Lemon Ricotta-Almond Cake with Yogurt Cheese

A cake without a creamy topping and light flavors is relishing with an evening tea. The yogurt cheese makes a nice low fat alternative to whipped cream. Try it on fruits and toast .I found the delicious recipe at Gluten-Free Bay and the Original gluten free recipe is posted at Lucullian delights. I made few of my nutty changes to the recipes by using Olive oil and less butter along with some whole grain flour.


Ingredients
2 eggs
1/2 cup blanched(boiled and peeled) almonds or almond meal\flour
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup All-purpose flour
1/4 cup Whole Wheat flour(Use 1 cup of rice flour instead of wheat flour\All-purpose flour for a gluten free cake)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup Olive oil
1 tablespoon Butter at room temperature.
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Method

Preheat the oven to 350�F.
Grind in a processor the blanched almonds with 2 tablespoon of water in to a smooth paste.
Whisk eggs ,oil,butter and sugar. Add ground almond paste or almond meal and stir in the ricotta .
Sift the dry ingredients and mix in the egg batter. Stir well to combine before folding and finally add the lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract and mix .
Pour the batter in a greased 8 inch round cake pan and bake for 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serve with fruits or yogurt cheese

To make Yogurt cheese
Set a fine-mesh sieve or larger-mesh sieve lined with a paper coffee filter over a bowl. without stirring the yogurt,gently spoon 1 cup of yogurt into the sieve. Place in refrigerator to drain for 2-3 hours. Discard or drink the tangy liquid in the bowl. Serve or refrigerate in a tightly covered container for up to a week.
This calcium rich recipe is my entry for Eat Healthy :Calcium Rich hosted by Sangeeth and also for MBP : Say Cheese hosted by Siri's Corner.