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Chocolate Chip Ricotta Crumb Cake

ByRosemary Molloy September 9, 2019July 10, 2024 July 10, 2024

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.

Ricotta crumb cake on a black cake stand.

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.

ricotta crumb cake how to make draining the ricotta, mixing in the egg and adding the butter

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.

making the base and adding it to the pan

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.

ricotta cake making the filling and adding the 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.

ricotta cake filling on the base and adding the crumb mixture and chips on top

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.

Cake on a platter and a slice on a plate.

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!