Cannoli Cake with Whipped Ricotta Frosting

The classic Italian handheld dessert, but in cake form! This Cannoli Cake is fluffy and rich, thanks to the ricotta cheese in the batter. The cake is also speckled with little shards of chocolate throughout! The Cannoli Sheet Cake is topped with a Whipped Ricotta Frosting that is made from ricotta, cream cheese, and whipped cream, giving it that authentic cannoli flavor profile! The cannoli sheet cake is finished with a sprinkling of more chocolate and crushed pistachios!

How to Make the Cannoli Cake

1.Beat eggs and sugar: Add the eggs, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla to your stand mixer, then beat the three together for about 3 – 4 minutes. By the end, it should be fluffy, and be tripled in volume.

2. Add oil: Turn the stand mixer down to medium speed, then slowly drizzle the oil into the stand mixer while it continues to beat. After all the oil has been added, beat the mixture for another 30 seconds.

3. Whisk together the dry ingredients: In a separate mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and salt, then whisk them together to combine.

4. Alternate add the dry & wet to stand mixer: First add the 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then beat until just combined. Add ½ of the ricotta, and beat until just combined. Continue adding the wet & dry in this order, until all of the ingredients have been added (you’ll finish with the dry).

5. Fold in chocolate: Add the chopped chocolate to the batter, then, using a rubber spatula, fold the chopped chocolate into the batter.

5. Add to pan & bake: Pour the Cannoli Cake batter into a prepared 9×13” cake pan, then place into the oven to bake! When done, allow the cake to cool completely before frosting!

How to Make the Whipped Ricotta Frosting

Creating the Whipped Ricotta Frosting for this Cannoli Sheet Cake is as easy as making any frosting or icing! Start by throwing the cream cheese into your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip the cream cheese, on high, until it looks fluffy – this should take around 3 or so minutes. From there, add the ricotta, heavy cream, confectioners sugar, and vanilla. Whip the frosting again until it looks thick and can hold soft peaks! Easy as that! Now just simply dollop the frosting onto the cooled cake, garnish with the chocolate and pistachios and you’re ready to fly! I should mention that this cake, due to the high presence of dairy in the Whipped Ricotta Frosting, needs to be served immediately or be kept in the fridge until you’re ready to eat it.

Oil vs Butter

When looking at this Cannoli cake recipe, you will notice that I didn’t use butter, but instead used oil as my fat. There are many reasons for this. First, it’s easy! Using oil instead of butter makes such easy work of a cake. There’s no need to plan in advance and pull out the butter and you do not need to worry about properly creaming the butter and sugar together to ensure proper rising. But the reasoning for using oil is beyond the simplicity – oil-based cakes are far superior in texture! Oil-based cakes are much more moist and tender, and actually less dense as well! Oil, by volume, is lighter in weight than butter is, and it also does a better job at encapsulating the flour molecules better than butter does. This superior encapsulation results in better lubrication and less gluten formation!

Get the Recipe: Cannoli Cake with Whipped Ricotta Frosting

5 stars (2 reviews)

Made with ricotta in the batter, making it ultra-rich and fluffy, this Cannoli cake is filled with chocolate pieces and topped with whipped ricotta frosting

Prep Time: 40 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Servings: 12 servings

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Ingredients

 

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Cannoli Cake

• 2 ¼ cups (260g) All Purpose Flour,, measured correctly †
• 1 ½ tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Table Salt
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 cup White Sugar
• 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
• 3 Large Eggs
• 1 ½ tsp Vanilla
• 3/4 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Quality Full Fat Ricotta
• 1 cup Roughly Chopped Semi Sweet Chocolate or Mini Chocolate Chips

Whipped Ricotta Frosting

• 1/4 cup Cream Cheese
• 1 cup Quality Full-Fat Ricotta
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 1/2 cup Confectioners Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 cup Unshelled Pistachios,, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup Finely Chopped Semi-Sweet Chocolate or Mini Chocolate Chips

Equipment

• Stand mixer

Instructions

 

Cannoli Cake

• Preheat oven to 350°F, and prepare a 9×13” cake pan with cooking spray and parchment. In a medium to large sized mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, then whisk together to combine.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add eggs, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat on high for around 5 minutes, the mixture should look thick, fluffy, and be tripled in volume. Then, slowly drizzle in the oil. After all the oil has been added, beat for an additional minute.
• On low, add the dry mixture to the stand mixer in 3 additions, alternating with the ricotta in between. Beat only until the batter is completely combined and smooth. Add the chocolate to the batter, then fold it in using a rubber spatula.
• Add the batter to the prepared pan, then bake in the oven for around 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.

Whipped Ricotta Frosting

• Add cream cheese to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high until fluffy looking, about 3 minutes.
• Add the ricotta, heavy cream, confectioners sugar, and vanilla, to the stand mixer, then beat on high until the mixture looks thick and holds soft peaks, abut 4-5 minutes.
• Dollop Whipped Ricotta Frosting onto cooled cake and spread out with a spatula, then top with chopped pistachios and chocolate. Serve immediately, or keep cold and covered until serving.

Notes

† to measure flour correctly, use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, then level off with a straight edge. Do not pack the flour into the cup, or scoop with the measuring cup straight from the bag/container. Alternatively, weigh the flour (1 cup = 120g or 4oz)

Cuisine: American, Italian

Course: Baking

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