Flourless Lemon Ricotta Cake

I have tried for so many years to grow a lemon tree in my back yard. I’m not really a green thumb, so I’m not the type to have a whole veggie garden going on. I just like a few things so I can pick them fresh, things like fresh basil, parsley, chillies, cherry tomatoes, maybe rosemary and thyme. And lemons. I grew up with a lemon tree in the back yard, I don’t think my Mum bought a lemon in her entire life. It was always groaning with more lemons than we needed and Mum often gave away bags at a time. But it was so good to be able to walk out the back yard and grab a few, you could smell the citrus as you picked the lemon off the tree. That zesty green smell. I planted one quite some time ago in my own yard. I did everything you’re meant to do; gave it good soil, fed it, watered it, pruned it, but year after year it remained spiny, often bug infested and not a lemon in site. Not one! I tried everything, special citrus fertilizer, extra pruning, longer watering… I even asked my kids to wee on it (they thought I was mad but someone told me it’s an age old trick). But nothing. It remained fruitless, branches devoid of life, glaring at me every time I walked past. A visual reminder of my gardening failure.

After five years we finally decided to chop it down. I just couldn’t bare to look at it anymore as it stood there refusing to grow into the lush green tree I so wanted it to be. I just don’t get it, I mean, how hard can it be to grow a lemon tree? I hear of people practically begging to give away lemons because their trees become so overloaded with them. The internet is full of recipes to use up gluts of lemons. Lemon curd, lemon tarts, lemon cakes, lemon tea, lemon preserves, lemon slice, lemonade, lemon just about anything really. I would have been happy with a tree with healthy green leaves, and just a few lemons, enough to dot the tree in yellow. Just enough to be able to walk out to the garden and feel that satisfaction you get when you pick something you’ve grown, and better yet, to actually make something delicious with it. But I ended up losing interest… I clearly don’t have the touch.

I had totally given up on the whole idea until I visited the Amalfi Coast just recently. Oh. My. God! I’d never seen so many lemon trees in my life. I’m serious. I knew the area was known for lemons, but I wasn’t prepared for lemon trees literally lining the streets, bunches of them in people’s front yards, growing wild on the side of mountains, amongst ruins, in-between train tracks, sprouting like weeds. It was a sea of yellow. Thousands and thousands of them. So, so beautiful. And the lemon domination doesn’t stop there. The shops that line all the streets in all the Amalfi Coast towns from Sorrento to Ravello are filled with everything lemon. Lemon lollies, lemon soaps, lemon fridge magnets, ceramic lemons, all kinds of things from t-shirts to aprons to coffee mugs, bowls, spoons and tiles printed with images of lemons.

Oh, and then there’s all the lemon flavoured food!  When life gives Italians too many lemons, they don’t make lemonade my friend.  They make limoncello. A beautiful, sweet, yet powerful liqueur made from all those zesty lemon rinds. It’s everywhere – in beautifully shaped bottles for you to buy and take home, laced through gelato, soaking in the Babas (small yeast cakes) that fill the bakery windows, brushed in-between layers of lemon delice (a layered sponge cake) and ready waiting in a shot glass for you to finish your meal at the local restaurant. Lemon granita, Lemon water, lemon sorbet, lemon crepes, lemon yoghurt. Lemons are everywhere here. And they are proud of their lemons too. Shops devoted to lemons, buckets of lemons for sale everywhere and bowls of huge lemons are displayed for passersby with signs instructing ‘non tocciare’ (do not touch). They don’t even want you taking photos of them. Like they’re celebrities or something! See the pic above: No photos unless you buy (I sneakily took this pic zoomed in from across the road, but going by the shopkeepers face I don’t think he was happy about it!).

I got a little lemon crazy while I was there and I definitely wasn’t the only one going by the amount of tourists buying lemon souvenirs. In a shop in Positano I overheard an American tourist stating to her husband: “when I get home I’m going to buy a big bowl of lemons and put it on the table.” Because what could be better adorning your table than something so colourful, fresh and edible?

So I have decided I will try again. The green thumbs are out and I am determined! I want that beautiful Amalfi feel at my house. I want trees studded with lemons to not only pick and cook with, but to remind me of Amalfi. It will take some time, I know, so for now, seeing as life doesn’t give me lemons I need to buy them. And that’s ok. I’ll take em any way I can because I love cooking with lemons, especially sweet treats like this lemon and ricotta cake (recipe below).

This lemon and ricotta cake is similar to a lot of the lemon infused cakes we saw in the bakeries in Amalfi. It’s simple, yet packed with lemon flavour. It contains the rind of three lemons, which makes it pretty zesty. Also, I’m talking normal lemons you buy at the supermarket here, if you have some like the beauties pictured above, decrease the amount. The almond meal adds a dense richness to the cake, making is very moist and delicious (and gluten free!). I like to add the sliced almonds on top for a bit of crunch, but you can leave them out if you like and simply dust with icing sugar. You can swap the lemons for oranges for a change, and I sometimes add a little lime zest for a kick, but here I will stick to lemons to transport me back to Positano…..

Flourless Lemon Ricotta Cake

Ingredients

160g Butter, softened, chopped

1 1/4 cups caster sugar

finely grated rind of 3 lemons

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

5 eggs, separated

3 cups almond meal

375g ricotta, drained

3 tbsp natural sliced almonds

icing sugar, for dusting

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 C and line the base of a 22cm spring form tine with baking paper.

Place the butter and 3/4 cups of the caster sugar into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the rind and vanilla and beat to combine.

Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the almond meal and ricotta and beat until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Add to the cake batter and carefully fold through, trying to keeps as much air as possible in the mixture.

Spoon into the prepared tin and scatter the sliced almonds over the top. Bake for 1 hour or until firm.

Allow to cool completely in the tin before removing. Dust liberally with icing sugar and serve.