice add more or less for consistency
- Candied Lemon Peel for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a bundt cake pan and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or stand up mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until well combined. Add the ricotta and blend until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, incorporating well. Mix in the vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in two batches. Fold in the candied lemon peel.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth as needed. Bake 40-50 minutes, or until the cake is set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in pan for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
- Make the glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Add more juice or water if needed to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle the lemon glaze over the top of the cake, sprinkle with candied lemon peel, and serve.
Notes
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I am loving the fresh lemon flavor in this bundt cake.
Ricotta is the besttttt in cake!!! Cannot wait to try this one!!
I just made this cake. It is super soft and moist. The lemon flavor is excellent. You have to try it.
I adore the flavor combo of lemon and ricotta. Especially in desserts. This look so perfect!
I baked this cake and its is delicious. I followed the recipe to the letter, with the exclusion of the candied lemon peel for garnishment that I could not find in grocery stores. But the taste of the cake was not compromised. I highly recommend this recipe. It is delicious and easy!
Paradise lemon peel is available from Amazon. It’s worth ordering! Loved the cake!
We’re doing Italian this Christmas! Found your recipe a while ago and am anxious
to bake it! Couldn’t find candied lemon peel for batter and decoration but
found orange candied lemon peel-hope its ok to sub for both! Next year
I’ll shop earlier and get the lemon! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Janice. So happy to hear you’ll be making this cake. It’s so delicious, I’m sure your going to love it! The candied peel you bought will be a fine substitution. Also, you can omit the candy peel altogether if you want. Let me know how this turns out for you. Merry Christmas!
I love how refreshing lemon cake is, this recipe was no exception! Loved every bite of it, thank you 🙂 Making it again this weekend for a birthday!
Love lemon ricotta cake! This recipe is a keeper
This looks amazing, I can’t wait to try it! Will this work in a 12 cup bundt pan? I always have a hard time figuring out if recipes will work in the pan I have. Thanks for sharing!
Hi! Yes, this recipe works well in a 12 cup bundt pan. Just be sure to test for doneness with a toothpick to make sure it is cooked through. Let me know how it goes. Happy cooking!
I just made this..it looks beautiful and smells great..it didn’t seem to rise much. Wondering if I did something wrong
Hi Margaret. Sorry your cake didn’t rise much. There are a couple of reasons this may have happened. It’s possible the baking soda was outdated or the oven temp was off. I make sure to change out my baking soda every three months and use an oven thermometer to gauge the temperature. It’s also possible that the wet mixture wasn’t incorporated fully… lack of air can cause flat cakes. I hope that it still tasted delicious and you loved it otherwise!
Just baked this…it was easy and smells delicious! Do I add the icing while it’s still warm?
Hi! So happy you made this. Let the cake cool slightly before pouring in the icing. Hope you enjoy it!
I loved this cake .Best ricotta cake ive ever made thank you
So happy you loved it! Thanks for the comment.
Can I make 1/2 this recipe in a loaf pan? Perhaps using 2 small eggs? Everything else I can cut in half easily
I think that would work. Enjoy!
I’m thinking your bundt pan was much larger than mine because my cake took much longer to bake (about 75 minutes). Nice flavor though.
Hi Ginny. I used a standard 12 cup bundt pan. I know that oven temps can vary widely so it is possible that your cake took longer to bake. I hope you enjoyed it otherwise! Thanks 🙂
What type of frosting would you recommend if you made it as a double layer cake? I’m thinking the glaze wouldn’t work well. Thanks.
Great idea to turn this recipe into a cake! I would make a basic cream cheese or buttercream frosting an add a splash of limoncello and grated lemon peel to the frosting. Let me know how this turns out for you.
In the first picture of the cake, the cake is shown as yellow. It doesn’t have that lightly browned look that bundt cakes have. Any idea on how to achieve this?
I think the photo looks yellowish because of the sunlight coming in through the window, but I can assure you that it was the standard brownish color that bundt cakes have. All that matters is that it’s delicious! Thanks for the comment and hope you enjoy the recipe.
You say lemon juice twice. Confused about amounts. 1 lemon only. I bought the paradise lemon peel candied. More detail about lemon juice
You will need two fresh lemons total, one for the cake and one for the frosting. For the cake batter you will need to zest the lemon peel first then squeeze the juice, adding both the zest and juice to the batter. For the frosting, you will need the juice of the second lemon. I hope that helps to clear up any confusion. The paradise lemon peel just adds texture and decoration, but the key to this cake is using fresh lemons as stated. Thanks and hope you enjoy the recipe!
Hi , just wanted to know type of flour do you use ( all purpose flour or cake flour? ) your cake looks sooooooo delicious 😋 thanks !!!
Hello. I just use regular all purpose flour for this recipe. And, yes, it is soooo delicious!! Let me know if you try the recipe and how it works out for you! 🙂
Hi Angela,
Can you use GF flour in the recipe?
Hi Brenda. I’m not too familiar with GF flour but if you have one that you love, and it’s a cup for cup substitution, then I’m sure it would work out just fine. Let me know how it goes for you.
DELICIOUS CAKE! Got rave reviews from my family and disappeared in seconds! I added fresh blueberries right to the batter and it was a hit! Thank you for a perfect recipe
So wonderful to hear that you loved it! Great idea to add blueberries to the batter. Thanks for the comment 🙂
I can’t wait to make it! Sounds easy and delish! Question: Can I freeze it? and if yes, do I put the lemon drizzle before freezing…..or wait til it’s defrosted to poke the holes and drizzle the lemon glaze?
Hi Phyllis. You can make this cake ahead and freeze it for up to a month. I would wait to add the lemon glaze until after you have defrosted the cake though. Let me know how it works out for you. Thanks 🙂
Can I use part-skim milk ricotta in this recipe?
Yes, you can. Let me know how you like the cake!
i dont want to go out or use candied lemon or anything candied so can i omit or substitute anything? thank you
You can just omit it altogether. Let me know how it goes
This cake looks delishous! Does the ricotta require draining before adding?
I will drain any liquid that’s on top of the ricotta, but no need to drain anymore than that. Enjoy!!
HinO don’t have a Bundt cake pan
Can I use a regular cake pan?
That would be fine. You just may need to adjust the baking time. Enjoy!
I was so anxious to make this cake and so disappointed. I dont think it is the recipe, I think it must be me. Extremely dense, doesn’t feel like cake. I used convection bake, about 45 min. Was starting to get too dark, poked for doneness and it appeared done, but didn’t rise like I expected. After I glazed and cut a piece, it was dense, im not enjoying the flavor, I feel like I’m tasting ricotta. Could I have not beaten it enough? I consider myself a good baker, i will try again. any thoughts?
I’m sorry to hear that the cake didn’t turn out for you. A couple of things could have gone wrong. First, I wouldn’t have baked using the convection oven. Because of how the air circulates around the food, you would need to lower the heat settings. Which is probably why your cake was dark on the outside and didn’t rise. As for the ricotta, you need to be sure to beat it until light and fluffy as instructed. Would love for you to try again using a standard baking method and being sure to whip that ricotta. And if you love lemon, add more next time. Let me know how it goes.
Can I replace the vanilla extract for lemon extract?
BY FAR my favorite cake recipe! My family begs for it every party! I add about 1/2 cup of frozen wild blueberries dusted with flour to the batter and it is so delicious. Thank you for my go-to summer dessert recipe!
So happy you love it! The blueberries are a perfect addition too 🙂
I live in a small town and all I can get is part skim ricotta. Will this work? I REALLY want to make this cake
Yes! Part skim ricotta works here. Enjoy!
I’ve made this as written several times and it’s delicious! Wondering if anyone has tried to reduce the sugar and if so, what did they change and how did it turn out?
You could reduce the sugar by a third and be ok.
Have you ever substituted limoncello in the batter for the lemon juice?
Yes, it’s delicious!
This recipe is SOOOO GOOOD!! I followed it exactly except since I couldn’t find any candied lemon peel, I made my own. It was well worth the work, because this cake is to die for!! THANK YOU for sharing this recipe!
Thanks for the comment! So happy you loved the cake 🙂
If substituting Limoncello on cake and glaze what are the measurements?
It’s a one-to-one substitution, so sub 3 tablespoons of limoncello for the lemon juice. Enjoy!
Can I use Greek yogurt instead if ricotta?
Greek yogurt will give you a denser cake. Try to use ricotta if you can, or use yogurt if you are ok with the consistency.
Delicious – but no Bundt pan in my kitchen since I down-sized. I put most of the dough in a loaf pan, then split the remainder between two mini-loaf pans. I wrapped the minis for gifts. So, I have my cake and get to eat it, too!