Claire Saffitz' Ricotta Cake from Dessert Person

Yesterday was my friend Eric’s birthday so I wanted to bake him a cake. I recently started getting into cheesemaking so I had some homemade ricotta sitting in the fridge. I’m trying to actually start using the cookbooks that have been collecting dust on my shelf, so I decided to bake the ricotta cake recipe from Claire Saffitz’ Dessert Person.

I definitely overbeat the egg whites (I’ve been doing that ever since I got a stand mixer I guess) but it turned out amazing anyway.

I topped it with a homemade lemon yuzu curd and some dried lavender and hand-picked goldenrod. I kinda panicked that the dried flowers would have an awful mouthfeel after I sprinkled them on but thankfully nah.

This was my first time making this recipe and it might be my forever substitute for cheesecake. It’s crustless, though the middle sinks after baking, giving the cake a cute crust-like rim. If you’ve ever had Japanese cheesecake, it’s sort of the middle-ground between western cheesecake and that. Cakier than typical cheesecake, but still dense and chewy. Not too sweet, doesn’t weigh you down. Pretty much everybody got seconds. (brag)

The original recipe called for a cumquat marmelade, but I have no fucking idea where to find a cumquat near me, and it’s hard for me to not go off in my own quirked-up direction at least a little bit. The lemon/yuzu curd paired with the cake extremely well - too sweet for me on its own, but an amazing addition to a pretty light cake.

I don’t often remake recipes but this one will definitely come back around. The cake itself is such a lovely canvas to play with flavors. I’d like to get weird with it next time. Maybe mix in some blue cheese and top with honeycomb, or make a sweet tomato jam topping.

Anyway later loser!!!!!!!!!