Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for ricotta, blackberry and lemon cake

Every year, I get annoyed with myself for not making the most of blackberry season, and then it’s gone before I’ve had a chance really to enjoy them.

Ingredients · Servings 8-10

Method · 55 min

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas mark 4, and grease and line a 23 cm loose-bottomed cake tin.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a bowl and use your fingertips to rub together until fragrant.
Add the eggs and oil, whisk until frothy, then mix in the ricotta.
Finally, sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, and stir gently to combine.
Pour the batter into the lined tin, scatter the blackberries on top, and bake for 28-32 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Leave the cake to cool completely in its tin, then turn out and dust with icing sugar.
For the whipped ricotta, whisk all the ingredients in a bowl until smooth and creamy; alternatively, for a super-smooth result, blitz it in a food processor.
Serve slices of the cake with a dollop of the whipped ricotta.

Ricotta, blackberry and lemon cake

2 large eggs 70g olive oil 125g ricotta 130g plain flour 1 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp salt 150g blackberries

To finish 125g ricotta 1 tbsp lemon juice ½ tbsp icing sugar, plus extra for dusting.

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4, and grease and line a 23cm loose-bottomed cake tin.