The ricotta in this Ricotta Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe doesn't
affect the flavor of the coffee cakes, it just gives the cake an
incredibly moist, dense texture.
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 to 2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
- FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPPING
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 stick of butter
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 F
Sift together flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Set aside.
In an electric mixer, mix together butter and sugar until smooth, 5-8 minutes.
Combine eggs, vanilla, ricotta and milk. Add slowly to the butter and sugar, mixing after each addition.
Slowly mix in dry ingredients.
Fold in the blueberries, mixing only until incorporated.
Batter will be very thick. Scrap it into a lightly greased baking pan.
An 8x8 pan will yield a high, thick coffee cake (and take longer to bake). Larger pans will yield a thinner cake.
For
the streusel topping, mix together the brown sugar, flour, oats and
cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add butter, using your fingers or a fork to
break it up into pea-sized pieces. Evenly sprinkle the streusel on top
of the batter.
Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick or knife stuck in the cake comes out clean.
Ricotta Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe ©2010 Jennifer Meier licensed to About.com, Inc.
Ricotta
High-quality
ricotta is smooth, rich, creamy and has the flavor of sweet cream.
Traditionally, cheesemakers made fresh ricotta by heating whey (the
liquid that remains after curds form during the cheesemaking
process) until it thickened into soft, fluffy curds. Some cheesemakers
still make ricotta from whey and some make it from whole milk. You can make your own ricotta at home using a quick and easy recipe.
Less commonly, you might see ricotta salata and ricotta infornata at the store.
Ricotta infornata is firm enough to be cut into
wedges and has a soft, crumbly texture. It has a thin brown rind from
being baked in the oven. Although the texture is different, the flavor
is very similar to fresh ricotta. Ricotta salata is fresh ricotta that
has been salted and pressed into a wheel of cheese that is aged for
several months. Ricotta salata is crumbly and has a mild, salty flavor.
By Jennifer Meier
Cheese Expert, about.com
