Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cake with Mascarpone Cream

An Italian-Style Cake

For my mom’s birthday this year, she had one specific request: Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cake.

It’s an Italian-style cake made with whole-milk ricotta, vanilla and mini chocolate chips, with a soft, rich texture and just enough sweetness. No layers, no heavy frosting — just a simple homemade cake finished with powdered sugar and a few small dollops of mascarpone cream.

It felt like exactly the right kind of birthday cake for her: classic, unfussy and really good!

Pan: 9-inch springform pan

Oven: 350°F

Bake Time: About 45–55 minutes

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened

• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

• 15 ounces whole-milk ricotta

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

• ¾ cup mini chocolate chips

For the Pan

• 1 tablespoon softened butter

• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

For the Mascarpone Cream

• 8 ounces mascarpone, cold

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold

• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

• Tiny pinch of salt

For Finishing

• Powdered sugar

• Mini chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. Prepare the pan. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with softened butter and lightly dust with powdered sugar.

3. Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

4. Cream the butter, sugar and ricotta. Beat together for about 4–5 minutes, until light and creamy. Make sure your butter is genuinely softened before you begin.

5. Add the eggs. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

6. Add the vanilla. Mix in the vanilla bean paste.

7. Add the dry ingredients. Gradually mix in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Avoid overmixing.

8. Add the chocolate chips. Gently fold in the mini chocolate chips.

9. Fill the pan. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared 9-inch springform pan.

10. Bake. Bake for approximately 45–55 minutes. Begin checking around 45 minutes.

11. Check the center carefully. The cake is ready when the center is fully set and no longer jiggly, and a tester inserted directly into the center comes out without wet batter. Don’t rely on the toothpick alone — the center itself should feel set.

12. Cool. Let the cake rest in the pan for about 10–15 minutes, then run a thin knife around the edge and carefully release the springform ring.

13. Cool completely. Allow the cake to cool fully before decorating.

14. Make the mascarpone cream. Beat the mascarpone, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt briefly until smooth. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream to medium peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.

15. Decorate. Dust the completely cooled cake with powdered sugar. Pipe small mascarpone dollops around the perimeter — essentially one for each slice — and finish with mini chocolate chips.

16. Refrigerate. Keep the finished cake refrigerated until serving.

Quick Tips:

• Make sure the butter is fully softened before mixing so it creams smoothly into the ricotta.

• If the ricotta has a lot of excess liquid, drain it before using.

• The batter will look thicker and slightly more textured than a traditional cake batter.

• Don’t over-mix once the flour goes in.

• Let the cake cool completely before adding the mascarpone cream.

• Stick with a 9-inch pan, any larger causes the outside to brown too much in order for the center to fully cook.

• Keep the finished cake refrigerated because of the ricotta and mascarpone.

Let me know if you try this cake - I'd love to hear if your family loved it as much as mine did! Happy baking!