Chocolate Chunk Olive Oil Ricotta Cake with Dark Chocolate Buttercream

Ingredients

• 250 g good quality ricotta
• 100 g extra virgin olive oil
• 135 g sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 60 g milk
• 200 g all-purpose flour
• 50 g almond meal
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 185 g good quality dark chocolate (I used Guittard 72% wafers), chopped into chunks
• 150 g good quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 195 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 150 g powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 70 g dutch process cocoa, sifted
• 2-3 Tbsp heavy cream

Instructions

1. 1

   --- CAKE ---

2. 2

   Preheat the oven to 350˚f / 180˚c. Grease a loaf pan and line with a parchment paper sling.

3. 3

   In a medium bowl, whisk together the ricotta, olive oil, sugar, vanilla bean paste, eggs, and milk. In a second bowl, sift together the flour, almond meal, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two additions, mixing until combined. Add the chopped chocolate, and fold in using a rubber spatula.

4. 4

   Transfer to the loaf tin and bake for 55-60 minutes, checking for doneness with a skewer at 55 minutes. It should come out clean with a few crumbs (keep in mind that if you poke it into the chocolate it will come out with some chocolate on it - you are looking for doneness of the cake itself). If the cake is browning too quickly, tent the top with foil for the last 15-20 minutes.

5. 5

   Remove from the oven, and cool in the tin for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack and cooling completely.

6. 6

   --- DARK CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM ---

7. 7

   Melt the dark chocolate in 15 second increments in the microwave, stirring well between each until melted. Set aside to cool completely. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until light and fluffy, approx. 4 minutes. Add the salt, powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste, and cocoa, and mix until smooth, scraping down the sides once or twice. Add the melted chocolate and mix well until silky. If needed, add cream 1 tbsp at a time to get the frosting to spreadable consistency.

8. 8

   Using an offset spatula, spread the buttercream over the top of the loaf cake.

9. 9

   Store leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container.