Nuns' Cake

Name: Nuns' Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: Cow's milk ricotta cheese 3 cups; Eggs 6; Sugar Approximately 1 1/3 cups 1.3 cups; Almond flour 2.8 cups; Lemon peel 2; Fine salt 1 pinch; Powdered sugar to taste

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Serving: 10
Cost: Low

PRESENTATION

Nuns' Cake is a gluten free cake built on three ingredients: ricotta, eggs, and almond flour. The name — torta delle monache in Italian — carries a story: tradition holds that nuns baked versions of this in convent kitchens, working without refined wheat flour and relying on whatever was close at hand. The cake still reflects that logic: unadorned, and shaped entirely by what those few ingredients can do together.

Ricotta keeps the crumb moist and almost creamy once baked, while almond flour adds a gentle density that wheat flour can't replicate here. Lemon runs through both as a quiet but distinct presence, keeping things fresh rather than heavy. It lands well at the end of a meal or as an afternoon snack — grounded enough to feel like something, light enough to reach for on a weekday.

INGREDIENTS

For a 10 1/4-inch (26 cm) diameter pan: Cow's milk ricotta cheese 3 cups (750 g); Eggs 6; Sugar 1.3 cups (270 g) - Approximately 1 1/3 cups; Almond flour 2.8 cups (270 g); Lemon peel 2; Fine salt 1 pinch

For decorating: Powdered sugar to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Nuns' Cake

To prepare the Nuns' Cake, first crack the eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer 1, add the sugar 2 and whisk with the whisk attachment for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is pale, voluminous and foamy 3. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can make the batter in a bowl using electric beaters.

Scent the mixture with the grated lemon zest 4, taking care to use only the yellow part. Continue to mix, then incorporate the ricotta little by little, adding one spoonful at a time 5 and waiting for it to be absorbed before adding the next. In a separate bowl, mix the almond flour with the salt 6.

Then add it gradually to the stand mixer 7. Mix for a few more moments until you obtain a homogeneous, soft and fairly creamy batter 8. Line a 10 1/4-inch (26 cm) diameter pan with parchment paper 9 and fill it with the batter.

Gently level the surface with a spatula 10, then bake in a preheated conventional oven at 338°F (170°C) for about 60 minutes, placing the pan on the middle rack. Once baked, let the cake cool completely in the pan: it will be moist and delicate, so it is important to let it settle well before unmolding. When cool, transfer the Nuns' Cake to a serving plate 11 and finish with a dusting of powdered sugar 12.

Storage

The Nuns' Cake can be stored in the refrigerator for 2–3 days.

Freezing is not recommended as the texture could change after thawing.

Tip

Instead of lemon you can use vanilla.

Alternatively, you can use an 11 x 8-inch (28 x 20 cm) rectangular pan.

For correctly preparing gluten-free recipes

For gluten-free recipes, we recommend purchasing only products that bear the crossed-ear symbol on the package, certified gluten-free, as recommended by the AIC (Italian Celiac Association) handbook.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.

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