Chocolate Chip Ricotta Crumb Cake
This Ricotta Cake is a fast and easy Italian crumb cake recipe, with a delicious creamy ricotta and chocolate chip filling. Perfect as a dessert or snack cake. Everyone will love it.
I have been on a roll with ricotta these days, from an easy and yes better than Potato Ricotta Gnocchi to a simple Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cake, to this tasty Lemon Ricotta Cake but this Crumb Cake all delicious.
I love crumb cakes, they are fast and easy to make from a yummy Peach Crumb Cake to a Wild Berry Crumb Cake.
Recipe Ingredients
- Flour – all purpose flour
- Sugar – granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt – if you use unsalted butter then add a bit more salt
- Butter – very cold or even frozen and grated
- Egg – large
Ricotta Filling
- Ricotta cheese – if the ricotta is watery then drain before using
- Sugar – granulated
- Egg – large egg
- Mini chocolate chips – I use unsweetened mini chips although you could use regular chips
How to make Chocolate Chip Ricotta Crumb Cake
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Then add the frozen grated butter and mix together with a fork to form a crumbly mixture. Add the egg and continue to mix only until still crumbly.
Add approximately 2/3 of the crumbly mixture to the cake pan, including the bottom and halfway up the sides, flatten the crumbs with your fingers and palm. Place in the fridge while making the ricotta filling.
In a medium bowl beat the ricotta, (drain the ricotta through a sieve if necessary), sugar and egg until creamy, then fold in the chocolate chips.
Remove the crust from the fridge and top with the ricotta filling, sprinkle with the remaining crumb mixture. Then sprinkle with more chocolate chips before baking.
Bake until golden on top. Let cool completely before serving. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and or serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.
What does ricotta do for baked goods?
Adding ricotta to baked foods gives it a slightly sweet moist texture. Even if you don’t like ricotta on its own it is perfect in baked goods.
What is Ricotta Cheese?
Ricotta is usually referred to as a cheese. Although it is actually a dairy product that is made through a process of reusing whey left over from the processing of other cheese.
The name Ricotta is derived from Latin, and refers to its processing – re-coctus, which means, cooked twice.
Therefore since it is not produced directly from the curd, but from one of its by-products, ricotta cannot be considered a real cheese.
What Is The Difference Between Coffee Cake And Crumb Cake
One of the differences between the two is the amount of streusel or crumb topping, a coffee cake has much less, and sometimes a crumb cake is all crumb, just like this Peach Crumb Cake. Another difference is a coffee cake is more cake than crumb.
Pro Tip
I learned this method from an Italian friend. Line your cake pan with a crumpled wet piece of parchment paper before adding the crumb crust.
I crumple the paper, wet it then lightly shake out the excess water before lining. No knead to grease it and it works perfectly. Make sure the paper is large enough to overlap the edge by a little more than an inch.
How to make a crumbly mixture
The easiest way to make a crumb mixture, is to freeze your butter for about 30 minutes before using.
Grate the frozen butter directly into your dry mixture and just combine with a fork. There you have a coarse crumb mixture.
Should the Ricotta be drained?
I drained the ricotta for this recipe for about 10 minutes, my ricotta was quite thick so I didn’t really lose much liquid.
If you find that there is a lot of liquid, then drain the ricotta in a sieve for about 20 minutes before beating with the sugar and egg.
How to store the Ricotta Crumb Cake
The cake should be covered in an airtight container or with plastic stored in the fridge. It will keep for up to 3-4 days in the fridge.
How to freeze the cake
The cake can also be frozen, be sure to wrap the completely cooled cake well and place in a freezer bag or container. The cake should be eaten within a month. Defrost overnight in the fridge.
More Delicious Recipes with Ricotta
So if you are looking for a tasty Crumb Cake then why not give this Chocolate Chip Ricotta Crumb Cake a try and let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Chocolate Chip Ricotta Crumb Cake
Equipment
- 8 inch cake pan
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUMB CRUST
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pinch salt if you use unsalted butter then add ¼ teaspoon of salt
- ½ cup butter very cold or frozen and grated
- 1 large egg
RICOTTA FILLING
- 1½ cups + 2 tablespoons ricotta (drain 10-20 minutes or more depending on how much excess moisture there is)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
EXTRAS
- ¼ – ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips
- 2-3 tablespoons powdered / icing sugar
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F (180C). Line an 8 inch round cake pan with crumpled wet parchment paper. (Cut a large square, crumple it, then wet it and shake out excess water then line the pan).
FOR THE CRUMB CRUST
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Then add the frozen grated butter and mix together with a fork to form a crumbly mixture. Add the egg and continue to mix only until still crumbly.
- Add approximately ⅔ of the crumbly mixture to the cake pan, press down on the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan to cover. Place in the fridge while making the ricotta filling.
FOR THE RICOTTA FILLING
- In a medium bowl beat the ricotta, sugar and egg until creamy, then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Remove the crust from the fridge and top with the ricotta filling. Sprinkle with the remaining crumb mixture, then sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.
- Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes or until golden on top. Let cool completely before serving. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and or serve with vanilla ice cream if desired. Enjoy!
I was thinking of adding Anise extract not sure if I should add to the crumb mixture or the ricotta?
Hi Judi, I would add it to the ricotta, although you could probably do either. Let me know how it goes.
Hey! Can I use a spring form pan for a easier release? My husband will be taking it to work.
Hi Nichole, yes you can use a springform pan. I hope you enjoy it.
Most crumb cake recipes call for softened butter, and I find it easier to use. Can I use softened butter instead of frozen butter to make the crumb mixture?
Hi MB, if you prefer, I am sure softened butter will be fine.
Hi
My cake doesn’t seem to be done after 40 min, a little loose
How long should I keep it in there
Ty
Millie
Hi Millie, all ovens are different so your’s might take longer, if it’s browning too much, cover it loosely with foil and continue baking until a toothpick comes out dry or with a few crumbs attached. Hope that helps.
Hello,
Do you think I could freeze this?
Hi Sam, yes you could, wrap it in foil, place in an airtight freezer safe bag before freezing. It will last up to a month in the freezer.
For the cherry ricotta pie can I substitute another fruit like blueberries? If yes, same baking instructions?
Hi Pam, yes that should work just fine and yes same baking instructions. Let me know how it goes.
Can’t wait to make this for a special mid-week celebration. Thinking about cannoli a little, I’m curious if you have ever added orange zest or juice to the ricotta filling. Thanks in advance for sharing any thoughts on that idea!
Hi KM thanks so much, let me know how it goes, I sometimes will add some zest and Italians add lemon or orange zest to almost anything. 🙂
I had an orange on hand and added some zest to the filling. It was nice! The cake itself was exceptional — next time I’ll probably skip the orange to try it as written. If I go back to adding it, I think zest in the crust and a tablespoon or two of fresh squeezed juice in the filling would be my next move. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Definitely a keeper!
Hi KM, thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it. Have a great Sunday.
Do you measure the ricotta before or after draining it? I always wonder this – would the amount of liquid drained off affect the consistency of the filling?
Hi Sharyn I always measure it before, the lost liquid never equals much, at least for me, if you find it very liquidy, then yes measure it after.
Hi! Should you use salted or unsalted butter for this recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Amanda I use salted because I can’t find unsalted here, but you can use either, if you use unsalted then just add 1/4 teaspoon of salt instead of a pinch. Let me know how it goes.
Is this similar to a Sbriciolata? It looks a lot like what my mom makes!
Hi Melinda, yes in Italian it’s called a sbriciolata. 🙂
Used Monk fruit in lieu of the sugar and no one could taste the difference.
Delicious! Not too dry like most crumb cakes (I think it’s the ricotta that makes the difference). My sister and I have been eating it for breakfast and afternoon snack and after-dinner dessert. It’s gone!
Hi LizzC, thanks so much, so glad you and your sister enjoyed it.
Can I substitute whole wheat for a portion of the white flour? If so, how much?
This recipe sounds delicious. I’m not Italian, but there has been an Italian in my kitchen (and me in her kitchen) for 38 years!
Hi Steve, this is what I discovered “To substitute whole wheat flour for white flour, use 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour for every 1 cup of white flour that your recipe calls for. Also, add 2 teaspoons of liquid, like water or milk, for every 1 cup of whole wheat flour you use so your recipe doesn’t turn out too dry”. Hope this helps let me know how it goes. Haha Italians are everywhere! 🙂 Have a great weekend.
Did you have a blueberry streusel coffee cake on your site a few months ago? I made this and hubby loved it but lost the print out if it was yours please send it to me Thanks so much Betty Headley
Hi Betty, I think you might mean the Blueberry Streusel Loaf https://anitalianinmykitchen.com/blueberry-streusel-loaf/, you could have made it into a bundt cake or this Blueberry Bundt Cake ? https://anitalianinmykitchen.com/easy-blueberry-cake-with-a-vanilla-glaze/. Let me know.
Are you using a 8 in. cake pan or a spring form pan?
Hi Lucrezia, you can use either, because I used parchment paper I am pretty sure I used a regular cake pan.