The Easy Ina Garten Cake I Make on Repeat—It Was Love at First Bite

Perhaps it's because I am a culinary nerd, but I'm constantly searching for what I like to call "foundational recipes." These include the perfect cookie dough, a universal all-purpose bread dough, a fool-proof muffin recipe, and, the ultimate challenge, a perfectly moist cake.

In this pursuit, I've made almost every kind of cake you can think of—oil-based, butter-based, reverse-creaming method, and even chiffon. While I've met some success, I've never had a go-to cake base adaptable to the seasons and easy to pull off. 

That was until I stumbled upon Ina Garten's Fruit and Ricotta Cake in her book Cook Like a Pro. The cake in the book is made with fresh figs, and the presentation is stunning. The only issue? In Connecticut, where I'm based, there are about two weeks a year when good fresh figs are available.

And this cake? This cake is meant to be made year-round. I decided to try it with fresh peaches, and it was a huge hit. That's when I fell in love with this cake. How would it taste with blueberries? How about pitted cherries? Would apples work? As it turns out, there is truly no fruit that this super flavorful cake does not work with. 

Why This Cake Is So Easy

But my very favorite? Juicy ripe peaches. Not only do they give the buttery, rich cake some much-needed tartness, but they look beautiful, too. One of my favorite parts about this cake is that it's made in a spring-form pan, a very underrated baking essential. 

It allows you to get creative with the arrangement of the fruit without the stress of an upside-down cake. Ina also cleverly developed the recipe so that it's sprinkled with turbinado sugar before heading into the oven, giving the fruit a bit of caramelization and texture.

All the Ways To Enjoy This Cake

The base of the cake comes together with ease and minimal ingredients. The ricotta adds richness and moisture and gives the baked cake a very bouncy, almost pudding-like crumb. The sour cream enhances the flavor and gives the cake a "bakery-style" texture, making it impossible to stop snacking on. 

My kids love this cake, and it's been a great way to get them to try new fruits. They always like to play a guessing game of what's been added week to week. We often enjoy it for weekend breakfast, but it works for dessert, too. 

Ina suggested serving her original version with a dollop of creme fraiche, but my kids are partial to vanilla ice cream when we serve it for dessert or a little vanilla yogurt if we eat it for breakfast. 

The only adaptation I make to the recipe is to add a bit of spice to complement the fruit I'm using. In the case of peaches, I usually mix in a touch of cinnamon and ground ginger with the dry ingredients. If I go with apples, I'll use cinnamon and nutmeg, and when I've made it with blueberries, I love the addition of a pinch of ground cardamom. 

It's fun to take a tried and true recipe and put your spin on it. This one never fails me.