Italian Love Cake

With Valentine's Day upon us, I could have featured a Red Velvet SOMETHING.  But it felt a little too easy.  (Let's be honest - I have quite a few Red Velvet recipes up my sleeve)

For many, many years I've been looking at recipes for Italian Love Cake.  But I've always been so hesitant, because - well - ricotta doesn't scream dessert to me.

But I decided to take the plunge and just give it a try.  

Plus - it turns out that it's SUPER cool.  Science.  You just wait and see!!

Here's what you'll need.

In a large bowl, combine the Ricotta (Loooootttts of Ricotta - and make sure it's whole milk ricotta),

And 4 eggs.

Sugar and vanilla.

And whip it all together with a hand mixer until smooth.

You'll need to prepare the cake according to the package directions.  Spread the batter into the bottom of a glass baking dish.

Make sure the baking dish you use is glass and deep - this is a big cake!

Then, carefully spread the Ricotta mixture over the cake batter.

Bake the cake for one hour and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Combine the milk and pudding and whisk until thickened.

Then fold in the Cool Whip.

Now - here's the SCIENCE part!!

The layers SWITCH PLACES.  How cool is that?! 

I mean - it's not as cool if you didn't know that was supposed to happen and you were just eating it as a guest...  But it was cool as heck for me!

Spread the prepared frosting on the cooled cake.  (I skipped this part so it wouldn't spoil the surprise above).

Thoughts?

I thought the icing was a light complement to the rest of the cake.  The ricotta was sweet and rich and the cake was really tender.  

I did find that it was a little on the "damp" side on the bottom of the ricotta - but I honestly can't remember if I got a chance to let it chill overnight or not.  Make sure you do that.  But it might need to be baked a little longer or have the ricotta strained slightly.

Just a gentle reminder that this cake is really rich - so just be prepared!

I hope you make this Love Cake for someone you love and that you all enjoy it as much as me!

xoxo - Heather

Italian Love Cake

1 package chocolate cake mix (and the ingredients need to prepare the cake)

2 pounds whole milk ricotta cheese

4 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (5.1 oz) package instant chocolate pudding mix

1 cup cold milk

8 ounces thawed Cool Whip

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Prepare the cake mix according to package directions to the batter stage and spread into the prepared baking dish.
3. In a large bowl, combine the cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla.  Beat with a hand mixer until smooth. 
4. Carefully spread the ricotta cheese mixture over the cake batter.
5. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 1 hour.  Allow to cool completely before icing.
6. After the cake has cooled, prepare the icing.  In a large bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix.  Whisk until the pudding has thickened.  Fold in the Cool Whip until well combined.
7. Spread the prepared icing over the cooled cake.  Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight - it gets better the next day!

Source: Chew Nibble Nosh