The River Café sits right on the bank of the Thames in London and is one of my favorite spots. It serves simple, re-interpreted Italian farmhouse cooking based on the best ingredients available. They make particularly unfussy, delicious desserts.
This recipe is adapted from their first cookbook. I cut the quantities to reduce the serving size from 10 to a more manageable 6 to 8. I also prefer to top the cake with ganache (which adds a bit of fuss, but only just a little) instead of simply grating chocolate over the surface as instructed in the original recipe. You can use either method, both result in a layer of rich chocolate that perfectly finishes the cake.
The hazelnut and lemon flavors improve with time. If you can, make the cake several hours before you plan to serve it – or even the day before.
Hazelnut and Ricotta Cake
Ingredients
- Serves 6 to 8
- 190 g (6.75 oz) hazelnuts with skin on, plus extra for garnish
- 190 g (6.75 oz) sugar
- 170 g (6 oz) softened butter
- 190 g (6.75 oz) ricotta cheese
- 6 eggs, separated
- Finely grated zest of 2 lemons (or 3 if you really like lemon flavor)
- 50 g all purpose flour, sifted
- Chocolate ganache
- 110 g (4 oz) best quality bitter-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 120 mls (4 oz) heavy cream
- 14 g (1 tablespoon) softened butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Buttered a 23 cm (12 in) round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Spread the nuts on a sheet pan and roast in the oven for 10 minutes to blister the skin. Remove, let cool slightly, then remove the skins by rubbing the hot nuts in a tea towel. Coarsely chop in a food processor. (not too fine or you will end up with hazelnut butter, not coarsely chopped hazelnuts)
- Beat the softened butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until pale and light. Add the egg yolks one by one until they are all mix in. Mix the ricotta in a small bowl with a fork to loosen it up then fold into the egg mixture. Add the lemon zest and chopped nuts. Fold in the flour.
- Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, fold in 1/3 of the whites to loosen up the batter before folding in the rest.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven 35 to 40 minutes or until set.
- While cake is baking, prepare the ganache. * Place the chopped chocolate in a medium size bowl. Heat the cream until hot but not boiling then pour over the chocolate. Allow to sit for a minute or two, then add the soft butter and stir until smooth. If you do not want to make the ganache, you can simply grate the chocolate over the top of the warm cake, which will melt immediately.
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https://www.charlottepuckette.com/recipes/hazelnut-and-ricotta-cake/
