Benjamina Ebuehi’s ricotta, blackberry and lemon cake. Photograph: Matthew Hague/The Guardian. Food styling: Katie Smith. Prop styling: Lucy Turnbull. Food styling assistant: Phoebe Altman. View image in fullscreen Benjamina Ebuehi’s ricotta, blackberry and lemon cake. Photograph: Matthew Hague/The Guardian. Food styling: Katie Smith. Prop styling: Lucy Turnbull. Food styling assistant: Phoebe Altman. The sweet spot Food Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for ricotta, blackberry and lemon cake Make the most of the early-autumn glut of fruit with this quick, squidgy-crumbed bake that’s bursting with berries
Benjamina Ebuehi Fri 11 Sep 2026 07.00 CEST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google E very year, I get annoyed with myself for not making the most of blackberry season, and then it’s gone before I’ve had a chance really to enjoy them. They’re such great berries to bake with, and here I’ve scattered them in a simple ricotta cake. It’s a quick, one-bowl bake with a perfectly squidgy crumb that’s bursting with fruit.
170g caster sugar Finely grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons 2 large eggs 70g olive oil 125g ricotta 130g plain flour 1 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp salt 150g blackberries
To finish 125g ricotta 1 tbsp lemon juice ½ tbsp icing sugar , plus extra for dusting
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4, and grease and line a 23cm loose-bottomed cake tin.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a bowl and use your fingertips to rub together until fragrant. Add the eggs and oil, whisk until frothy, then mix in the ricotta. Finally, sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, and stir gently to combine.
Pour the batter into the lined tin, scatter the blackberries on top, and bake for 28-32 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool completely in its tin, then turn out and dust with icing sugar.
For the whipped ricotta, whisk all the ingredients in a bowl until smooth and creamy; alternatively, for a super-smooth result, blitz it in a food processor.
Serve slices of the cake with a dollop of the whipped ricotta.