Chocolate-Ricotta Love Cake
Share the love with Chocolate-Ricotta Love Cake. An easy, make-ahead dessert that starts with a box mix that's impressive enough to serve company.
Servings: 12 servings
Equipment
- 9 x 13-inch pan
- mixer
Ingredients
Cake Layer:
- 1 box chocolate cake mix plus the ingredients called for on box (eggs, water, oil)
Mascarpone-Ricotta Filling:
- 28 ounces ricotta cheese 3 1/2 cups, part skim or full fat
- 4 ounces mascarpone 1/2 cup
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Cocoa-Mascarpone Frosting:
- 10 ounces mascarpone 1 1/4 cups
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3.9 ounce box instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Optional: 2 ounces dark chocolate in a block or bar for grating
Instructions
- Preheat to 350 degrees F.
- Spray a 9-by-13-inch pan with nonstick spray.
- Prepare the cake batter according to the cake mix directions, pour into prepared pan; set aside
To make the filling:
- Combine the ricotta, mascarpone, eggs, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until incorporated and smooth.
- Gently pour the filling onto the cake pan of chocolate batter so the top is completely covered. Smooth filling with offset spatula to edges of pan.
- Bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the chocolate layer has risen to the top, 45 – 55 minutes. If center is still jiggly after 45 minutes, shield top of cake with aluminum foil to prevent cake from overbrowning and bake until set.
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting.
To make the frosting:
- Beat together pudding mix, sugar and mascarpone until smooth; slowly add milk beating until incorporated. Let stand until thickened about 5 minutes.
- Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cake.
- Use a peeler to grate chocolate curls to garnish the cake.
- Refrigerate 6 hours up to overnight before serving. Cake gets better and more moist the longer it sits. Store in refrigerator, covered.
Notes
- Substitute cream cheese for mascarpone for the same tang and texture and more affordable alternative.
- The insulating properties of glass make it slow to heat up and consequently it retains heat longer than metal. A good rule of thumb for baking in a glass pan is to lower the oven temperature by 25°F and bake up to 10 minutes longer.
- A lighter metal pan promotes more even baking. When baking cake in a dark metal pan, reduce your oven temperature 25 degrees and start checking the cake about 10 minutes before the recipe says it should be done.