Ricotta Coffee Cake

Buying a tub of ricotta for lasagna three weeks ago, then watching the guilt of a slowly expiring cheese eat away at every glance in the fridge, is exactly what led to this ricotta coffee cake at six on a Tuesday morning.

Not being a morning person, and a brain that barely functions before noon, makes the promise of a warm, streusel-topped breakfast pastry the only real motivation to trade sweatpants for the kitchen.

This ricotta coffee cake recipe turns out virtually foolproof, which matters most before actual coffee has happened. The cheese keeps the batter incredibly tender, rescuing this from the usual habit of overbaking things into dry bricks. Here is exactly how I do it.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It forgives your mistakes. Moisture from the cheese keeps this moist ricotta coffee cake soft even after a few extra minutes in the oven while distracted by TikTok.
• Zero fancy techniques. Dumping ingredients into a bowl and stirring with a spatula covers the entire skill requirement.
• Breakfast disguised as dessert. Streusel on top legally makes this a morning food, though it tastes like a legitimate treat.
• Fridge clean-out friendly. This is the best possible use for that random half-empty container of ricotta sitting on the back shelf.

Tools You’ll Need

Nothing fancy, I promise.

• 8×8-inch baking pan – The standard square pan. If yours is battered and scratched like mine, just use parchment paper.
• Mixing bowls. Two or three of these separate the wet, dry, and streusel components.
• Rubber spatula. This scrapes every last bit of batter into the pan.

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour – The standard stuff. Do not pack it into the cup or you will end up with a brick.
• 1 cup granulated sugar – For sweetness, because we are not pretending this is health food.
• 1 tsp baking powder – Check the expiration date. I once used expired powder and my cake was flatter than a pancake.
• ½ tsp baking soda – Helps give it that nice lift.
• ½ tsp salt – Do not skip this; it balances all the sugar so it doesn’t taste flat.
• 2 large eggs – Bring them to room temperature if you can remember. If you forget, submerge them in warm water for five minutes.
• 1 cup ricotta cheese (full-fat or part-skim) – This is what makes it a classic italian ricotta cake. Full-fat is better, but use what you have.
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled – If it is boiling hot, you will scramble the eggs.
• 1 tsp vanilla extract – Measure with your heart, but a teaspoon is a good baseline.
• Zest of 1 lemon (optional, but so good!) – It cuts through the richness beautifully.

For the Streusel Topping

• ½ cup all-purpose flour – The base of our crumbly topping.
• ½ cup granulated sugar – Because a ricotta crumb cake needs a sweet, crunchy lid.
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed – This must be cold. Do not melt it or you will get a paste, not crumbs.
• ½ tsp cinnamon – Adds that classic warm spice flavor.

How To Make Ricotta Coffee Cake

Set it, walk away, and pretend you did not just outsource brunch to your oven.

1. Preheat and Prep: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease an 8×8-inch baking pan or line it with parchment paper for easy cleanup. If you skip the parchment, you will be chiseling baked-on cake out of the corners later.
2. Mix the Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Combine the Wet Ingredients: In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, ricotta, melted butter, vanilla, and lemon zest until smooth. It might look a little lumpy because of the cheese—don’t panic, that is normal.
4. Mix the Batter: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold them together with a spatula. Don’t overmix—just stir until no dry spots remain. A few lumps are totally fine; overmixing is the enemy of a tender crumb.
5. Make the Streusel Topping: In a small bowl, mix flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in the cold butter with a fork or pastry cutter until crumbly. If your hands run hot like mine, use a fork so you don’t melt the butter with your fingers.
6. Assemble the Cake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top. Try to get it all the way to the edges.
7. Bake: Bake the cake for 35–40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let it cool for 10–15 minutes before slicing. Trying to cut it straight out of the oven will result in a delicious, molten mess.

Make it yours

• Orange zest version. You swap lemon zest for orange zest for a slightly sweeter citrus note against the ricotta.
• Chocolate chip version. You fold mini chocolate chips into the batter for a dessert-leaning take on this Italian ricotta cake.

Perfect Pairings

This ricotta crumb cake suits two specific pairings particularly well.

• A cold glass of milk works well for the kids, mostly to wash down the crumbs they inevitably drop on the floor.
• A Sunday morning brunch calls for exactly this kind of bake that looks like more effort went into it than actually did.

Ricotta Coffee Cake

This ricotta coffee cake proves that a half-empty tub of cheese can turn into a genuinely impressive breakfast bake with almost no effort. This ricotta coffee cake recipe layers a cinnamon streusel over a tender, cheese-rich crumb, delivering everything a proper Italian ricotta cake should taste like. Whether served at Sunday brunch or sliced for a quiet Tuesday afternoon, this moist ricotta coffee cake earns a permanent spot in the regular rotation.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 55 minutes mins

1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Servings: 9

Course: Breakfast, Desserts

Cuisine: American

Calories: 480

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

For the ricotta cake:

• 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon coffee syrup
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

For the cinnamon-coffee swirl:

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules

For the walnut streusel:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
• 1/2 cup shelled walnuts finely chopped

Optional homemade coffee syrup:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Equipment

• 8×8-inch baking pan
• Mixing bowls
• Rubber spatula

Method

 

1. Preheat and prep

   You preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8×8-inch baking pan or line it with parchment paper.
2. Mix the dry ingredients

   You whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Combine the wet ingredients

   You whisk together the eggs, ricotta, melted butter, vanilla, and lemon zest until smooth.
4. Mix the batter

   You pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently fold together until no dry spots remain.
5. Make the streusel topping

   You mix the flour, sugar, and cinnamon, then cut in the cold butter until crumbly.
6. Assemble the cake

   You pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top.
7. Bake

   You bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean, then cool for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Recipe Notes

Ricotta cheese: I use full-fat most of the time, since it gives the richest crumb, though part-skim works fine too.

Lemon zest: I always rub this into the sugar before mixing, since it releases far more flavor than just tossing it in.

Butter: I keep mine cold for the streusel and melted for the batter, since each component needs a different texture.

Eggs: I bring mine to room temperature when I remember, since cold eggs can make the batter seize slightly.

Sour cream: I only use this as a swap for ricotta in a pinch, since it changes the texture noticeably.