These cannoli cupcakes were my solution to buying far more ricotta than I needed. I purchased a tub of ricotta cheese with the intention of making pasta with it. But I ended up needing way less ricotta than what the commercially sold tubs provided, so I had to think about other things I could do with it. Well, besides just making ricotta toast, which is bloody delicious. I love cannoli, having gone to college in Boston and what-not, but I despise making them, since I don’t have the cylinders to fry them with (or even the dried cannelloni pasta tubes for that matter), and setting up a deep fryer is a commitment. So I figured let’s go a baked option. The beauty of going with a ricotta-based cake is how (and I hate saying this word) MOIST they are. There, I said it, in all caps for the world to see. The ricotta, which contains dairy fat, really enrichens the flour, leading to a softer, less-dry(sparing you from having to read that gross word again), crumb. I have made cannoli loaf cakes in the past before using a ricotta cake, but in this case, I figured, why not cupcakes? Beyond the differences in shape and appearance, these cupcakes, unlike the loaf cakes, feature a cannoli crisp layer on top, which is meant to give the tops of a cake a similar texture to an actual cannoli! The crisps are made with a dough that is similar to phyllo, just so that you can get it thin and crispy, and that is twice baked – first to get it cooked, and then a second time on top of the cupcakes to get them crispy and browned. They are stuffed with a cannoli cream, which is made with the remaining ricotta, and like with any Italian bakery, dusted to hell and back with powdered sugar to finish. I still remember the cute nonna at Modern Pastry in Boston telling me that she would never eat a cannoli without powdered sugar, after all.

For the components, we have a ricotta cake, a cannoli cream filling, and the cannoli crisps. When working with ricotta, it contains a lot of whey, which causes it to be watery and kind of difficult to whip into a cannoli cream. Use a cheesecloth and squeeze out as much of that whey as you possibly can. But don’t throw the whey away(try saying that five times fast)! It is a perfectly usable ingredient, so as to not waste it, I used mine in the batter recipe(and you can totally use it in the crisps too), subbing out some of the water with the whey. Since I went through the trouble of purchasing the ricotta, I might as well take advantage of that was my thought process. The cannoli cream just whips a lot better without all of that whey in the way(pun intended), and has this silky, creamy texture from just being whipped ricotta and confectioner’s sugar. I folded chocolate chips into mine, since that is typically found in a cannoli anyways. I piped this cream straight into the raw batter, and baked the cupcakes with them inside, to almost have this cheesecake-like filling. Optionally, you can use marsala wine and candied orange peel in this recipe as well, which are much more traditional in a classic cannoli! I opted against that simply because I didn’t have either on hand, but you can use the marsala wine in place of water in every part of this recipe(namely in the crisps and the batter), and you can add about 1 to 2 tbsp of finely chopped candied orange peel into the batter itself. I would advise against adding the peel into the cream filling, since that might clog the piping bag.

For the crisps:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp cold water
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tbsp olive oil

In a bowl, mix everything until just combined. Roll out the dough as thinly as possible, and cut out 1-inch disks out of the dough. Bake the dough at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Allow the crisps to cool before crushing into smaller pieces to sprinkle on top of the cakes with.

For the cake batter:
2oz strained ricotta cheese
2oz dark brown sugar
a generous pinch of cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup reserved whey(from strained ricotta) + water
1 tsp cider vinegar
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1oz finely chopped chocolate

In a bowl, mix the ricotta, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla together first. To that, add in the olive oil, whey/water, and vinegar. Stir until combined, then fold in the remaining ingredients to form your cake batter. Divide the batter into 6 lined cupcake molds.

For the cannoli cream filling:
3.5oz strained ricotta cheese
1oz powdered sugar
1oz finely chopped chocolate
a pinch of salt
a pinch of cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Mix everything together until combined. Transfer to a piping bag.

For assembly:
Powdered sugar

Pipe the cream into the middle of each unbaked cupcake, and then sprinkle on top the crisps. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Dust the baked cupcakes with powdered sugar before serving.