This easy ricotta crumble cake is the perfect dessert for when you’re craving something homemade, delicious, and comforting without spending hours in the kitchen. With a buttery crumble crust, a creamy ricotta filling, and a golden, crumbly topping, this simple ricotta cake is guaranteed to become a favorite.

It’s perfect for breakfast alongside your morning coffee or a cup of tea, as an afternoon snack, for tea time, or as an easy dessert to serve after dinner.

The best part? This easy ricotta cake takes about one hour from start to finish and requires simple ingredients, very little effort, and no special baking skills. Seriously, this is a recipe anyone can make!

How to Make Ricotta Crumble Cake

For the crumble mixture, you can use a food processor, which makes the preparation very quick and easy. Or, like I did, place the ingredients in a medium bowl and use a pastry cutter, a knife, or your fingers to cut the cold butter into small pieces and mix it with the remaining ingredients — flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and the egg.

The crumble mixture should look sandy and crumbly, with some larger pieces of dough throughout. Be careful not to overmix it, as the small pieces of butter help create a deliciously tender and buttery crumble.

For the creamy ricotta filling, make sure to use well-drained ricotta cheese. If your ricotta is particularly wet, drain it in a fine-mesh sieve before preparing the filling. Removing excess moisture helps prevent the cake from becoming watery and gives the ricotta layer a smooth, creamy texture.

Press about two-thirds of the crumble mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking pan to create the crust. Add the ricotta cheese filling on top, spreading it evenly. Finish with the remaining crumble mixture.

VIDEO RECIPE:

Tips for the Best Ricotta Crumble Cake

For a beautiful, generous crumb topping, don’t simply sprinkle the crumble mixture over the cake. Instead, pinch pieces of the dough between your fingers as you add it to the top. This creates coarse, irregular crumbs that bake into a wonderfully golden and crunchy topping.

Make sure your butter is cold when preparing the crumble. Cold butter helps create the perfect crumbly texture. Also, avoid pressing down the top crumble layer, since keeping it loose will give you a lighter, more textured topping.

Bake the ricotta crumble cake for about 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the cake is set. Since every oven is different, start checking the cake toward the end of the baking time. If the top begins to brown too quickly, loosely cover it with aluminum foil for the last few minutes.

Once baked, let the cake cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. This is an important step because the ricotta filling will continue to set as the cake cools, making the cake easier to slice and helping the layers hold their shape.

How to Serve Ricotta Crumble Cake

This Italian ricotta crumble cake can be served at room temperature or chilled. I love serving it with a light dusting of powdered sugar and a cup of coffee or tea. The creamy ricotta filling and buttery crumble topping make every bite absolutely irresistible!

How to Store Ricotta Crumble Cake

Store the cake in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 4–5 days. For the best flavor and texture, let a slice sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.

After about 45 minutes in the oven, voila! A big, fat slice of this delicious ricotta crumble cake can be on your plate. Ready to try it too? Happy baking!

Other Sweet Breakfast recipes you might like:

• Blueberry Banana Bread
• Raspberry and Cream Pastries
• Mascarpone Cream and Blueberry Sauce Pastries
• Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf Cake
• Blueberry-Lemon Loaf Cake
• Blueberry and Ricotta Crumble Cake
• Chocolate-Almond Pull-Apart Bread
• Vanilla and Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake
• Almond-Poppy Seeds Muffins
• Italian Lemon Plumcake (Pound Cake)
• Cruffins
• Orange Poppyseeds Muffins
• Moist and Flavorful Blueberry-Lemon Poundcake with Lemon Glaze
• Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins