This Chocolate Ricotta Cake is a cheesecake and cake all in one that's tender and rich, with an insane amount of chocolate flavor in each bite! It's a straightforward recipe to make that tastes genuinely fantastic! Top it off with some mini semi-sweet chocolate chips for an even deeper chocolate flavor!

My love for ricotta cake recipes began with the Lemon Raspberry Ricotta Cake. It grew even deeper when I added my Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cake. So, I was inevitably adding this next one to my recipe box—the Chocolate Ricotta Cake! And my word, it is especially good! Seriously, you may like this cake!

This chocolate ricotta cake recipe has not one, but two types of chocolate mixed into the batter—dutch process cocoa powder and melted dark chocolate. Technically, you have three types if you top this chocolate cake off with some mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (which I highly recommend)! It's ultra-rich, chocolatey, moist, and super straightforward to mix! Enjoy!

Why this bake works

Simple ingredients. Most of the ingredients needed for this ricotta cake are pantry staples you likely already have in your kitchen!
Memorable texture and taste. The texture of this chocolate ricotta cake combines the best of a cake and cheesecake in one, giving you a super tender cake! Add to that the rich chocolate flavor in each bite, and you and your guests will be in heaven!
Straightforward to mix. No overcomplicated steps here! This chocolate cake takes about 25 minutes or less to prep. Then, after 38-40 minutes of baking (and some time for it to cool down), you'll have an insanely good cake ready to enjoy!
A strong match for any occasion. Sovuh readers have told me they've made my other ricotta cake recipes for birthday celebrations, anniversaries, holidays, and whenever they've had leftover ricotta cheese on hand, so there is no one occasion. Any reason to make this is a good one!

Slices of chocolate ricotta cake topped with chocolate chips on white parchment paper and a small bowl of cocoa powder placed on a light pink tiled background.

Ingredients

While the following ingredients used to make this double chocolate ricotta cake recipe include many pantry staples, I've included some notes below about a few of them that require a little explanation.

Dutch Process Cocoa Powder. This will give your chocolate ricotta cake its deep, rich chocolate flavor! I tested this with unsweetened cocoa powder and you can clearly tell a difference—dutch process is the best way to go!
Dark Chocolate. I used a Lindt 78% dark chocolate bar, which gets melted with unsalted butter. Good quality dark chocolate like Lindt, Ghirardelli, or Guittard is best.
Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese. Try only using whole milk ricotta cheese for the best texture and taste.

For quantities and instructions, please see the method card below.

How it comes together

Below is a brief overview of how to make this easy chocolate ricotta cake. For the full printable recipe, which can be made using US customary or metric measurements, visit the method card below.

Melting a stick of butter and dark chocolate squares together in a large glass measuring cup on a white marbled background.

Step 1. Melt the chocolate and butter together. Using the microwave, melt the chocolate and unsalted butter together at full power for 1 minute, then stir. Microwave again at full power for 45 seconds to 1 minute, then stir until the mixture is well blended and smooth (Images 1 and 2). Hold to the side to cool slightly while you prepare the rest of the method.

Recipe Tip: Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate and unsalted butter together in a medium-sized saucepan or double boiler over low heat until melted and smooth in texture.

Small blue handle whisk resting in large glass bowl containing whisked flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt on white marbled background.

Step 2. Whisk the dry ingredients together. This includes granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, dutch process cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Try adding the granulated sugar to the bowl first, sifting in your all-purpose flour and dutch process cocoa powder second. Then add the baking powder and salt and whisk it together until well blended (Images 3 and 4).

Small light blue handle whisk mixing the eggs, ricotta cheese, and vanilla extract together in a large glass bowl on a white marbled background.

Step 3. Whisk the wet ingredients together. Well combined — that is this step involves mixing the eggs, whole milk ricotta cheese, and vanilla extract until they. Whisk everything together until the mixture is smooth in texture and light yellow in color (Images 5 and 6).

Stirring dry and wet ingredients together with a grey spatula in a glass mixing bowl on a white marbled background.

Step 4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Stir only until the mixture is partially combined, then add in the melted chocolate and butter mixture (Image 7). Stir until it's just combined (Image 8).

Step 5. Transfer batter to prepared 9-inch springform pan. Top the chocolate ricotta cake batter with mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, then bake for 38-40 minutes at 350°F or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (Images 9 and 10). If the center of the cake has a tiny bit of jiggle to it, this is okay. A lot of jiggle—bake for another 3-5 minutes.

Substitutions

Below are tested substitutions that can be made to this double chocolate ricotta cake recipe.

Dark Chocolate. I used 78% dark chocolate, but you can use 70% and above. The darker the chocolate, the richer your chocolate cake will taste.

Please note that I did not test this method using any additional flour, sugars, or egg substitutions.

Questions on this bake

Can Use unsweetened cocoa powder in place of Dutch-processed cocoa powder?

For the best results, it's better to use Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Unsweetened cocoa powder won't give you that same rich, chocolatey taste that dutch process can!

What type of pan is needed?

You will need a 9-inch springform pan for this chocolate ricotta cake recipe. Mine is a 9-inch x 3-inch Fat Daddio's springform pan, and I highly recommend it along with their other cake pans!

What is the best way to store chocolate ricotta cake?

This chocolate ricotta cake can be stored in either an airtight cake/dome container or plated and wrapped in plastic at room temperature for up to 3 days. To keep it fresh longer, you can store the cake for up to a week in the refrigerator.