Orange Ricotta Loaf Cake

Adapted from Alexandra Stafford, who adapted it from Giada De Laurentiis.

Walter’s favorite cakes are my Chocolate Torte and Flourless Almond Cake. Mine are the Via Carota Chocolate Cake and this plain orange-scented loaf, which is made in one bowl. Alexandra Stafford adapted it from Giada De Laurentiis, making it with oil instead of butter. She uses olive oil, but, at her suggestion, I use grapeseed oil. It does not add any flavor to the cake, which is moist and fragrant, with a hint of orange shining through.

I bake it in a 1½-pound Chicago Metallic loaf pan.

Butter, for coating the pan
3 large eggs, at room temperature
364g whole-milk ricotta
164g grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur (I use Mathilde)
300g sugar
6g Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Zest of 1 orange
11g baking powder
192g flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter your loaf pan. You can line it with parchment paper cut to extend over the two long sides, but I don’t do that; I find that once the cake has completely cooled, it slides right out of the pan.

In a large bowl, use a large flat whisk to thoroughly mix the eggs and ricotta. Whisk in the oil and liqueur until blended. Whisk in the sugar, salt, and orange zest. Next whisk in the baking powder. Finally, add the flour and use a spatula to mix it in just until it is no longer visible.

It is important to note that this cake takes a little longer to bake than you would think. Just inserting a cake tester isn’t enough; you have to check it with an instant-read thermometer. It is done when the thermometer reaches about 200°F. This will take around 60 minutes. Start checking at 55 minutes.

Cool completely before removing from the pan.