Creamy Chocolate and Ricotta Cake

I can share with you a delicious Italian recipe for a creamy chocolate and ricotta cake. It is a soft and indulgent dessert, perfect for those who love the meeting between the intense taste of chocolate and the freshness of ricotta.

Ingredients

• 250 g ricotta
• 200 g dark chocolate
• 100 g sugar
• 3 eggs
• 50 g flour
• 1 packet of vanillin or one teaspoon of vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
2. Break the dark chocolate into pieces and melt it in a double boiler or in the microwave, being careful not to burn it.
3. In a bowl, beat the ricotta with the sugar and vanillin until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous mixture.
4. Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Add the yolks to the ricotta mixture and mix well.
5. Add the melted chocolate to the mixture and stir until fully incorporated.
6. In another bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks with a pinch of salt until you achieve a foamy and firm consistency.
7. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the ricotta and chocolate mixture, taking care not to deflate them.
8. Add the sifted flour and mix gently.
9. Pour the batter into a pan lined with parchment paper or greased and floured.
10. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
11. Let the cake cool before removing it from the pan.

Curiosities

The fusion of the sweetness of ricotta and the intensity of chocolate is a classic in Italian pastry. This cake is suitable to be served both as a dessert and as an afternoon snack, perhaps accompanied by a dusting of powdered sugar or an extra chocolate sauce for the most indulgent.

If you want a gluten-free alternative, you can replace the traditional flour with almond flour or other nut flours, which pair very well with the flavor of chocolate.