Hi Rebecca, I’m sorry it didn’t turn out the way you hoped. This cake is meant to be moist and tender with a light lemony flavor rather than very sweet or rich like a frosted cake, so it may simply not have been the style of dessert you were expecting. That said, it should not be heavy or dense. If it came out that way, it was likely due to something like too much flour, ingredients that were too cold, or not beating the butter and sugar long enough at the start. My family and I have made this cake many times with great results, but I do appreciate you sharing your experience, and I’m always happy to help if questions come up. Thank you~Jenn

Hi Amy. Yes, you can substitute with 1:1 gluten-free, but I have not personally tested it. If you try it, I would love to know how it turns out!~Jenn

I’m sorry I didn’t see your message sooner! I’ve used all different kinds of ricotta, and some definitely have more moisture than others. You’re not going to get a ton of liquid out—even with the double cream kind—but it’s still worth letting it sit for about 30 minutes, just to be safe. That way, any excess moisture has time to drain and won’t make your cake too wet. Hope the cake turned out great!

Hi! Thank you so much! This is the perfect dessert for Easter and will be on my table too! I used Publix Greenwise organic olive oil and I’ve also used one from Costco, unfortunately I don’t have it anymore to give you the name plus they are constantly rotating their specialty items so may not even be available. If you don’t have a Publix near you the most important thing to look for is that the olives are 100% sourced from Italy. You have to look for it in the fine print on the back of the bottle bc a most them will say extra virgin olive oil but most often they are a blend of olives from different countries. My other tip would be to stay away from “finishing” olive oils because they tend be stronger in flavor. Please let me know if you have any more questions, hope this helps!