Yes I CANnoli Cake!

This Italian girl loves a good cannoli!  

This Italian girl can make a pretty mean cannoli. 

 And now this Italian girl made a nice Cannoli Cake!

Another birthday is upon us...it is my step son's Alex's birthday and his girl is having a suprise party for him.  She asked me to make the cake.  Well, I knew that Alex loved it when I made my yearly cannolis for our end of summer bash.  One year I wasn't going to make them and he asked me to make them if he went and got the cannoli shells...he had to go drive an hour away to get them.  What can I say, I think he likes them.  He also loves chocolate soooo a Chocolate Cannoli Cake it was!

I discovered that making your own ricotta cheese is very easy and economical as well!  Not to mention it tastes a whole lot better...the store bought stuff does not even compare!  I used lemon juice instead of vinegar for this filling.
Here is a great tutorial!

  

I made a chocolate layer cake 2 layers in a 9 inch pans and cut those in half.
I used this recipe for the cake. It is easy and delicious!  You will have extra batter left over...always good to make some cupcakes!

While the cannoli cream was chilling I made the buttercream frosting.
It didn't make a whole lot but it was the perfect amount for what I needed.  I crumb coated the cake before frosting it and let it sit in the fridge for an hour. The frosting was gorgeous!!  I frosted the top and very sparingly frosted the sides and pressed chocolate chips into it.  I put the rest of the frosting in a piping bag and piped a nice decoration on the top and bottom edge.

Rich chocolate cake layers filled will creamy cannoli cream then frosted with a luscious cream cheese buttercream.

A beautiful and hopefully tasty cake for someone special in my life!

Happy Birthday Alex!

Until next time...

Enjoy!

The Best Cannoli Cake

Adapted from: A Beautiful Bite

Prep time:10 hours

Cook time:35 mins

Total time:10 hours 35 mins

I did not make the cannoli for this cake, because of time restraints...but I do think that they would be an awesome addition.  Although if I would have done it I would not have done so many of them piled on top....maybe 10-12 of them...one for each serving.

Ingredients

• 2 9" Chocolate cake layers split in half 
• 36 Mini cannoli shells ( did not use these)
• 1 cup Chocolate morsels if you'd like to dip your cannoli ends

For the Cannoli Filling:

• 32 oz Ricotta cheese, drained overnight (see notes) (Made my own...I used a gallon of milk and drained it overnight)
• 1 cup Confectioners sugar
• 1 cup Granulated sugar
• 1 cup Heavy cream
• 6 oz Mini chocolate morsels
• (I put a little 1/2 t vanilla and 1/2 t almond extract in mine)

For the Buttercream Frosting

• 3 cups Confectioners sugar
• 1 cup softened butter ( I used 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup cream cheese)
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp heavy cream
• 2 cups Mini chocolate morsels for coating exterior of cake

Instructions

1. Prepare ricotta the night prior to assembling the cake. Place ricotta in a cheesecloth lined strainer and pull cheesecloth over ricotta to make a sack. Secure the ends and place a small plate overtop the sack and top with a heavy can. (I used a 28oz can of tomatoes) Place in fridge and allow the excess water to drain off overnight. This is a CRUCIAL step.
2. If dunking cannoli shells in chocolate, heat morsels over medium heat in a double boiler until melted and smooth. Dunk cannoli ends in chocolate, shake excess off and place on parchment paper to harden. You can speed this up by placing the cannolis in the fridge.
3. For the filling, mix together the drained ricotta and both sugars. Using a stand or hand mixer, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the cream into the cheese/sugar mixture. Gently mix in the chocolate morsels. Place in fridge while you make the buttercream frosting.
4. For the buttercream, using a hand or stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter until smooth. Add vanilla extract and cream. Beat until fluffy. If too stiff, add a little more cream.
5. For assembly:
6. Place one halved cake layer on a cake plate. Smooth about one cup of filling overtop. Place another cake layer on top of filling and repeat until all layers are in place. Set aside remaining filling to use for mini cannolis.
7. Scrape any filling that has oozed off the sides of the cake. Place in fridge for at least two hours.
8. After it sets for two hours, frost the tops and sides of the cake. Press chocolate morsels around the exterior of the cake to coat.
9. Using a piping bag, fill cannolis with leftover filling. Place filled cannolis on top of the cake in a large pile.
10. Enjoy!

Notes

Please be sure to read my instructions on draining the ricotta. It will make or break this cake. You must drain it overnight.