Our Aunt Rosemarie was always our fashion role model as we were growing up. Her beautiful red hair is her signature look and she always dresses so beautifully. Aunt Rosemarie always had a way of making us feel so special. Whenever we visited her in Brooklyn, as children or as adults, she cooked so much food that she could have fed all of Brooklyn! We have fond memories of the long folding tables that she and our uncle Ralph set up in the living room to accommodate our large family. For us, it was like going to a fine Italian restaurant, enjoying appetizers, pasta, main dish, and desserts. The meal was endless and oh so good! We are happy to share her delicious ricotta sheet cake that she gave us during a recent phone call. Her original recipe is not gluten-free however, we replaced the box cake mix with adapting our gluten-free cupcake recipe. It tastes just as good as the original. This cake is a real crowd pleaser and is so easy to make. ❤️❤️Servings: 12 Prep Time: 10 minutes Bake Time: 1 hour 25 minutes Difficulty: Easy
INGREDIENTS
- Cake Batter
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- 1 ½ tsp grated orange zest
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp Fior di Sicilia
- 3 eggs
- 2 ¼ cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 Flour
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- Ricotta Mixture
- 2 lbs whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- juice of 1 small lemon or 1 tsp lemon extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- fresh blueberries or raspberries
- powdered sugar
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- In a medium size bowl mix the ricotta cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla and lemon juice with a wooden spoon and set aside.
- Grease and flour a deep 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter & sugar together until light & fluffy.
- Add the orange zest, vanilla, and Fiori di Sicilia.
- Beat just to mix ingredients.
- Add the eggs and beat until well combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk.
- Beat mixture until smooth batter forms.
- Pour cake batter into the greased and floured pan.
- Next, pour the ricotta mixture directly on top of the cake batter in the pan. No need to spread or stir as the ricotta will sink to the bottom and form a nice layer.
- Bake at 350°F for 1 hour & 25 minutes or until top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan on a cooling rack. Once cooled cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar and top with fresh fruit just before serving.
- Enjoy!
