My friend Marian recently had a birthday, and I wanted to make her a special cake. When I asked her whether she wanted white or chocolate, she said either, so I decided to do both. Of course I didn’t want to do a plain white cake with chocolate frosting, although everyone loves that; rather, I wanted something showstopper that she would want to share with family and that she would remember. I thought of a ricotta cake that had a unique texture, and decided to adapt that recipe to this birthday cake. Because Marian loves chocolate, I thought a rich chocolate frosting without gritty powdered sugar would complement the cake nicely.

This is one instance where the look of the cake is simple, but the cake tastes better than it looks – not that it is ugly, but fairly plain looking. Once you get a bite, however, you’ll request this cake for your own birthday, and since it’s easy, the baker will be happy to oblige.

12 Servings

15 ounces ricotta cheese
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1 package white cake mix, (15.25 ounce or 18.25 ounce)
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Frosting
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup whipping cream

1. Preheat oven to 325º.
2. Spray 2 8" cake pans with nonstick spray, line them with parchment, and spray the parchment.
3. Mix the ricotta cheese, eggs, vegetable oil and extract in a large mixer bowl.
4. Beat in the cake mix until smooth; stir in the whipping cream.
Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans and smooth the tops.
5. Place in the preheated oven and bake until the layers pull from the sides and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center, about 45 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and let sit 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks.; let cool thoroughly.
7. Ganache Frosting: Mix the chocolate chips and whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave 3 minutes.
8. Remove from the microwave and let sit 5 minutes; whisk until thickened.
9. Let the mixture cool. When cool, transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and beat with a mixer until light.
10. After the cake has cooled, place a layer top side down onto a serving platter.
11. Spread half of the frosting over the cake and place the remaining layer, top side up, on the frosting, pushing down so it squishes out a little.
12. Spread the remaining frosting onto the top of the cake, letting it go a bit over the side. If you prefer, you can frost the sides like a regular cake.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 624 Calories from Fat 381
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 61% Protein 5% Carb. 34%

Nutrient Amount per Serving:
Total Fat 42 g
Saturated Fat 19 g
Cholesterol 136 mg
Sodium 335 mg
Total Carbohydrate 53 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 19 g
Protein 8 g

Vitamin A 16% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% Iron 6%