It’s Almost Easter! Are you ready?

If you are looking for a special cake for Easter or any special occasion, read on…. The recipe below for Orange Ricotta Cake calls for J Ratafia, a dessert wine from J Vineyards & Winery.

Cheers,
Kathy

Orange Ricotta Cake

Ingredients

40 ounces Bellwether Farms Jersey Cow Ricotta
5  eggs
½ cup sugar
about a cup orange marmalade
¼ cup J Ratafia*
about a cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp orange zest
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
½ tsp kosher salt
3 oranges, supremed (segmented with membrane removed)
1 pint strawberries, hulled and diced

Method

Preheat oven to 325º.

Lightly butter and flour an 8-inch springform pan.

Combine ricotta, eggs, sugar, and marmalade in a food processor; process until mixture is smooth.

Add the Ratafia, flour, zest, vanilla and salt; process again until smooth.

Pour mixture into the pan and bake for 1 hour. The center will still be soft (and look jiggly) at this point.

Turn oven off and leave cake in the oven with the door slightly ajar for 20 minutes.

Remove cake and let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

To serve, remove the sides from the pan and slice the cake.

Serve with orange slices and diced strawberries.

*According to the J Vineyard & Winery website: “Ratafia (Rah-Ta-Feeya) is a dessert wine made by fortifying champagne base grape juices with high-proof brandy (eau de vie) soon after they have started fermenting. Unlike the Ratafia produced in the Champagne region in France — the J Ratafia is aged for a few years in old barrels so that a nutty aged character has time to develop.”

This recipe was provided by J Vineyards & Winery Culinary Team.