This is the ultimate cake for Easter made with bittersweet grapefruit and creamy ricotta! The ricotta cheese makes this cake extra moist and the sweet grapefruit cream frosting on top will make you love this cake even more!
Love for grapefruits
Usually we enjoy our grapefruits with breakfast or after dinner. Their beautiful bright pink color is tempting, and the bittersweet taste and juiciness is super refreshing. Some are not a big fan of their bitterness and prefer their sweeter citrus cousins. If you’re not a big fan, there is even more reason to try this grapefruit & ricotta cake, you might get hooked too. Citrus fruits combine very well with buttery cakes. We often make lemon cake for Easter, but got inspired to do it different this time and swapped the lemon for grapefruit.
How to make the cake
Start with cutting the butter into squares and keep it outside the fridge until soft. Prepare the flour for the cake. Grate the grapefruits until you have 2 tablespoons of zest. Combine this with flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Then you’ll need help with a kitchen aid. Preferably choose the paddle attachment that is made to mix a good batter. Mix the butter with the sugar and incorporate the eggs one by one until smooth. Add the ricotta, grapefruit juice, and vanilla and beat again. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions. Beat until combined. That’s it, you have made the most delicious cake batter ever!
Pour the cake batter into a cake tin lined with parchment paper and let it bake in the oven for about 55-60 minutes.
The perfect grapefruit frosting
After the cake is baked, let it cool down. In the meantime, you can prepare the butter and cream frosting. For this, we use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and butter together until light and creamy. Beat in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until incorporated. Beat in the grapefruit juice and zest. If the frosting seems too thin you can add more sugar, but if you don’t feel like hurting your teeth, I would choose a bit of maïzena. It can also help to keep the frosting in the fridge for 30 minutes covered.
Once the cake is cooled, pour the creamy frosting on top of the cake until it is covered in a beautiful layer. Garnish with grapefruit slices and chocolate Easter eggs. We choose ruby chocolate because of its purple pinkish color!
You can either make this cake on early Easter Sunday morning or the evening in advance. We have a few more Easter recipes like oeuf mimosa (egg mimosa) and a delicious asparagus quiche to complete your Easter brunch with!
Happy Easter!
♡
Easter Grapefruit & Ricotta Cake
Equipment
- Kitchen Aid K45SSEWH
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup cake flour
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp grapefruit zest
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- juice of one squeezed grapefruit
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the frosting
- 80 grams grams of cream cheese
- 4 tbsp of butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp grapefruit juice
- 1 tsp grapefruit zest
- grapefruit slices
- chocolate eggs (we used ruby chocolate )
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease a cake tin with butter and place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and grapefruit zest. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a kitchen aid with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the ricotta, grapefruit juice, and vanilla and beat on medium speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions. Beat until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin. Bake for 55-60 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool down in the cake tin before you add the frosting.
The butter & cream frosting
- Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until light and creamy. Beat in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until incorporated. Beat in the grapefruit juice and zest. Spread the creamy frosting over top of cooled cake in a thick layer. Garnish with grapefruit slices and chocolate Easter eggs.
