One of my favorite things to do is bake cannoli cakes for my loved ones’ birthdays. It’s really simple and thoughtful and so delicious! If you’re in a pinch, you can always use a boxed cake mix and whip up the cannoli frosting separately but baking the cake from scratch is just as easy! I make a square cake and cut it in half but you could also do two, round 9-inch cakes stacked. I drizzle pistachio cream on top which I purchased from Eataly. The link to purchase is below in the ingredients! This cake serves 12-16.
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 2 1/2 cups ap flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/4 cup milk (dairy free is okay)
- Pinch of kosher salt
For the frosting:
- 12 oz ricotta, drained
- 15 oz mascarpone cheese
- 3 cups powdered sugar + more if needed
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Mini chocolate chips, as needed
- Crushed pistachios, as needed
- Optional: pistachio cream, whipped cream and cherries.
Process:
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Grease a large rimmed sheet pan or cake dish (12×9). Set aside.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time and then add the vanilla and mix until combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time until combined and smooth.
- Pour batter into the baking dish and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Insert a knife or toothpick in the center to make sure it is baked all the way through.
- Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the dish and placing it on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the frosting by beating the ricotta and mascarpone together in a bowl using a hand or stand mixer. Next, beat in powdered sugar, vanilla, orange zest, cinnamon, and salt until creamy and combined.
- Slice cake in half using a serrated knife so that you can form two layers.
- Frost the top of the bottom layer of cake and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips. Next, place the top layer of cake over it. Frost the top layer and garnish with crushed pistachios, pistachio cream and more mini chocolate chips. You can use whipped cream and cherries to decorate as well.
