Blackberry Lemon Cake
Ingredients:
For the cake:
½ cup (1 stick) butter or nondairy butter, melted
1 ¼ cup (250 grams) cane sugar
3 eggs
1-15oz container ricotta (drained if too watery)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
1 ¾ cups (220 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
For the icing:
1-8oz container mascarpone cheese
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup (60 grams) powdered sugar
For the blackberry jam:
1 cup fresh blackberries
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon honey, agave, or another liquid sweetener
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9-inch round or square cake pan. For easy removal, line the bottom with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Add the sugar and whisk together. Then add the eggs, ricotta, vanilla extract, and lemon zest, and whisk until smooth and fully combined.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix with a spatula just until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 40-50 minutes depending on your oven, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
While the cake bakes, make the blackberry jam. Add the blackberries, lemon juice, and liquid sweetener of choice to a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally and gently mashing the berries as they soften. Continue cooking until the mixture thickens into a jam-like consistency. Remove the jam from heat and let cool completely.
Remove the cake from the oven and let cool completely.
Once the cake and blackberry jam have cooled, prepare the icing. Use a hand mixer to beat together the mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, and powdered sugar for 2-4 minutes or until the mixture becomes fluffy and resembles whipped cream.
Fold in half of the cooled blackberry jam and mix until evenly combined.
Spread the icing over the cooled cake, and top with the remaining blackberry jam. Top with fresh blackberries and lemon zest, if desired.