Italian Christmas Cookie Cake

Name: Italian Christmas Cookie Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese, strained of excess liquid; 4 eggs; 1 teaspoon almond extract; 3/4 cup heavy cream; 1/2 cup olive oil; 1 box (15.25 oz) Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ Cake Mix French Vanilla; 4 cups powdered sugar; 3-4 tablespoons milk or half-and-half; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; Nonpareil sprinkles; Baking spray

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Prep 10 min
Total 1 hr 20 min
Servings 12

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If you’re familiar with the ricotta-and-olive-oil treat that is the Italian Christmas cookie, you’re going to love this supersized interpretation. Made easy with Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ cake mix, this dense, sweet dessert is going to make you rethink the whole concept of a Christmas cookie exchange and instead will give you visions of holiday cake walks.

by: Cheeky Kitchen

Updated Dec 11, 2019

Ingredients

1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese, strained of excess liquid
4 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup olive oil
1 box (15.25 oz) Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ Cake Mix French Vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk or half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Nonpareil sprinkles
Baking spray

Steps

1

Heat oven to 325° F. Spray a 9” springform pan with baking spray.
2

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together ricotta, eggs and almond extract.
3

In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, combine cream and olive oil. Add cake mix to ricotta mixture in small amounts, alternating with adding the cream and olive oil mixture. Beat until smooth. Pour into prepared pan.
4

Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Once baked, move to a cooling rack, and completely before removing from springform pan and moving to a serving platter or plate.
5

In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract. Use more or less milk depending on the consistency of the frosting. It should be pourable, but not excessively runny. Drizzle icing over cake, and sprinkle with nonpareils. Allow frosting to set before slicing and serving.

Expert Tips

tip 1
The unique flavor of olive oil is what make this cake taste like an Italian cookie. However, if you don’t have any olive oil on hand, you can substitute with canola oil.
tip 2
Give this cake a lemony boost by swapping out the French Vanilla cake mix with Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ Lemon cake mix.

Nutrition Information

500 Calories, 20g Total Fat, 7g Protein, 72g Total Carbohydrate, 56g Sugars

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving

Calories: 500

Calories from Fat: 180

Total Fat: 20g; 31%

Saturated Fat: 8g; 39%

Trans Fat: 0g

Cholesterol: 95mg; 31%

Sodium: 320mg; 13%

Potassium: 100mg; 3%

Total Carbohydrate: 72g; 24%

Dietary Fiber: 0g; 0%

Sugars: 56g

Protein: 7g

% Daily Value*:

Vitamin A: 8%; 8%

Vitamin C: 0%; 0%

Calcium: 20%; 20%

Iron: 6%; 6%

Exchanges:

1 Starch; 0 Fruit; 3 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 1/2 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 3 1/2 Fat;

Carbohydrate Choice

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

More About This Recipe

We took your Nonna’s favorite Christmas cookie and supersized it into a beautifully moist Italian Cookie cake. Featuring ricotta and olive oil and covered in an almond-kissed icing, this Italian sweet cake is unlike anything you’ve ever had before.