Description
The Best Italian Love Cake is a layered dessert with rich chocolate cake, a creamy ricotta cheesecake layer, and a light, fluffy chocolate pudding topping. It’s easy to make with boxed cake mix and perfect for holidays, potlucks, or anytime you want a crowd-pleasing treat.
Ingredients
- 1 box chocolate cake mix (plus ingredients listed on the box: eggs, oil, water)
- Ricotta Layer:
- 2 lbs ricotta cheese
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Topping:
- 1 (3.9 oz) box instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1 1/2 cups cold milk
- 1 (8 oz) tub whipped topping (like Cool Whip), thawed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Prepare the chocolate cake mix according to package instructions and pour into the baking dish.
- In a separate bowl, mix ricotta cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
- Spoon the ricotta mixture gently over the cake batter and smooth it out—do not mix the layers.
- Bake for 50–60 minutes, until the center is set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool completely at room temperature.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together pudding mix and cold milk until thickened. Fold in whipped topping until fully combined.
- Spread the pudding mixture evenly over the cooled cake and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.
Notes
- Layers naturally switch while baking—no need to layer them manually.
- Use part-skim or whole milk ricotta—both work well, with whole milk being richer.
- Cool Whip can be replaced with homemade whipped cream whipped to stiff peaks.
- For variations, try red velvet or white cake mix and different pudding flavors.
- Best served chilled and not recommended for freezing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/16 of cake)
- Calories: 310
- Sugar: 27g
- Sodium: 320mg
- Fat: 16g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 34g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 8g
- Cholesterol: 85mg
