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Adapted from Melissa Weller, this chocolate chip ricotta cake has a rich flavor and an impossibly moist texture.
Adapted from A Good Bake by Melissa Weller and Carolynn Carreno, this chocolate chip ricotta cake is easily one of the best cakes I have ever made—and I have baked a lot of cakes in my day. Weller, a master baker and French Culinary Institute graduate, developed the cake for Sadelle’s, a brunch mecca in Soho, New York City. The addition of ricotta cheese gives the cake a rich flavor and an impossibly moist texture. The cake is also jam-packed with mini chocolate chips, making it a crowdpleaser for all ages.
“I made this last weekend for a neighbor, and she said it was the best cake she’d ever had!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cake
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk well and set aside.
Step 2: Cream the butter and sugar. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, combine the the butter and sugar. Cream on medium speed until light and fluffy, a few minutes.
Step 3: Mix in the eggs. Add the eggs one at a time, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition.
Step 4: Beat in the vanilla and ricotta cheese. Don’t worry if the batter looks a bit curdled at this point; that’s normal.
Step 5: Add the dry ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the dry ingredients in one addition and mix on low speed until just combined.
Step 6: Mix in the chocolate chips. Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the chocolate chips. Fold into the batter until they are evenly dispersed, making sure to scrape the very bottom of the bowl. (You’ll notice that the ricotta cheese gives the batter a slightly grainy texture.)
Step 7: Transfer the batter to the pan. Use an offset spatula to smooth and level out the top.
Step 8: Bake and cool. Bake the cake for 55 to 65 minutes, until completely set and golden brown on top. Place the pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes.
Step 9: Serve. Run a thin knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake, if necessary, then remove the ring of the springform pan. Let the cake cool completely on the rack before cutting. Enjoy!
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Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cake
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour (preferably King Arthur), spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1⅔ cups whole milk ricotta cheese (preferably Galbani brand)
- 1¼ cups mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Spray a 9- or 10-in (23 or 25-cm) springform pan (see note) with nonstick cooking spray with flour, such as Baker's Joy or Pam with Flour. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and spray again.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add the eggs one at a time, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Beat in the vanilla (don’t worry if the batter looks curdled). Add the ricotta cheese and mix on medium-low speed until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the dry ingredients in one addition. Mix on low speed until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a rubber spatula, fold the chocolate chips into the batter until they are evenly dispersed, making sure to scrape the very bottom of the bowl. (You’ll notice that the ricotta cheese gives the batter a slightly grainy texture.)
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and use an offset spatula to smooth and level out the top. Bake the cake for 55 to 65 minutes, until completely set and golden brown on top. (If the top starts to get too dark towards the end, cover the pan loosely with foil.) Place the pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake, if necessary, then remove the ring of the springform pan. Let the cake cool completely on the rack before cutting.
Notes
- If you don’t have a springform pan, a 9-in (23-cm) square pan works well (a 9-in/23-cm round pan, however, is too small). If you’d like to be able to remove the cake from the square pan, you can line the pan with parchment.
- Make-Ahead/Freezing Instructions: The cake can be made 1 day ahead of time and stored in a cake dome at room temperature. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months; after the cake is completely cooled, wrap it tightly with aluminum foil or freezer wrap. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Will this recipe work with a Cuisinart hand mixer? At this point in time, I do not have an electric Kitchen Aid Mixer.
Thanks.
P.S. Love your recipes!
Hi Perry, so glad you like the recipes! Yes, any of my recipes that call for a stand mixer will also work with a hand mixer. You may just need to turn the speed up a touch. Enjoy the cake!
This was easy and great! I didn’t have quite enough ricotta, so if this happens to anyone, I subbed a few tablespoons of cream cheese mixed with sour cream until it was the same consistency. Absolutely delicious.
Jen,
Instead of mini cc can I just crush some regular sized chips or is the coating/melt factor different? If using cottage cheese, blend smooth? It’s 2% fat though, I probably need whole?
Yes, I think you can get away with chopping regular-size chocolate chips, and if you’re using cottage cheese (and don’t want the curds showing up), I’d blend it a bit (but I do recommend full-fat cottage cheese).
Hi, Jenn,
Will this recipe make 12 regular-size cupcakes? Can’t wait to make this!
Hi Chrissy, I think you’ll be able to make 12 cupcakes with this batter, but they may be on the smaller side. Please report back if you try it!
Oh, my! This recipe is definitely going to be included in our holiday gathering! So moist, so fluffy and stuffed with chocolate chips! Love that these cupcakes have 8 g of protein, despite the carbs! They were polished off in a jiff at my husband’s faculty Halloween treats buffet. Another winner from Jenn! The only change I had to make in this recipe was I have to use gluten free flour (King Arthur GF M4M) and gluten free whole milk ricotta (Belgioioso) for the celiacs in this faculty, as well as my family. Otherwise, I followed Jenn’s recipe as written. So, I did make this recipe using a standard nonstick cupcake pan. I used nonstick cupcake liners, and the recipe made 20 cupcakes! I filled the molds almost to the top. Baked at 350 degrees for 18 to 24 minutes. As they baked, the cupcake tops rose to slight domed tops, but never overflowed the cupcake wells. They showed perfectly done at 22 minutes, with slight golden edges, but the tops never turned brown. Because I used gf flour, perhaps??? They still looked inviting! As they cooled. the domes gently collapsed and the cupcakes ended up with tops that looked just like Jenn’s cake photo. I don’t have a cake dome, but once well-cooled, I improvised by placing them in a food storage container, in layers separated with wax paper. I left the lid unfastened, until morning, then fastened it for transport, and loosened the lid for the treats table. Thank you, Jenn, for your reply, for this great recipe, and all the photos and instructions that help to guarantee success for home bakers and cooks! We “cook with Jenn” most days of the week!
So glad they came out well (and clearly, I underestimated how many cupcakes the recipe would make)!! Glad they were well received by your husband’s coworkers.
Could the ricotta be entirely swapped out with cottage cheese???
Sure, Amy, that should work. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn, I love all your recipes and make many of them on repeat and I have your lovely book. I am always asked by friends to share the recipes. . I can’t wait to make this chocolate chip ricotta cake, all your dessert recipes are perfect. The Lemon blueberry pound cake is a favorite. For this cake can I use a 9 x 5 loaf pan (which holds 6 cups ) instead of the spring form pan. The pan has a braided pattern at the bottom which makes a lovely design on the bottom of a cake. Hoping to serve for Thanksgiving. Thank you !
Hi Nancy, thanks for your kind words – so glad you like the recipes! I don’t think this would translate well to the kind of loaf pan you’ve described – sorry!
Are you sure a tablespoon of vanilla? I have never seen this much vanilla in a recipe.
Hi Sue, that may sound like a lot, but it’s correct. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn! I’ve just made this for the second time with GF flour. The first time it was great! (I find that if using gf flour, the end result is much better if there is some kind of dairy in the batter.)
I’d like to freeze the cake to serve next week. I’ve removed the outer ring of the springform and used parchment paper on the base, as the recipe suggests. My question is…do I freeze the base of the pan with the cake? Or just use the parchment as the base? Or peel it off before freezing? Help!
Thanks!!
Hi Melissa, glad you like it! I don’t think you can go wrong with any of those alternatives, but I’d remove the base and the parchment, then wrap and freeze it.
what dairy did you use
I’ve made this three times, and it’s always delicious!
Can I use 2/3 sour cream for the 2/3 cup of the ricotta? I only have 1 cup of ricotta and need a quick fix!
Thank you for the delicious recipes. You’re always my first choice!
Glad you like it and have had good luck with the recipes! I wouldn’t use sour cream, but if you have cottage cheese on hand, that would work.
I have made this twice. Both times with minced bittersweet shavings. No mini chips. Unbelievably delicious. Now, I plan to use minced dried Wisconsin cherries. Any suggestions? This recipe is so perfect but, I must use these cherries. Your recipes guide me! Thank you so much.
Glad you’ve enjoyed it! It’s fine to just swap the dried cherries in for the chocolate – no other modifications needed.