-
1
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and position rack in center. Grease and flour a 9-inch loaf pan.
-
2
In a medium bowl, sift together cake flour, bak powder, and salt, set aside. With your mixer cream together the butter, ricotta, and sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 2 min's. Beat eggs in one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Split the vanilla bean, scrape out, and beat into the batter along with the extract. On low speed beat in the dry ingredients. Scrape down and beat for 30 seconds more.
-
3
Pour batter into prepared pan, smooth down with a spatula. Gently wack pan on counter to remove air pockets. Bake just for 15 min's, then turn pan 180 degrees to ensure even browning. Lower temp to 325 degrees F and bake till cake springs back lightly, the sides start to pull away, and when it comes out clean in the center, about 25 min's more.
-
4
Ok, here's a couple of things I noted. Depending on how wet your ricotta is you might have to bake it longer, so drain your ricotta for a while if it's very wet. This time I added an extra 15 min's to the time. One other time I made this, I added another 1/2 hour. So just watch it and keep testing for doneness. Cool on a wire rack, then invert, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
