Light and lemony, this Italian-inspired Flourless Lemon Almond Ricotta Cake is ideal for brunch. This gluten-free lemon ricotta cake also makes a light dessert. Delicious with blackberry sauce or fresh berries.
This flourless Lemon Almond Ricotta Cake is light, delicately flavoured with fresh lemon and topped with a slightly sweetened silky blackberry sauce.
This ricotta cake recipe never fails me!
❤️ 5 Reasons to Bake this Flourless Lemon Almond Ricotta Cake
- It's a reliable recipe that always turns out.
- Ricotta cheese makes it moist and rich without feeling heavy.
- It slices beautifully without crumbling.
- It's light, lemony and just sweet enough.
- This cake lends itself to a variety of toppings.
🛒 Ingredients
For the cake
- ricotta cheese: whole milk ricotta adds flavour and gives the cake a light, spongy texture. For easy mixing, make sure it is at room temperature.
- butter: softened for best results and easiest creaming.
- almond flour: superfine ground almond flour for a light texture.
- coconut flour: absorbs liquid. Don't substitute another flour here for coconut flour.
- eggs: create structure and stability in the batter and add moisture to the cake.
- sweetener: to keep it Keto, or if you're following a sugar-free diet, use Monkfruit sweetener with erythritol. You can also use regular granulated sugar, organic cane sugar, or golden sugar for a non-Keto diet. I sometimes use Golden Monkfruit sweetener in this recipe.
- lemon: for both zest and juice. Use freshly squeezed lemon juice. It makes all the difference in the flavour of your cake!
- pure vanilla extract
- baking powder
- sea salt or Kosher salt
For the Blackberry Sauce
- blackberries, (or blueberries or raspberries) fresh, or frozen and thawed
- sugar (or Monkfruit with erythritol for Keto diet)
- water
- lemon juice
Instructions
- Prep. Take the eggs and butter out of the fridge. For best results, they need to be at room temperature. The butter should be softened so it will combine properly with the sugar.
- Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper, or cut a circle to fit in the bottom of an 8-inch round pan.
- Measure the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder and salt into a small bowl. Whisk to combine and remove any lumps or use a sifter.
- Cream: In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until well combined. Add one egg and beat. Add the ricotta, lemon juice and zest and beat.
- Combine: Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients alternatively with an egg, repeating and finishing with the last egg. Spread into the lined pan, smoothing the top.
- Bake for 48 - 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife, lay a cake rack over the pan, invert and remove the parchment paper. Invert back onto the first rack and let it stand to cool completely.
- Slice and serve. Trim the edges with a sharp knife, if desired, then slice into 8 pieces. Serve with blackberry coulis and fresh berries. Store leftover cake in an airtight container.
How to make blackberry sauce
To make blackberry sauce, combine 2 cups of berries with ¼ cup sugar or 0-calorie sweetener (or more if you like it sweeter), ¼ cup water, and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
Bring to a boil, then simmer until slightly thickened. Purée in a blender, food processor or with an immersion blender, then press through a fine sieve to remove the seeds.
This sauce will last up to a week in the refrigerator.
Helpful baking tips to make the best gluten-free ricotta cake
- Take the time to soften the butter before creaming it with the sugar.
- Line your pan with parchment paper when baking gluten-free cakes. It makes it easy to remove the cake from the pan without having it break. Peel off the parchment paper as soon as you remove the cake from the pan.
- Whisk the almond flour and coconut flour before measuring. Make sure to remove any lumps.
- Cool the cake completely before slicing.
- You can make the berry coulis well in advance. Store in the fridge for up to a week. If using blackberries or raspberries, be sure to press the sauce through a sieve to remove the seeds.
Readers' Questions
A coulis is a thin sauce made from vegetables or fruit. You can read more about the difference between a coulis and a purée in this article: Purée vs Coulis - What's the Difference?
Whatever you want to call it, a fruit coulis or sauce is easy to prepare and makes a tasty addition to a dessert. Most fruits, and especially berries, will thicken beautifully on their own, but some may need a little added thickener like cornstarch or arrowroot powder.
Suggested toppings
- Leave it perfectly plain. It's delicious.
- Dust it lightly with powdered sugar or powdered 0-calorie sweetener.
- Drizzle with a berry coulis (or sauce) using blackberries, blueberries, strawberries or raspberries.
- Top it with a simple cherry sauce.
- Top plain cake with fresh berries and whipped cream.
- Add a spoonful or two of sugar-free rhubarb compote.
Possible variations
Ready to try another gluten-free ricotta cake? You may like this Flourless Cherry Almond Ricotta Cake too. It's tender and moist, has a delicate almond flavour and it's finished off with flaked almonds and a creamy almond glaze.
Or try this fabulous Flourless Raspberry Lemon Ricotta Cake with fresh or frozen raspberries.
And in late summer, you'll love Flourless Nectarine Ricotta Cake.
More gluten-free lemon dessert recipes
If you love gluten-free lemon desserts, you might like these, too.
More delicious gluten-free cake recipes
- Gluten-Free Spiced Applesauce Cake
- Gluten-Free Banana Coffee Cake with Maple Walnut Streusel
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake with Caramel Sauce
- Gluten-free Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake
🌟 Did you make this cake?
When you make this gluten-free lemon ricotta cake, please leave a comment and a star rating below. Thanks so much! Subscribe to my newsletter and have new recipes delivered straight to your inbox.
📖 Recipe
Flourless Lemon Almond Ricotta Cake with Blackberry Coulis
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup sugar, organic sugar, Monkfruit with erythritol for Keto diet, OR Monkfruit with erythritol for Keto diet
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice, fresh squeezed
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup almond flour, finely ground
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Blackberry Coulis
- 2 cups blackberries, (or blueberries or raspberries) fresh or frozen and thawed
- ¼ cup Monkfruit with erythritol for Keto diet or sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper, or cut a circle to fit in the bottom of an 8-inch round pan.
- Measure the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder and salt into a small bowl. Whisk to combine and remove any lumps or use a sifter.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until well combined. Add one egg and beat. Add the ricotta, lemon juice and zest and beat.
- Add â…“ of the dry ingredients alternatively with an egg, repeating and finishing with the last egg. Spread into the lined pan, smoothing the top.
- Bake for 48 - 50 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife, lay a cake rack over the pan, invert and remove the parchment paper. Invert back on to the first rack and let stand to cool completely.
- Trim edges with a sharp knife, if desired, then slice into 8 pieces. Serve with blackberry coulis and fresh berries. Store leftover cake in an airtight container.
Blackberry Coulis
- Combine all ingredients in a medium pot. Heat over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 8 - 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Transfer to a small food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. Press through a fine sieve to remove seeds. Allow to cool. Refrigerate leftover sauce.
Karen Amdur
Almond flour is not on the recipe.
How much should I use?
Flavour & Savour
Hi Karen, It's in the recipe just before the coconut flour. The recipe states to use 1 cup. Hope you love this cake as much as we do!
Denise
This cake turned out perfectly. We had it with raspberry sauce and whipped cream and it was delicious!
Flavour & Savour
That sounds perfect for summer! Thanks for commenting.