Summer in San Francisco

I know that my baking's been on a bit of a hiatus - moving to San Francisco meant packing up my Kitchenaid for a few weeks while I unpacked, got settled in my new apartment (and waited for my oven to get fixed) and figured out a way to schedule breaks from intense studying. BUT - I'm back! And what better way to return to the kitchen than with this fantastic recipe.

The weather's taken a turn for the warm up here in the city (shocker) and nothing sounded better to me than the crisp tang of lime. This recipe that I found for a cupcake with ricotta cheese and lime zest and juice is one of the best I've ever tasted, and I'm so excited to share it with you. I upped the lime content by adding twice the zest, and I think it was perfect. The cake is light with a nice crumb, and I think that the ricotta really lived up to its reputation as a great way to make fluffy baked goods fluffier! It's the perfect end to a summer BBQ (or accompaniment to a margarita?)

For the frosting, I chose the white chocolate buttercream that I used for my whoopie pies. I think the sweetness of the white chocolate nicely balanced the tartness of the lime, and it stands up a little better to room temperature than a whipped cream frosting.

So wherever you are - laying in front of the fan or bundled up in a sweatshirt dreaming of the sun - enjoy this cupcake and think of summer!

Lime Ricotta Cupcakes
From Kayotic Kitchen
Makes 18 cupcakes


2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 C sugar
7 oz butter, softened
1/2 C + 2 Tbsp ricotta cheese
4 eggs, separated
4 limes

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake tins with liners or nonstick spray. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Grate limes and add to flour mixture, juice 2 limes and reserve juice. Cream together sugar and butter in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add ricotta and beat until well incorporated and very light. Add egg yolks and beat to incorporate. Alternate adding flour and lime juice, starting and ending with flour. Reserve this batter, wash out your electric mixer if you don't have a separate beater.

Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and beat at high speed until you make soft peaks. Fold egg whites into batter, making sure to incorporate very gently to maintain the air in the mixture!

Fill cupcake tins 2/3 full and bake for 25 minutes, or until the top of the cupcake springs back to the touch. Let cool completely before frosting. Store in a cool place, don't frost until you really need to!