Limoncello Almond Ricotta Cake →

I love all things lemon! Here’s a moist, delicious, lemony cake based on Migliaccio the Semolina Ricotta Cake typically served in Italian households to celebrate Easter and Carnevale. This is an excellent gluten-free alternative Ricotta Cake and one worth considering as an alternative to or alongside the traditional pumpkin pie often served on Thanksgiving here in the U.S. Whatever the celebration if you love lemon flavor as I do, you should give this recipe a try. Buon appetito!

LIMONCELLO & RICOTTA ALMOND CAKE
Yield: 6 to 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened

• 1 1/3 cups sugar

• 1 cup full-fat ricotta

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• finely grated zest from 1 lemon washed (a fine Microplane is useful here)

• 3 eggs, room temperature, separated, whites and yokes reserved

• 3 tablespoons Limoncello (home made or store-bought)

• 2 1/2 cups almond flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/3 cup sliced almonds

• Powdered sugar, for dusting 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 320 F degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until incorporated. Mix in the ricotta, vanilla, and lemon zest.

3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the egg yolks, one at a time, continuing to beat until very light and creamy. Add in the limoncello, almond flour, and baking powder and beat to combine.

4. In a separate clean chilled bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake mixture. (Don’t worry if white streaks remain – they will disappear once in the oven.)

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan. Smooth the top with a spatula or spoon. Sprinkle with the sliced almonds. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until firm yet jiggly and slightly springy to the touch.

6. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan. (It will fall slightly.) Dust with powdered sugar and serve!

 Adapted from: https://eatalianrecipes.com/grandmas-limoncello-ricotta-almond-cake/

Almond-Pistachio-Lemon Bars →

I love anything lemon, so when I saw @Molly O’Neill’s Pistachio-Lemon Bar recipe on New York Times Cooking, I had to make it. Pistachios and lemon...check! But, I also love almonds with lemon, so I substituted chopped, sliced almonds for pistachios in the crust. I’m no baker, but this recipe is easy even for a non-baker like myself. It takes less than an hour. Sweet and tangy lemony richness with pieces of pistachios along with a chewy, buttery almond inflected crust, all bathed in powdery white confectioners sugar! This is a lemon recipe to go nuts over!

Yield 16 servings
Ingredients:

The crust:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• ¼ cup confectioners' sugar

• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

• ¼ cup sliced almonds roughly chopped

The filling:

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup sugar

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• ⅓ cup shelled unsalted pistachios

• Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Preparation:

To make crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper (if using foil, lightly butter it). (See *Note below)

2. Place flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add butter and process until well combined. Stir in chopped pistachios.

3. Firmly press mixture into the bottom of the lined pan using the flat bottom of a glass or measuring cup (if it sticks, place a piece of parchment paper on the dough before pressing).

4. Bake until lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the filling ingredients.

5. When the crust is baked, pour the filling into the pan and bake until set, about 20 minutes.

6. Let cool completely. Sprinkle with Confectioners' sugar and cut into 2-inch squares.

*Note: to use parchment paper, cut two pieces of paper 8 x 11” inches and place one at a time covering the length, and overlapping to cover the width of your 8 x 8 inch baking dish. You should have about 1 ½ inches of paper overlapping each side of the baking dish.

Adapted from: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/6960-pistachio-lemon-bars