I made Ina Garten's easy breakfast cake for Mother's Day. My mom gives it a 10/10 — and so will yours.

Ina Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake is super easy to make. It's light and delicious and will delight your entire family on Mother's Day.

May 8, 2025 - 22:37
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I made Ina Garten's easy breakfast cake for Mother's Day. My mom gives it a 10/10 — and so will yours.
Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
Ina Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake is perfect for Mother's Day.
  • I made Ina Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake, which she said is perfect for Mother's Day. 
  • The cake is light, delicious, and super moist. It's also really easy to make ahead of time.
  • "This was superb," my mom declared. "I give it a 10/10." 

I've been whipping up Ina Garten's dishes for years and always love trying her breakfast and dessert recipes.

Whether it's her cacio e pepe scrambled eggs or her famous mocha icebox cake, the "Barefoot Contessa" star is always creating fun twists on classic dishes. 

Garten said this blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake is perfect for Mother's Day, so I knew I had to test it on my own mom.

Let's see what she thought!

Ina Garten's breakfast cake features ricotta, lemon zest, and plenty of blueberries.
Ingredients for Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
The breakfast cake also features sour cream, eggs, and vanilla.

To make Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake, which serves eight, you'll need: 

  • 2 cups (12 ounces) of fresh blueberries 
  • 1 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup of whole-milk ricotta 
  • 1 cup of granulated sugar 
  • 10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) of unsalted butter, at room temperature 
  • 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature 
  • 2 tablespoons of sour cream 
  • 1 tablespoon of baking powder 
  • 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract 
  • 1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest
  • Sifted powdered sugar, for dusting
Before I began making Garten's breakfast cake, I needed to do a little prep.
Zesting lemon for Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
First, I zested my lemon.

I grated the lemon zest so it would be ready to go once I was mixing the batter. 

I also preheated the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and greased and floured my pan.
Grease and flouring the Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
I greased my pan with butter before adding the flour.

Garten recommends using a 9-inch round springform pan for this dish.

Then, it was time to make the batter!
Making the mixture for Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
I added the butter and sugar to the bowl of my electric mixer.

First, I added the butter and sugar to the bowl of my electric mixer, which was fitted with the paddle attachment. 

I beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for three minutes, until the mixture was light and fluffy.
Making the mixture for Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
I beat the butter and sugar together for three minutes.

I made sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.  

Then, I added the eggs, ricotta, sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest.
Mixture for Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
Garten says your batter will look curdled at this stage.

I turned the mixer to low and added one egg at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then, I threw the ricotta, sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest into the mixture.

Garten notes that your batter will look curdled at this stage, so don't worry if it appears that way!

I mixed my dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
Mixing dry ingredients for Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
My dry ingredients included the flour, baking powder, and salt.

I added the flour, baking powder, and one teaspoon of salt and gave everything a quick stir. 

Then, I added the dry ingredients to the batter.
Mixture for Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
I mixed my dry ingredients until they were just incorporated.

I slowly added the dry ingredients with the mixer still on low until they were just incorporated.

Once my batter was ready, I began adding the blueberries.
Adding blueberries to mixture for Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
I folded two-thirds of my blueberries into the batter.

I folded two-thirds of my two cups of blueberries into the batter using a rubber spatula. 

Then, I transferred the batter into my springform pan.
Transfering batter to pan for Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
My batter in the springform pan.

I made sure to smooth the top of the batter. 

I added the remaining blueberries on top of the cake.
Adding blueberries to top of Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
Per Garten's instructions, I lightly pressed each blueberry into the batter.

Garten recommends lightly pressing each blueberry into the surface. 

It was time to bake!
Baking Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
It took around 50 minutes for my cake to bake.

Garten recommends baking the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It took about 50 minutes for my cake to bake.

Every oven is different, so keep checking on your cake every couple of minutes after you hit the 45-minute mark.

Once my cake was ready, I transferred it to a wire rack.
Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake out of the oven
The cake needs to cool for an additional 15 minutes.

Garten says the cake needs to cool in the pan for an additional 15 minutes.

I removed the sides of my springform pan and lightly dusted the top with powdered sugar. The cake looked beautiful.
Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
I thought Garten's breakfast cake looked very impressive.

Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake definitely makes for an impressive centerpiece.

Its warm, golden hue looked so sweet and comforting in my kitchen, and the bright bursts of blueberry added some joyful pops of color.

When I cut a slice, it was clear that the cake would be delightfully fluffy.
Slice of Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
The cake also smelled incredible as I sliced into it.

I could see a generous amount of blueberries in each slice, and the cake smelled incredible. 

My parents and I loved Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake.
Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake was deliciously moist.

Garten's breakfast cake tastes as light and fluffy as it looks. The ricotta and sour cream keep every bite super moist, just as Garten promised, and the sweet blueberries pair well with the zingy and bright lemon zest, which really shines through.

The cake also had a nice crust on the outside, which added some contrasting texture to the super soft and luscious middle. 

"This was superb," my mom declared. "I give it a 10/10." 

Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake should be on everyone's brunch menu.
Sliced Ina Garten's Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake
I'm definitely going to make Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake again.

Garten's cake was super easy to make, and it tasted just as good the next day. If you want to save yourself some time before hosting a big brunch, you could easily make this ahead the night before. 

Whether you're looking for a special dish to celebrate Mother's Day or just want a fun new dessert, Garten's blueberry-ricotta breakfast cake is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

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