Eat Your Heart Out: Ricotta cake

With midterm season well underway, I think we can all agree that a quick, hearty treat would really hit the spot right about now. Fortunately, I was able to find a recipe for ricotta cake, which my grandmother would make when there was a party in the works that required great planning and an even greater smorgasbord. This cake became a mainstay at backyard barbecues and Easter dinners alike because it can be made in a quick fix and is always a crowd pleaser. It also doesn’t hurt that it can feed a small nation.

To make this formidable confection, you’re going to want to start with three pounds of ricotta cheese. Add eight eggs and whip them with a fork or egg beater. Then, add three tablespoons of vanilla and three quarters of a cup of sugar. Beat the ingredients again until they’re creamy. Then set them aside.

The real beauty of making this cake comes in the simplicity of its batter. All you need to do is prep a box of yellow cake mix as instructed on its package. While my family generally preferred to make treats from scratch, they also knew that there wasn’t always time for such indulgences. Plus, this cake tastes so good that it really doesn’t matter that it comes from a box. Once the batter has been prepped, pour it into an ungreased 11-by-14 inch baking pan. If all you have is a 9-by-13 pan, pour in a little more than three quarters of the batter and use the rest in a smaller pan. Otherwise, your cake simply won’t fit into the pan. Next, take the ricotta cheese and pour it into the center of the cake batter. Resist the urge to mix the two ingredients: they will be able to evenly distribute themselves without any extra prodding. Once the cheese has settled into the cake, place the pan in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then remove the cake from the oven and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. Place it back into the oven for another half an hour or until a tooth pick poked into the cake comes back clean.

Even once the cake has finished baking, the cheese layer shouldn't have much body to it. I find that baking it the night before you plan on eating it is your best bet. A night in the refrigerator does the cake wonders. Plus, it makes for a great breakfast if you’re into that kind of thing. I like to justify it to myself by remembering how every piece of cake probably has about an entire egg in it. An egg, some cheese and some carbs. Basically a balanced breakfast, right? Regardless of when you have it, or who you share it with, I hope you all enjoy this fabulously easy, tasty treat. Happy baking!