Ricotta-Orange Pound Cake

A year and a half ago I bought Food & Wine magazine because the cover featured "Best Italian Dishes."  I didn't realize until I read the article that those dishes were recipes from Giada De Laurentiis' new Las Vegas restaurant.  The recipe that caught my eye, and the reason I've kept the magazine all this time was Ricotta-Orange Pound Cake.

I don't bake a lot and recently, everyone in our household has been trying to shed a few pounds. (Well, okay, by everyone, I mean my spouse and me. The kids are away at school and the dog will eat anything.)  All in all, I just couldn't justify baking a rich, delicious cake for no reason. Until this weekend. My birthday is Sunday. It's a major milestone and I've always been very happy to celebrate my birthday.

As if that wasn't reason enough, I Heart Cooking Clubs' featured chef this week is Giada De Laurentiis. And we were invited to a holiday potluck tonight. So all in all, this cake was meant to be.

The recipe is straightforward and simple. For me the most difficult steps were zesting the orange and finding a small bottle of Amaretto.

The cake is meant to be served with whipped cream, and Prosecco soaked strawberries.  I took the simpler route.  The orange and the ricotta are what attracted me to the recipe in the first place. Also, strawberries at this time of year are flown in from thousands of miles away and tend to be lacking in flavor.

The cake itself? It's delicious and moist. Despite only one teaspoon of orange zest,  the cake had an intense orange flavor. It was a big hit at the party. If I were to bake it during the summer, I would try it with the strawberries.

The recipe can be found here or in the May, 2014 issue of Food & Wine. Head over to IHCC to find out what other tasty dishes other cooks made.