Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Eggless Pumpkin Ricotta Cake

Weather is getting so cold that I love to turn on the oven every evening just to keep the kitchen warm (Duh, as if summer heat kept me from turning it on). I had some pumpkin puree left from baking something else this weekend and I have seen many pumpkin cheese cake recipes floating around the internet nowadays. We are not fans of cheesecake at home and probably springform pan is the only kind I do not own (You should see my basement filled with boxes of cake pans - I can start a store of cake pans). This cake was inspired by pumpkin cheesecake. No single recipe in particular though. Luckily, I had some ricotta cheese in the refrigerator that went in with pumpkin for this cake. This is one amazing cake. You might wonder why she isn't showing the whole loaf picture. That is because 3/4th of the loaf was gone by the time I could take a picture. Pictures do not do justice to this cake. You will have to trust me on that.

Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Baking Soda - 1 tsp
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Vanilla - 1 tsp
Pumpkin Puree - 3/4 cup
Ricotta cheese - 1/2 cup (I used part skim)
Vegetable or Canola oil - 1/4 cup
Chocolate chips - 1 cup (optional, but recommended. I used milk chocolate chips)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 325 F (Because of my dark pan otherwise preheat to 350 F). Grease and flour a 8 X 4 loaf pan (do not skip it. It will stick otherwise).
In a bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat pumpkin puree, ricotta cheese, oil well. Beat in the vanilla. Whisk the dry ingredients to wet taking care not to beat vigorously. When half the flour is mixed, use a spatula to fold in the batter. Batter will be very thick. Stir in the chocolate chips if using. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with the spatula. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you are using an aluminum pan and baking at 350 F, it might get done faster. Check at 45 minutes. You can double the recipe and bake in a bundt pan for an hour or till done.
 Counting calories..
If you omit chocolate chips, you can save a lot on calories. I probably will bake it with half the amount mini chocolate chips next time and bake in a 8" or 9" round cake pan. Or double and bake in a bundt pan.

Happy Baking!! Pin It

13 comments:

  1. Great recipe :) Can Paneer be used instead of ricotta cheese? Let me know. Cheers!!

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  2. The eggless version in yours looks very moist. Most of mine cakes or bread would taste pretty dry.

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  3. Paaka Shale, thanks for the comment. Yes, you may use paneer instead of ricotta cheese.

    Srimathi,
    One of the problems I have with eggless cakes is being crumbly. But this was very moist and not crumbly at the same time. Thanks.

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  4. hey interesting combo of ricotta cheese and pumpkin!

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  5. You make this sound very tempting Champa!! Will surely give it a try with paneer. lol about the opening sentence of the post:-)). Yes, heat not a good reason to not bake in a hot oven, cold a good excuse to bake something!!

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  6. Beautiful looking cake there!!

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  7. Ammmmmmm.. That's one yummy cake.. Perfect fall flavors.

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  8. ABsolutely delicious looking super tempting cake..

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  9. I made this cake last week and it turned out great. I used sour cream instead of ricotta as I didn't have any ricotta cheese. Thank you Champa for another great recipe.

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  10. Thank you Swapna for the feedback. I really appreciate it.

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  11. Hi,

    What can I substitute for Pumpkin puree? I do not have it on hand? Can I use Applesauce instead and make it a apple bread?

    Thanks

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  12. Anonymous,
    Pumpkin puree is a little thicker than applesauce, so baking time might have to be increased. But the best substitute for pumpkin puree is mashed ripe bananas. You can interchange them in almost any recipe.

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