Cherry Almond Ricotta Cake (Gluten Free)
As you may know, my favorite kind of cakes are rustic, wholesome, easy to make and most importantly, delicious. This cherry almond ricotta cake hits all those marks. It’s the kind of cake that’s just as fitting with an afternoon cup of tea as it is for a holiday celebration. You can serve it as a snack cake, a coffee cake, or you can dress it up for special occasions. Best of all it’s a cinch to make (spoiler alert: you won’t even need to pit any cherries!). Don't miss the step-by-step VIDEO below.
Gluten free cherry almond cake
This cherry cake is made with gluten free all-purpose flour (I recommend Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour), although you can use regular all-purpose flour if you prefer. A touch of almond flour gives the cake a moist and tender texture.
Ricotta cake
The secret ingredient in the cake is ricotta cheese, which not only provides moisture, but also gives it a fluffy texture. Be sure to buy a ricotta that doesn’t contain and gums or fillers—the ingredients should list just milk (and/or whey), salt and vinegar.
Ingredients:
Using frozen, pitted cherries makes this cake a breeze (although you can use fresh cherries if you prefer—just be sure to pit them first). A touch of cinnamon provides sweet warmth, while olive oil lends more moisture. Coarse turbinado sugar (or you can use Demerara sugar) gives the cake a delicious crunch and added sweetness.
How to make cherry almond cake from scratch:
- Whisk together gluten free (or all-purpose) flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, ricotta, sugar, olive oil and almond extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine (the batter will be thick).
- Fold in frozen, pitted cherries.
Transfer the batter to a 9-inch cake pan that's lined with parchment paper. Scatter more cherries over top. Sprinkle the cake with turbinado sugar.
Bake the cake in 350˚F (175˚C) oven until it's golden brown and a toothpick inserted inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
Can you make the cake ahead?
Yes; once cooled the cake can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day. It can also be frozen for up to 2 months!
How do you serve ricotta cake?
You can serve it on its own as a coffee or snack cake (it's perfect for brunch - think Mother’s Day, Easter and/or Christmas!). To turn it into a celebratory dessert, top the ricotta cake with a dollop of fresh whipped cream (take it over-the-top with this Cardamom Whipped Cream) or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. YUM.
FAQ
Yes! The cake can be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 2 months. If you’d like, slice the cake first and wrap each slice in wax or parchment paper. That way you can remove one slice at a time, as desired.
Dollop leftover ricotta on pasta, such as this Lamb Ragu, serve it as an appetizer in these Whipped Ricotta Crostini, or transform it into cheesecake bowls with Cherries in Port Syrup.
The almond flour in this cake helps give it a moist, tender texture.
Tips for making this cake:
- You’ll need a 9-inch cake pan for this recipe (or you can use a 9-inch springform pan). Be sure to spritz the pan with cooking spray (or rub it with oil) and line the bottom with parchment paper—that will make it easy to remove the cake after it’s baked.
- I always recommend using an inexpensive kitchen scale when baking (especially when working with gluten free flours). It's not only more accurate, but it's also easier!
- Use a good quality ricotta cheese in this recipe—it shouldn’t contain and gums or fillers (the ingredients should list just milk and/or whey, salt and vinegar).
- Use any leftover ricotta in this Lamb Ragu, in these Whipped Ricotta Crostini, or in cheesecake bowls with Cherries in Port.
- Using frozen, pitted sweet cherries makes this cake a breeze, but you can use fresh cherries if you prefer. Just be sure to pit them before using (I love this cherry pitter).
- Sprinkling the top of the cake with turbinado sugar adds extra sweetness and delicious crunch. You can use Demerara sugar instead, or even just regular granulated sugar, if that’s all you have.
*This post contains Amazon and other affiliate links to products I use and love (from which I earn income, at no cost to you). Thank you for supporting From Scratch Fast!
Other gluten free desserts you might like:
- Lemon Olive Oil Polenta Cake
- Chocolate Quinoa Cake with Cocoa Whipped Cream Frosting
- Showstopping Crepe Cake
- Easy Orange Olive Oil Cake
- One Bowl Chocolate Almond Cake
- No-Bake Mascarpone Cheesecake
Watch the video!
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Get the recipe!
Cherry Almond Ricotta Cake (Gluten Free)
Equipment
- 9-inch cake pan
Ingredients
- Cooking spray or oil for pan
Dry ingredients
- 1 cup (148g) gluten free flour (I recommend Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour) OR 1 cup (136g) regular all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (55g) almond flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Wet ingredients
- 1 cup (210g) whole milk ricotta cheese
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup (155g) organic cane sugar (or regular granulated sugar)
- ⅓ cup (70g) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ⅛ teaspoons teaspoons almond extract
- 2 cups frozen pitted sweet cherries
- 1 tablespoon turbinado or demerara sugar
For serving
- Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C) with a rack in the middle. Spray a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray (or rub it with oil). Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
Whisk the dry ingredients
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Whisk the wet ingredients
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the ricotta, eggs, sugar, olive oil and almond extract.
Finish and bake
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and fold to combine (it will be a thick batter). Fold in 1 ½ cups of the cherries. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Scatter the remaining cherries over top, and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. Bake the cake until it’s golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes.
- Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 15-20 minutes. Run a thin knife along the edges then remove the cake from the pan and peel off the parchment paper. Let cool completely.
- If you’d like serve the cake with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream!
Notes
- You’ll need a 9-inch cake pan for this recipe (or you can use a 9-inch springform pan). Be sure to spritz the pan with cooking spray (or rub it with oil) and line the bottom with parchment paper—that will make it easy to remove the cake after it’s baked.
- Use a good quality ricotta cheese in this recipe—it shouldn’t contain and gums or fillers (the ingredients should list just milk and/or whey, salt and vinegar).
- Use any leftover ricotta in this Lamb Ragu, in these Whipped Ricotta Crostini, or in cheesecake bowls with Cherries in Port.
- Using frozen, pitted sweet cherries makes this cake a breeze, but you can use fresh cherries if you prefer. Just be sure to pit them before using (I love this cherry pitter).
- Sprinkling the top of the cake with turbinado sugar adds extra sweetness and delicious crunch. You can use Demerara sugar instead, or even just regular granulated sugar, if that’s all you have.
This cake was good, but not great. It was lacking some flavor even though I used all the ingredients exactly by weight. I used fresh cherries that were nice and sweet. After our first slice, we drizzled a bit of fresh honey from a honeycomb on top and added a teensy sprinkle of paprika. Then it was heaven! I feel like the cake might benefit from some lemon zest or even a bit more cinnamon, as the flavor was a bit too light. However, the sweetness and texture were perfect—not too sweet and nice and light! I didn’t have any issues with baking, probably because I used weight measurements. Overall, it’s a good bake, but I would suggest adding something extra to give it a bit more depth of flavor while keeping it subtle.
But thank you for the recipe! I have already pinned a few others that I am very keen to try! Love your website! Keep baking these amazing things!
Thank you for your comment! I always encourage readers to make the recipes their own, and I love how you did just that, adjusting the flavors to suit your palate. While I love the almond flavor of this cake, sometimes I will add a bit of orange zest and/or cardamom, and I absolutely encourage you to experiment. The honey/paprika combination sounds lovely!
I'd like to make this recipe but am wondering how to handle making it dairy-free. Is there a viable non-dairy substitute for ricotta? Is it possible that a nut milk w/lemon to curdle would work? Fingers crossed that you have a solution!
Hi Jill! Almond milk will be too thin/liquidy, but you could try a thick, dairy-free yogurt (such as Cocojune). However, I haven't tested this so can't guarantee the results. Let me know if you give it a try! You could also make this blueberry yogurt cake instead, which definitely works with the dairy-free Cocojune yogurt!
I made this super easy cake and used frozen sweet cherries. It turned out perfect! It was light, moist and everyone including myself, loved it. The pure almond extract was a plus for this recipe.
Thank you for your comment, and I'm so happy you loved the cake!
Had a similar issue as another commenter. Made two versions of this cake on separate days: one with a gluten free flour blend, another with all purpose flour. Neither baked fully after an hour and a half in the oven. I kept adding time and every time I would check, the entire cake would be jiggly and wet even though the tops and sides browned. Not sure if the frozen cherries were too frosty to bake properly without adding too much water content. Very disappointing.
Hi Victoria, I’m so sorry to hear this!! I’m completely stumped about this, as I’ve never had issues with the cake not baking through. I’m going to do some more testing to get to the bottom of the issue. Do you happen to be at a high elevation?
This cake is delicious. Super moist and yummy. I used fresh cherries, pitted and halved. I’d definitely make it again.
I'm so happy you liked the cake and love that you used fresh cherries since we're in the height of cherry season!!
Everybody loved this, even the daughter who "doesn't like cherries." Easy to make, elegant enough for company, leftovers are great for breakfast.
Hi Ellen, I'm so happy to hear!! (And I totally agree, the cake is fabulous for breakfast. 😁)
Hello
Just loved this simple go to recipe , it came out so perfect every time I made.
I'm so happy to hear this!
Almost made as written; I used regular flour. It's still in the oven and I'm excited for it to come out! The batter tasted very good. I haven't used almond flour before, so this is a first. It seems to have added a nice texture to the batter.
Does anyone know if I can freeze the unused almond flour? This is the first time I've purchased/used it in 65 years, so I don't have any experience keeping it fresh.
As a response to another poster, I mentioned I wanted to try this with frozen raspberries and I imagine frozen peaches would be good, too.
Hi Dami, you can absolutely freeze the almond flour! It will last for months (just wrap it tightly). I do think the cake would be delicious with frozen raspberries, and I'm actually testing a variation using fresh blueberries! Stay tuned... If you're looking for other ways to use up the almond flour, check out this lemon polenta cake, these chocolate crackle cakes and this one bowl chocolate cake. I hope you enjoy!
Gotta change my rating due to cooking problems. I started out at 45 minutes. I tested it at that time and the center was completely raw, wasn't even slightly warm. I added 10 minutes. Still raw in the center. Added another 10 minutes; still loose. By now, the outside was getting very dark. Added 5 minutes; getting closer to finished in the middle, but still not done. 🙁 So now it's over done on the top, sides and bottom and smells burned. I might be able to trim the edges off, removing most of the burned parts. I'm not sure if the frozen cherries were the issue making the batter wetter than it could bake out or what. Kinda disappointed.
Thanks for the tip on freezing the flour.
Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear this! have to say that I'm flummoxed (I've made the cake at least a dozen times, and many of my readers have as well). It's so bizarre that the inside of the cake was raw after 45 minutes. I wonder if it could be an issue with your oven temperature? I'm not sure what went wrong, but I'm truly sorry you had this experience.
Hello, we made the ricotta cake and substituted the cherries with frozen organic blueberries (not the wild ones) — keep them frozen until folded in. Same amount as specified for cherries and it worked out perfectly! Also used vanilla for almond extract. It was devoured in less than 24 hrs. My husband requested a second one 2 days later — just to be sure I’d remember how to make it again! Same delish results. First one baked in metal 9 in. round cake pan, second 8 x 8 glass square dish. I think and agree with Nicki, the metal creates a better result. Tip: I put a piece of wax paper on top when it was time to flip out of the pan. Kept top blueberries from smashing on the plate. Be gentle when flipping! Still tastes good messy. Dee
Hi Dee, I'm so glad you liked the cake!! That's a fantastic tips about using blueberries instead of cherries. 🙂
I was considering using some of my frozen raspberries, I would imagine they'd work well, too. Maybe I'll add just a touch more sugar. Thanks for posting your results with blueberries! I would not have thought of using wax paper. Great idea.
Haven't actually made it yet but I can tell it will be delicious. My friend doesn't like cherries so can I sub 2 cups of blueberries or perhaps another fruit for her? But the cherries for me!! Thanks.
Hi Peggy, while I haven't tested the cake yet with blueberries (it's on my list!!), they will be delicious. I would use 1 1/2 - 2 cups (trust your instincts when adding them). Please let me know how it turns out!
I just made your high protein waffles. So delicious! I added Cinnamon , nutmeg and clover. Just love those flavors mixed. Best waffles ever
Hi Colleen, I'm so happy to hear you liked the waffles!! I love how you added nutmeg and cloves to the batter - such a great combo!