This brown butter cranberry ricotta cake is the perfect holiday dessert! It couldn’t be easier to make and comes together in one bowl with zero fancy equipment. It’s an amazingly perfect dessert, but it’s also a great breakfast pastry!
I love enjoying a slice with my coffee in the morning. If you take away anything from this ricotta cake recipe, it’s that ricotta belongs in baked goods!
Table of Contents
Why Bake with Ricotta?
Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Now, don’t think of a super savory cheese because that’s not what ricotta is at all. It’s most often seen in lasagna or ravioli, but it’s an extremely mild and creamy cheese making it perfect for enhancing baked goods.
It adds tons of moisture and gives cakes the best texture. I love how versatile it is and you’ll be totally on board once you see how great this cranberry ricotta cake is!
Helpful Cooking Tools
Key Recipe Ingredients
full list of ingredients, quantities & method in the recipe card at the end of the page.
- Ricotta. Opt for full-fat ricotta here–the fat keeps the cake moist and flavorful.
- Cranberries. You can use fresh or frozen.
- Brown butter. Using brown butter vs regular melted butter adds so much flavor. Follow the directions below on how to brown butter.
- Eggs. You’ll need 3 room temperature eggs for this recipe.
- Dry ingredients. You’ll need granulated sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Vanilla. You’ll need vanilla extract for the cake and the cranberry topping.
- Grand Marnier. This is optional, but adding a bit to the cranberries is so good. You could swap in 1 teaspoon of orange zest.
How to Make Cranberry Ricotta Cake
- Brown the butter. This is technically an optional step, but I cannot tell you how much flavor it adds! Brown butter is my secret weapon when it comes to baking up an incredible cake. And it’s so easy to do!
- Make the cranberry topping & streusel. It’s best to make both of these components before you start the cake batter so that the cranberry sauce can cool and so the streusel can chill in the fridge.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients. You’ll whisk together the ricotta, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Make sure to whisk well so that there are no lumps.
- Mix in the brown butter and dry ingredients. Mix until just combined and so that there are no lumps or streaks of flour.
Jenny’s Tip: Any time that I’m mixing dry ingredients in a cake, I always switch to a rubber spatula so that I can fold the flour in. This helps me avoid accidentally over-mixing the batter and ending up with a tough and dense cake.
- Spread the batter into the baking pan and bake. I like to use an offset spatula to spread the batter in an even layer in your cake pan. Then, top with the cranberry sauce and sprinkle the streusel over the top. Bake until the cake is puffed and a cake tester comes out clean.
How To Brown Butter
Making brown butter is so easy and it’s the perfect way to level up your baking.
- Melt the butter. Start with a shallow saucepan and melt your butter over low heat.
- Bubbling. After the butter is melted, it’ll start to bubble a bit. You’ll notice the color will change and the butter will get much clearer.
- Foaming. Next, your butter will start to get foamy. I like to swirl the pan every minute or so while this is happening. The butter will start to brown and you’ll smell the change.
- Browning. Keep a close eye at this stage because it’s easy to burn! You want the butter to just be golden brown at this point.
Once the butter is golden brown, remove it from the heat immediately. Transfer it to a heat-proof bowl and let it cool to room temperature. From here, it’s ready to use in a variety of baked goods! Don’t leave the little browned bits behind, that’s where all the flavor is.
Adjusting Pan Size
This cranberry ricotta cake is baked in a 10×3″ cake pan. If you have a 10″ springform pan, that can be used also. However, If you don’t have those pans, I’ve included the instructions to scale the recipe down or up.
- For an 8×8 square pan: Multiply the ingredients by .8 to achieve the correct volume and bake for 35-45 minutes.
- For a 9×13 baking pan: Multiply the ingredients by 1.2 and bake for 45-55 minutes.
If you do give this recipe a try, I love hearing about it! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram.
More Really Good Cake Recipes to Try
Single Layer Lemon Cake
Chocolate Guinness Bundt Cake
Chocolate Whiskey Cake
Banana Coffee Cake
Apple Cider Donut Cake
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One-Bowl Cranberry Ricotta Cake
Ingredients
Ricotta Cake
- 1 stick (113 g/4 oz) unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 16 oz whole milk ricotta, at room temperature
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Cranberry Topping
- 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
Streusel
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Streusel Topping
- In a small bowl, use a fork to combine the ingredients until clumpy. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Cranberry Topping
- In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes or so, until the cranberries are soft and burst and most of the liquid has evaporated. Cool to room temperature.
Ricotta Cake
- Preheat an oven to 350 F. Grease a 10×3″ cake pan and line with a circle of parchment paper.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Continue to cook until the butter is golden brown, but not too dark. Transfer to a heat-proof bowl and cool. For more detailed instructions on how to brown butter, scroll up to the blog post.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the ricotta, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and the brown butter and fold together until the batter is smooth and there are no streaks of flour. Spread the batter in an even layer in the prepared pan and top with the cranberries. Use a fork to break up the bits of streusel and sprinkle over the top.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a wire rack to room temperature before removing it from the pan and slicing. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
Storage Instructions
- Whenever I make this cranberry ricotta cake, there are hardly ever leftovers! You can cover the cake at room temperature for 3 days. Alternately, wrap individual sliced in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge and then microwave for 20 seconds before serving.
Nutrition
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Rate & Review This Recipe
Love, love, love this cake! The recipe was super simple to follow, make sure you start the brown butter and streusel first so they have enough time to cool.
Glad you enjoyed it Cindee!