MY favorite recipe to get rid of the extra Easter chocolate

This ricotta and chocolate chips Bundt cake is a delicious coffee cake, ideal for breakfast and snack.

With this recipe you will obtain a soft cake with a delicate flavor which can be enriched with melted chocolate on top, or – if you prefer – just with a crunchy sugar glaze.

I tried this Italian recipe (and found it here) while looking to get rid of some Easter chocolate that was around… in case you don’t know, in Italy is tradition to gift children big chocolate eggs for Easter. Even if we live in the US, I try to keep the Italian traditions alive, but having four daughters, on Easter means four big chocolate eggs, and we can eat chocolate, but that much, is too much! Ricotta and Chocolate Chips Soft Bundt Cake to the rescue!!!

Just so you know, for the recipe you can use any kind of chocolate/chocolate chips you prefer. I used chopped milk chocolate for the filling and a mix of milk chocolate/dark chocolate for the glaze… super yummy!!!  Also, the original recipe calls for vegetable oil, but if you know me, you know my favorite vegetable oil is coconut oil. What else… just keep reading to find out how easy is preparing this yummy Ricotta and Chocolate Chips Soft Bundt cake!

INGREDIENTS for a regular Bunt cake pan

4.3 oz. (120 gr.) sugar

0.5 lb. (250 gr.) ricotta

4.3 oz (120 gr.) vegetable oil – I use coconut oil

11.3 oz. (2 cups – 320 gr.) all purpose flour

5 oz. (150 gr.) milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips or bars chopped

1 tsp. lemon extract (or a lemon zest)

2 tbs. baking powder

FOR THE chocolate GLAZE

½ cup milk chocolate (finally chopped)

½ cup dark chocolate (finally chopped)

optional: chopped hazelnut or walnut

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven at 360 F (180 C).

In a large bowl, whip the eggs and sugar with an electric whip.  Add the lemon extract (or zest) and keep whipping.     Add vegetable (coconut) oil and ricotta and keep whipping.

Sift in flour and baking powder and mix gently by hand. Avoid stirring too much, otherwise your cake will be gummy and stodgy.   Finally add the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bar.

Pour the batter in a greased and floured bundt cake pan. If you want to get a ricotta and chocolate chip bundt cake with a simple sugar glaze, before placing the cake in the oven, dust the batter’s surface generously with white sugar.    As other option, if you intend to glaze with melted chocolate, skip this last step and just place the pan in the oven. Bake for 50 minutes at 360֯ F (180֯ C.). Make sure to check with a stick if the cake is properly baked even in the thicker part, before taking it out of the oven.

If you opted for the simple sugar glaze, don’t bother to take the bundt cake off the pan, just let it cool off and serve!

If instead you’d like to decorate your cake with melted chocolate, once the cake is cooled off, remove from the pan and place in a nice platter. Microwave the finely chopped dark and milk chocolate for 30-45 seconds, stir to make sure all the pieces are well melted, and pour evenly on top of the cake. If you’d like, sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts or walnuts. Let the chocolate set and serve… so yummy and so pretty!

LEARNT IT, MADE IT, LOVED IT!!!  

TIPS:

• Store your cake under a glass cover, so it will keep its moisture longer.

• As you can see the only fats in this bundt cake come from ricotta and oil. Please don’t skip any of these otherwise your cake will turn our really dry! But if you are willing to use park skim ricotta cheese.. go for it!

• If you are looking for more cake’s recipes with ricotta cheese, you should definitely check out.
• You promise you’ll forgive me if I didn’t post the step by step pics of the method… sometimes I get lazy 🙂

1. Ricotta and chocolate chips tart – for a more crunchy texture
2. Pears and ricotta coffee cake – if you really like the moisture of the fruit in your cake
3. Ricotta, almonds and amaretti tart – for a peculiar flavor.  

I really hope you’ll like this recipe.. FOR me it is definitely one to Be useD again!

INDEED I still have a lot of chocolate left,

but mostly it is really delicious!

Much Love,

Silvia

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