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This rich and rustic Italian amaretti budino cake is a nostalgic, cozy dessert with layers of texture and flavor. Ricotta and crushed amaretti cookies give it a beautifully moist, pudding-like texture, while lemon zest and a splash of rum add brightness and depth. It’s baked in a bundt pan and served simply with powdered sugar, making it an easy yet impressive cake.
This Italian amaretti budino cake is soft, sweet and slightly boozy with a rich ricotta base, crunchy amaretti cookies and a hint of lemon zest.
You might also like mascarpone stuffed strawberries, funfetti cheesecake, mini strawberry pies, and gingerbread baked oatmeal bars.
Why You’ll Love It
Unique flavor: Amaretti cookies and rum bring bold, nostalgic taste.
Perfect texture: Moist, tender and lightly chewy with a pudding-like center.
Simple ingredients: Nothing fancy or hard to find in this recipe.
Crowd-pleaser: A great option for brunch, holidays or special dinners.
Easy to make: Comes together quickly and bakes beautifully in a bundt pan.
Italian Amaretti Budino Cake Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Eggs: Help bind the cake and create its soft, custardy structure.
Ricotta cheese: Adds creaminess and body to the cake. This soft white cheese is made from whey, although technically it’s not a cheese as it’s made from the by-products of cheese-making.
Granulated sugar: Sweetens the batter and balances the lemon.
Rum: Adds warmth and depth of flavor.
Lemon zest: Brightens and freshens up the rich base.
Amaretti cookies: Provide texture and signature almond flavor.
Bread crumbs: Lighten the cake and help prevent sticking.
Shortening: Used to prepare the bundt pan and ensure easy release.
Icing sugar: Adds a sweet, elegant finish.
How to Make Amaretti Budino Cake
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Make the batter: Mix eggs, ricotta and sugar. Add ground cookies, rum, lemon zest and bread crumbs.
Prepare the pan: Grease the bundt pan with shortening and coat with breadcrumbs.
Bake the cake: Pour in the batter and bake until set.
Cool and serve: Let cool, remove from pan and dust with icing sugar.
Substitutions and Variations
Make it gluten free: Use gluten free amaretti cookies and breadcrumbs.
Swap the rum: Try amaretto liqueur or omit for an alcohol-free version.
Use orange zest: Orange zest makes a nice alternative to lemon.
Add toppings: Serve with whipped cream or a drizzle of chocolate sauce.
Serving Suggestions
With a drink: Pair your Italian amaretti budino cake with an iced gingerbread latte, shaken oat milk espresso or banana cashew smoothie.
For dessert: Serve this dessert after a main course of pasta amatriciana or ravioli lasagna.
How to Store Amaretti Budino Cake
Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eat within 4 to 5 days.
Freeze: You can freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Thaw: Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight.
Top Tips
Don’t overprocess cookies: A coarse texture is best for a proper crumb.
Grease the pan well: Use shortening and breadcrumbs for easy release.
Let it cool completely: Removing too early can cause breakage.
Use fresh ricotta: For best flavor and creaminess.
Budino Amaretti Cake FAQs
Yes, packaged amaretti work perfectly for this cake.
You can leave out the rum or use a non-alcoholic substitute.
This cake, made with amaretti cookies and ricotta cheese, has an interesting history. The term budino refers to pudding and is believed to date back a couple of hundred years although the dessert is much older than that. Originally it would have described savory puddings which were created and sold in delicatessens. These savory puddings would have been like a medieval style sausage, so not really recognizable as the modern budino recipes today! Cornstarch is typically used to thicken such mixtures although before the 1600s, flour or gelatin would have been used instead.
Italian Lemon Ricotta Amaretti Budino Cake Recipe
Italian Amaretti Budino Cake
Equipment
- Food Processor Optional
- Microplane or Citrus Zester
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 16 Ounces ricotta
- 1 Cup granulated sugar
- 1 Cup rum
- 1 lemon, zest only
- 14 Ounces amaretti cookies
- 1 Cup breadcrumbs
- 1 Tablespoon shortening , to grease pan
- ¼ Cup icing sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F.
- In a bowl, mix eggs, ricotta and sugar together to combine.
- Grind cookies in food processor or by hand with a rolling pin and then add to the ricotta mixture. Don't make it too fine, it should look coarse. Mix to incorporate.
- Add rum and lemon zest. Mix to combine. Add breadcrumbs and mix again.
- Prepare a bundt pan with a generous coating of shortening. Then add a sprinkling of breadcrumbs over the shortening to coat. Pour ricotta mixture in the pan carefully.
- Bake for 60 minutes.
- Cool completely and remove from bundt pan.
- Sprinkle with a touch of icing sugar and serve.
Notes
Grease the pan well: Use shortening and breadcrumbs for easy release.
Let it cool completely: Removing too early can cause breakage.
Use fresh ricotta: For best flavor and creaminess.
Nutrition
If you’re looking for something different that still feels warm and comforting, try this Italian amaretti budino cake. It’s full of character and has the kind of flavor that gets better with each bite. The texture of this cake made with amaretti cookies and ricotta cheese is rich but light, with a perfect balance of almond, citrus and creamy notes. This is one dessert you’ll come back to every time you want to serve something memorable with minimal effort.
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
Do you have suggestions to remove from pan? I made it last night. It was still warm, so I put the whole thing in the fridge and covered it. Now it won’t come out of that pan.
If you prepare the pan, it should come out if you let it stand upside down on a plate. Sometimes I will take a knife and losen in the center of the bundt pan area if it is sticking there.