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

27 Ratings

43 Comments

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Prep 10 min
Total 1 hr 20 min
Servings 12

Inspired by a sugar cookie and featuring ricotta and olive oil, this Italian sweet cake is about to become the best you’ve ever tasted. Ever. Ever. MORE+ LESS-

By Cheeky Kitchen

Updated May 11, 2017

Ingredients

container (15 oz) ricotta cheese, strained of excess liquid

eggs

teaspoon almond extract

3/4

cup heavy cream

1/2

cup olive oil

box (15.25 oz) Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ Cake Mix French Vanilla

cups powdered sugar

3-4 tablespoons milk or half-and-half

teaspoon vanilla extract

Nonpareil sprinkles

Baking spray

Steps

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1

Gather your ingredients.
2

Heat oven to 325° F. Spray a 9” springform pan with baking spray.
3

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together ricotta, eggs and almond extract. 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. Cool completely before removing from springform pan.
5

In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract. Use more or less milk depending on your desired consistency. Drizzle icing over cake.
6

Sprinkle with nonpareils.
7

Allow frosting to set before slicing and serving.

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Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving

Calories: 500
Calories from Fat: 180

% Daily Value

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

Inspired by a sugar cookie and featuring ricotta and olive oil, this Italian sweet cake is about to become the best you’ve ever tasted. Ever. Ever. Confession time: In my existence as a food blogger, I have probably written the words “this is the best recipe ever” more than fourteen hundred million times. There are a lot of really good recipes out there. Also, I may be prone to superlatives. But none of that matters anymore. Because this is the best recipe ever. I kid you not. When it comes to cake, I’m a picky chicken. Always looking for ways to upgrade box mixes, I often come away feeling a little blasé. No matter what you add, most mixes make a pretty standard cake that’s pretty good. It’s hard to change the texture or generally wow one’s face off. Until, of course, one decided to add a pound of ricotta, a heaping glug of olive oil and the most incredible almond-kissed drizzle of icing to the top of this sugar cookie-inspired cake. I am telling you. Run for the kitchen. Grab a bowl. Make this cookie cake. It will become your favorite cake of all time ever. Ever. Ever. I mean ever.