Citrus Olive Oil Cake with Sweetened Strawberries and Whipped Ricotta

Here come ALL the strawberry recipes! Spring means strawberries, so to kick off strawberry season I've got a gorgeous lightly citrusy, moist (so hate this word, but it does describe this cake perfectly) cake. It's a citrus olive oil cake with sweetened strawberries and whipped ricotta. The cake is topped off with slightly sweetened strawberries and lightly whipped ricotta. This is seriously the perfect cake for breakfast, brunch, dessert after your Summer bbq.......or an afternoon snack. What I'm saying is there is ALWAYS a right time for a slice.

Adapted from the New York Times

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Sweet Strawberries
1/4 cup honey
2 earl grey tea bags
2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
Honey Ricotta
2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons honey
zest and juice of 1 Meyer (or regular) lemon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with olive oil and line with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, the eggs, and lemon zest until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. I know this seems like a long time, but it's really important to beat the full 5 minutes, because this creates lightness and airiness in your cake.
With the mixer still running, slowly drizzle in the oil and beat until combined, 2 minutes.
Reduce speed to low. Add milk, lemon juice, and vanilla. Then add the flour, baking powder, and salt, beating until just combined. Don't over beat the mixture!! You want to the batter to just come together. Over beating will undo all the work you did in the first step. If you over beat you risk getting a dense brick like cake, instead of a light cake.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Lightly bang it against the counter to get rid of any air pockets and make it nice and even.
Sprinkle the top of the batter with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
Transfer to the oven and bake 40-45 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. My oven cooks very fast and the cake was done closer to 20 minutes. I highly recommend setting your timer for half the time. Check and add more time in 5 minute increments to avoid possibly over baking.
Transfer to a rack to cool for 15-20 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake and invert the cake onto a plate, flip it back over onto a serving plate. Let cool.
MAKE THE STRAWBERRIES
Bring the honey to a low boil in a small saucepan, simmer 1 minute and remove from the heat. Add the tea bags, cover and steep for 10 minutes. Remove the tea bags and put the saucepan back on the stove to melt the honey. Add the strawberries, toss to coat and cook over very low heat for about 5 minutes.
MAKE THE HONEY RICOTTA
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the ricotta and honey.
Pulse until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the honey and lemon juice, pulse to combine. Stir in the lemon zest. Taste, adding more honey if you like it a bit sweeter.
Store in an airtight container in fridge for up to one week.
Serve the cake dolloped with whipped ricotta and spoon the strawberries overtop.
If you're lucky enough to have leftovers, the cake should keep at room temperature for a week.
Keep the strawberries and ricotta in separate airtight containers in your fridge for up to a week.

Notes

Looking for substitutions? Instead of strawberries, use raspberries or blueberries Instead of ricotta, use mascarpone No time to make the whipped ricotta? Spoon a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream or mascarpone on top of the cake.

Have you made this recipe?I'd love to know! Leave a comment or recipe rating and tag me @amenuforyou on social media!

Citrus Olive Oil Cake with Sweetened Strawberries and Whipped Ricotta

Adapted from the New York Times