Pieces of ricotta and sour cherry preserve marble cake stacked on a wooden board

I made this ricotta cake with sour cherry jam in a moment of weakness, with a serious craving for something sweet. I was trying to cut back on desserts, but whenever the urge to bake strikes, reason doesn’t stand much of a chance. And when I think about it, it’s often not the dessert itself that I miss. It’s the whole process: mixing something, turning on the oven, and seeing how it turns out. A little strange? Possibly. 😁

The trouble is, loving baking doesn’t necessarily mean wanting to spend hours in the kitchen. So I went for a simple marble cake, made from scratch, with little pockets of ricotta and sour cherry jam. No separate cream filling to make.

And to keep the calories from adding up too much, I chose the smallest pan, as usual. That was my strategy, anyway. It’s still a dessert, of course, but at least it doesn’t fill a tray the size of the entire oven.

Why You’ll Love This Ricotta and Jam Cake

This is the kind of cake to make when you want something homemade without turning your afternoon into a pastry project. It starts with a single batter, and the marbled pattern gives it a little character without any special decorating tools.

The ricotta and sour cherry jam sit in small pockets, so the texture changes from one bite to the next. You get a little plain sponge, a little cocoa, and then a patch of cheese and jam. That variety is what makes such a simple cake interesting.

Using jam also means you don’t need to wait for sour cherry season or pit a bowl of fruit before you begin. A jar from the cupboard gets a chance to do something beyond sitting on a slice of toast.

Two stacked cake pieces showing vanilla and cocoa sponge with pockets of ricotta and sour cherry preserve

A Vanilla and Cocoa Marble Cake with Ricotta

The base is a two-tone vanilla and cocoa sponge dotted with ricotta and sour cherry jam. The cheese isn’t blended throughout the batter, and it doesn’t form a continuous cream layer either. Think of it as a marbled cake with little pockets of ricotta rather than a cheesecake or a cake with a thick cheese filling.

Ricotta has a mild flavor, while the jam brings the sour cherry flavor and fruity sweetness. How pronounced that is will depend on the jar you use. Some jams contain larger pieces of fruit; others have a smoother consistency or more syrup. That difference will show up in the finished cake without changing the rest of the recipe.

The marbling will look slightly different each time, too. You don’t need a perfect pattern or identical slices. What matters is keeping the two sponge colors visible rather than blending them into one.

Tips for Making This Ricotta Marble Cake

Give the Egg Whites a Little Attention

A clean bowl and grease-free beaters help the egg whites whip properly. When separating the eggs, take care not to get any yolk into the whites. It’s a small detail, but much easier to prevent than to fix once you’ve started mixing.

Once the whites are whipped, gentle folding matters. The aim is to incorporate the other ingredients without losing more of that trapped air than necessary. Stop once the batter is combined; there’s no benefit in continuing just to be absolutely certain it has been mixed enough.

Sift the Flour and Cocoa Powder

Sift the flour before adding it to the batter, then sift the cocoa powder separately before folding it into the reserved half. This helps prevent lumps, so you won’t need to overmix the batter to get it smooth.

A Small Pan Is Part of the Recipe

Pan size affects the depth of the cake. In a much larger pan, the same amount of batter spreads into a thinner layer and won’t bake in exactly the same way. If you want to reproduce this cake as closely as possible, the pan size in the recipe card is an important reference.

A much smaller pan changes things as well, because the batter will be deeper. That’s why the baking time belongs with the pan size. It isn’t a number to carry unchanged from one baking dish to another.

How to Serve It

When I first made this cake, I enjoyed it as soon as it had cooled. I’d keep things just as simple here: it doesn’t need another cream or frosting before it’s ready for a plate.

Cut it into squares to suit the shape of the pan. How large you make them depends on how you want to serve it; smaller pieces work nicely alongside a coffee or tea. Allow for the cooling time when planning, even though your hands-on work is already finished.

Close-up of marble cake pieces with white ricotta and sour cherry preserve on a wooden board

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Has My Marbled Pattern Disappeared?

If the vanilla and cocoa batters are mixed together too much, the colors start to blend. You don’t need to run a spoon through every part of the pan. Leaving distinct patches is part of what creates the pattern.

How Do I Check the Cake if the Toothpick Goes into the Jam?

Both the jam and the ricotta can leave moisture on a toothpick. Check a section of sponge as well, looking for uncooked batter. A trace of jam on its own doesn’t mean the cake needs longer in the oven.

Can I Use Fresh Sour Cherries or a Different Jam?

Yes, you can use fresh, pitted sour cherries or choose a different jam to suit your taste. With fresh fruit, the cake will be less sweet, and the texture may vary because of the juices the cherries release.

More Recipes You Might Like

If the combination of cake, cheese, and fruit has caught your attention, here are three more recipes from the blog. Choose sour cherries, apples, or pumpkin, depending on what you’re in the mood for. 😊

Mini Sour Cherry Tarts with Vanilla Pastry Cream and Italian Meringue – If sour cherries brought you here, these tarts take them in another direction, with shortcrust pastry, vanilla pastry cream, and Italian meringue. They’re an option for a day when you feel like making a dessert with several components.

Apple Meringue Cake – Another cake baked in a pan, this time with a fluffy base, spiced apples, and meringue. It shares the contrast between soft cake and fruit, with an extra sweet layer on top.

Pumpkin Bread with Mascarpone Frosting – For another combination of cake and creamy cheese, this loaf brings together pumpkin, cinnamon, mascarpone frosting, and chocolate glaze. It has a different structure from the ricotta cake, with flavors that suit fall.

Ricotta Cake with Sour Cherry Jam – Easy Marble Cake Recipe

Recipe by Loredana Arion

Servings

squares

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Calories per square

140

kcal

A vanilla and cocoa marble cake with small pockets of ricotta and sour cherry jam, baked in a small square pan.

Ingredients

4 eggs
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
4 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp cocoa powder
5 tbsp milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
9 tsp ricotta, approximately 100 g
9 tsp sour cherry jam

Directions

Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Prepare an 18 × 18 cm (7-inch) square baking pan.
Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Beat the egg whites with the sugar until stiff peaks form.
Add the egg yolks, milk, oil, flour, baking powder, and vanilla essence. Gently fold together using upward movements until incorporated.
Pour half of the batter into the pan.
Fold the cocoa powder into the remaining batter. Spoon it over the plain batter in different spots.
Swirl very lightly with a spoon to create a marbled pattern.
Dot the batter with the 9 teaspoons of ricotta. Top each ricotta dollop with a teaspoon of sour cherry jam.
Bake for 30 minutes. Check the sponge with a toothpick, avoiding the pockets of ricotta and jam.
Allow the cake to cool before cutting into squares and serving.