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Italian Love Cake Recipe is the from scratch chocolate dessert that hides a fudgy cake base under a sweet ricotta layer and a cloud of chocolate pudding topping, and I made this the first time on a cold Sunday afternoon when Maddie wanted “something with chocolate, cake, AND pudding” and Lizzie was already calling dibs on a corner piece. If you love a baked-and-chilled showstopper, our gooey chocolate earthquake cake is the same kind of weekend hero.
If you’ve been loving our easy flourless chocolate cake or our cozy hot chocolate cake, this one is the from scratch big pan cousin you make when the whole family is coming over.
Italian Love Cake Recipe Quick Look
- 🕐 Prep Time: 20 minutes
- 🍴 Cook Time: 1 hour
- ⏳ Total Time: 7 hours 20 minutes (includes 6 hours chill)
- 🍽 Serving: 15 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 409kcal
- 🌶 Flavor Profile: Rich and chocolatey with a sweet, creamy ricotta layer (Italian-American comfort dessert)
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our classic moist pound cake
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HERE IS WHAT OUR READERS ARE SAYING:
“I have made this recipe for years. It is so good. I add mini chocolate chips and maraschino cherries to the ricotta as well.” – Mary
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- You get all the magic of an Italian dessert classic with almost no effort. Boxed cake mix does the heavy lifting on the base, while the ricotta filling and chocolate pudding topping come together from scratch in minutes.
- It feeds a crowd and gets better in the fridge. Make it the night before a get-together and the cake actually improves overnight as the layers set.
- Three textures in one slice. This Italian chocolate cake builds a fudgy chocolate layer on the bottom, baked ricotta in the middle, and a cloud of chocolate pudding topping on top, all in one bite that rivals our homemade German chocolate cake.
Key Ingredients
- Chocolate cake mix: This is the from scratch shortcut that makes this recipe doable on a weeknight. The boxed mix bakes into a fudgy chocolate base that holds up under the ricotta layer. Any brand works, but a moist devil’s food or dark chocolate mix gives you the richest result.
- Ricotta cheese: Full-fat whole milk ricotta is non negotiable here. It’s the entire heart of the dessert. The baked ricotta layer sinks into the cake batter while it bakes and turns into something almost like a cheesecake stripe through the middle.
- Eggs: Four large eggs bind the ricotta into a sliceable layer; without them, the filling won’t set up properly and you’ll get a soggy middle.
- Instant chocolate pudding mix: Use the larger 5.9-ounce box (NOT the small 3.4-oz). This is what gives the topping its rich body and that distinctive chocolate on chocolate finish, similar to the pudding style topping we use in our no-bake chocotorta chocolate cookie cake.
- Whipped topping: Folded into the pudding, this is what makes the top layer light and fluffy instead of dense. Use real whipped cream if you prefer (see Variations).
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
- Swap the cake mix flavor. Devil’s food, dark chocolate, or even a yellow cake mix all work; yellow turns this into a more classic “white love cake” look while keeping the same structure.
- Swap the pudding flavor. Use vanilla pudding mix for a creamy white topping (closer to the original old school Italian-American version), or try chocolate fudge for an even richer finish.
- Use real whipped cream. Replace the whipped topping with 16 ounces of homemade stabilized whipped cream if you prefer a less sweet, less processed finish.
- Add mini chocolate chips. Like our reader Mary suggested, fold a cup of mini chocolate chips into the ricotta layer before baking. They melt slightly and create little chocolate pockets in the middle.
- Add maraschino cherries. Drained and chopped, stirred into the ricotta layer, they give a sweet pop and a beautiful pink red color in every slice.
- Top with a caramel drizzle. If you want to lean into something different, finish each slice with a warm drizzle of caramel sauce from our old-fashioned caramel cake recipe for a salty sweet flex.
- Halve the recipe. Bake in an 8×8 or 9×9 dish instead of a 9×13; baking time will be slightly shorter, so check at 45 minutes.
How to Make Italian Love Cake Recipe
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Mix the chocolate cake mix per the directions on the back of the box. Pour the chocolate cake batter into the prepared pan.
- In a large separate bowl, mix the ricotta, eggs, sugar, and vanilla with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
- Spoon the ricotta mixture on top of the cake batter. Bake for 1 hour, place on a wire rack, and let the cake cool completely.
- Once cooled, place the milk in a large bowl. Start adding the pudding mix a little at a time until fully mixed in.
- Add half of the whipped topping to the pudding mixture and fully mix it in. Add the remaining whipped topping and mix until combined with no streaks.
- Smooth the topping on top of the cooled cake. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 6 hours or up to overnight. Slice and serve.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use FULL-FAT whole milk ricotta. Part skim makes the middle layer weepy and watery, especially after chilling overnight.
- Bake the full 60 minutes even if the top looks done at 45. The ricotta layer needs the full time to set up so you can slice clean squares.
- Let the cake cool completely before adding the pudding topping. Warm cake melts the topping and ruins the layer separation.
- Whisk the pudding mix into cold milk a little at a time. Dumping it in all at once creates lumps that won’t fully break up no matter how hard you mix.
- Don’t skip the 6-hour chill. This is when the layers fully set, the cake absorbs flavor from the ricotta, and the topping firms up to sliceable consistency. Overnight is even better.
- Slice with a hot knife. Run a long sharp knife under hot water and wipe between cuts for the cleanest layered squares (worth the extra 30 seconds for serving guests).
- Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. The cake actually gets better on day 2 and day 3 as flavors meld.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Italian Love Cake is rich, so I keep the rest of the spread light when I serve it: fresh berries, a small bowl of espresso ice cream, or just strong coffee for grown ups. It’s already a dessert that does a lot of heavy lifting on its own, so you don’t need to stack flavors next to it.
For a full dessert table at a get together or holiday, this slice plays beautifully alongside other classic crowd pleasers like our rich flourless chocolate cake for the truly chocolate-obsessed, our no-bake chocotorta chocolate cookie cake for a fridge set alternative, and the buttery, vanilla leaning classic moist pound cake for guests who lean less chocolate. If someone in the family loves caramel notes more than chocolate, our old-fashioned caramel cake is the homemade Southern complement.
We also love to serve this for birthdays alongside a second cake like our family-favorite homemade German chocolate cake so every guest gets to pick their slice, and the leftovers stretch even further the next day.
Italian Love Cake Recipe FAQs
The Italian Love Cake Recipe is an Italian-American baked dessert with three distinct layers: a fudgy chocolate cake base, a sweet baked ricotta filling that sinks into the cake while it bakes, and a fluffy chocolate pudding topping folded together on the counter. It chills in the fridge for at least 6 hours before serving so the layers set up.
Yes, you can absolutely make the Italian Love Cake Recipe from scratch by replacing the boxed chocolate cake mix with your favorite homemade chocolate cake batter. Pour the homemade batter into the 9×13 pan, top with the ricotta filling, and bake as directed. The ricotta filling and chocolate pudding topping are already made from scratch in this recipe.
The Italian Love Cake Recipe needs at least 6 hours of chill time in the fridge before slicing, and overnight is even better. The chill time is what lets the chocolate pudding topping firm up, the ricotta layer fully set, and the layers separate cleanly when you slice.
Yes, the Italian Love Cake Recipe freezes well. Slice it into individual portions, wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
The Italian Love Cake Recipe gets its name from the Italian-American tradition of serving it for romantic occasions, weddings, and family gatherings. The “love” refers both to the labor of love stacking of layers and the universal love everyone has after tasting it. The recipe is also sometimes called “Italian Wedding Cake” or “Mascarpone Love Cake” depending on regional variations.
The Italian Love Cake Recipe is a baked Italian chocolate cake built around a chocolate cake base and a ricotta filling, while tiramisu is a no-bake dessert built around espresso-soaked ladyfingers and a mascarpone cream. They’re both Italian style layered desserts, but the textures, ingredients, and preparation are completely different. The Italian Love Cake Recipe is heartier and more like a chocolate cheesecake hybrid.
Other Recommended Easy Dessert Recipes
If you make this Italian Love Cake Recipe, please leave a comment and a star rating below. It genuinely helps other home cooks find it, and we love hearing how you made it your own. Tag us on Instagram @thissillygirlskitchen so we can see your slice. Happy baking!
Italian Love Cake Recipe (Easy Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 box chocolate cake mix plus ingredients to make the cake: water, eggs, and oil
- 32 ounces ricotta cheese
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 & 1/2 cups cold milk
- 5.9 ounce box instant chocolate pudding mix
- 16 ounces whipped topping thawed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Mix the cake mix per the directions on the back of the box. Pour the chocolate cake batter into the prepared pan.1 box chocolate cake mix
- In a large separate bowl, mix the ricotta, eggs, sugar, and vanilla with an electric hand mixer until smooth.32 ounces ricotta cheese, 4 large eggs, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Spoon the ricotta mixture on top of the cake batter. Bake for 1 hour, place on a wire rack, and let the cake cool completely.
- Once cooled, place the milk in a large bowl. Start adding the pudding mix a little at a time until fully mixed in.1 & 1/2 cups cold milk, 5.9 ounce box instant chocolate pudding mix
- Add half of the whipped topping to the pudding mixture and fully mix it in. Add the remaining whipped topping and mix until combined with no streaks.16 ounces whipped topping
- Smooth the topping on top of the cooled cake. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 6 hours or up to overnight. Slice and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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Great to hear the recipe turned out great and your guests are asking for an encore.
This was good. I made it for company. They made sure they got the name so they can request it for the future . Might add little chocolate chip next time. I was amused how the chocolate cake mix switched in the ricotta mix.
I’m cooking it now. And I use 4 eggs in the ricotta mixture 32 oz of ricotta in the vanilla, and it was really thin. I mean, not real real thin, but it was pretty thin. Compared to the picture above, it looks like they spread it on mine. Just basically sunk in and I wasn’t even able to spoon it on because they were so thin to cover the whole entire top of the cake.So i’m curious how this is gonna turn out.I’ll get back to you
I have made this recipe for years. It is so good. I add mini chocolate chips and maraschino cherries to the ricotta as well.
No, the ricotta mixture sinks to the bottom while baking.
It doesn’t say to do so in the recipe, but from the pictures I assume you invert the cake before adding the whipped topping, so the ricotta layer is on the bottom?