This past weekend that nose lead us to St. Jacobs, a community just north of Waterloo. The village is popular with tourists for its Mennonite heritage and farmers market. We spent the morning at the farmers market, wandering through the stalls and into the main building. Pickled beets, strawberry rhubarb jam, tangerine orange jam, artisan potato bread and maple syrup loaded down our shopping bags. Potatoes, peppers, and strawberries came home with us too.
You are going to love this recipe. No mixer needed, just a bit of elbow grease and a few ingredients. You don't have to be a great baker to pull this one off Dear Reader. This is an easy cake to make. It is beautiful in its simplicity. Nothing fancy about it. No frosting needed. The fruit studded throughout is enough. Maybe a cup of coffee or tea with it...but that's it!
Raspberry Ricotta Cake
Adapted from Bon Appetit magazine, March 2015 issue
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups ricotta
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup frozen raspberries, divided
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 inch cake pan with parchment and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together and set aside.
In a smaller bowl. whisk eggs, ricotta and vanilla together until smooth. Gently fold into dry ingredients until just blended. Next, fold in the butter. Add 3/4 cup of raspberries gently mix taking care not to crush the raspberries. Scrape batter into prepared cake pan and spread top out evenly. Scatter the remaining 1/4 cup of raspberries over the top.
Bake cake for 55-65 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Allow to cool on wire rack for 20 minutes before removing from pan.