LEMON RICOTTA CAKES

When I first tried these I was at a baby shower and they were made as mini bundt cakes. I didn't have a mini bundt cake pan and made them as cupcakes instead for Dan's birthday last week and they were a huge HIT!! Very very moist and delish.  

CAKES

1 c unsalted butter softened (I only had salted and it was fine)

2 c sugar

2 large eggs

15 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese (I couldn't find whole milk and used part skim and it was fine)

1/2 tsp lemon extract

2-3 tbsp lemon zest

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 1/2 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

GLAZE

6 tbsp unsalted butter softened

3 c powdered sugar

3-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice, or a combination of milk and lemon juice (I did 2 lemon to 1 milk)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray mini bundt pans with Pam. You could also make them as cupcakes. 

Combine butter and sugar and cream together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, ricotta, lemon extract, zest and juice, blend well. Add 1 c flour, baking powder, and salt; blend to combine. Add remaining flour in two parts, blending to combine between each. 

I filled them 3/4 full and cooked them for 12 minutes. Let them sit in pan for 10 minutes then invert onto cooking rack. 

While cakes cool, prepare glaze by creaming together butter and sugar. Continue to mix, gradually adding juice until desired consistency. Spread icing on top of cakes. Enjoy!

**Since I did mine as cupcakes I used paper cupcake holders, not pam. Also, I had to cook mine a lot longer...probably close to twice as long. I don't remember exactly. I tested them using a toothpick. As you can see, I didn't add enough batter to the first batch. These don't rise as much as muffins or regular cupcakes so I think you are safe to add a little more batter than you normally would --at least that was my experience.