Sicilian ricotta cannolo cheesecake, the cake made with ricotta and cannolo shells.
Some time ago my sister-in-law told me she had eaten an original cake she had never tried before: the deconstructed ricotta cannolo cake. That idea immediately popped into my head: “why not make a ricotta cannolo cheesecake?” In my family the cannolo filled with ricotta is a much-loved dessert, as are in general all ricotta-based sweets like cassatelle, minnuzze of Sant’Agata, baked cassata, traditional cassata and fried raviole. I was sure that making a ricotta cake with a base made of cannolo shells would be a big hit, and so it was. For my cake I made the cheesecake base with a mix of crushed cannoli shells and cookies, added some cinnamon and, given that cannolo shells are fried, I didn’t want to use too much butter—just a little—helped with a splash of milk to make the base stable and compact. For the filling I used fresh sheep’s ricotta, the only one traditionally used in Sicily for desserts with its characteristic flavor; I lightened it by whipping it together with mascarpone and cream, added
Also see:
Sweet roll with Sicilian ricotta cannolo
Semifreddo with Sicilian ricotta cannolo
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 35 Minutes
- Portions: springform pan 9.5 in – 10 servings
- Cooking methods: No-bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 300 oz cannoli shells (crushed) (about 11 oz (use shells sold in supermarkets))
- 100 oz cookies (whole wheat or classic (about 3.5 oz))
- 25 tbsp milk (about 2 tbsp or as needed to compact the mixture)
- 60 tbsp butter (about 4 tbsp (about 2.1 oz))
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 500 cups sheep's ricotta (fresh, dry and well drained (about 2 cups / 17.6 oz))
- 250 cup mascarpone (about 1 cup (≈8.8 oz))
- 200 cup heavy cream (about 3/4 cup (≈7 fl oz))
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon (heaping teaspoons)
- 10 sheets gelatin (about 4 gelatin sheets (≈0.35 oz / 10 g))
- 50 oz chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate (about 1.8 oz / ~1/3 cup))
- 150 cup sugar (about 3/4 cup (≈5.3 oz))
- as needed chopped pistachios (not flour)
- as needed crumbs of cannoli
- as needed candied orange peel (diced)
- as needed chocolate
- 2 cannoli
- 150 cups ricotta (well drained (about 2/3 cup / 5.3 oz))
- 20 tbsp sugar (about 1 1/2 tbsp (≈0.7 oz))
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
Tools
- Bowl
- Mixer
- Sieve
- Springform pan
- Parchment paper
- Food wrap cake acetate
- Refrigerator
Preparation
After preparing all the ingredients, crumble the cannolo shells with your hands to obtain coarse crumbs of various sizes. Put half of them into the blender bowl together with the cookies, milk, butter and cinnamon; blend until you obtain a mixture similar to wet sand.
Mix this mixture with the rest of the crushed cannoli and combine. Line the bottom of a springform pan with parchment paper, pour in the biscuit mixture, level it precisely and evenly and compact it with the back of a spoon, the smooth bottom of a glass or a bottle. Put it in the fridge.
Now it’s time to prepare the ricotta cream. Make sure to start with cold products and with ricotta that is dry and preferably drained in the fridge since the day before. Put the ricotta in a bowl, add the sugar and mix. Pass the mixture through a sieve at least three times until you obtain a smooth cream without large lumps. Add the mascarpone and begin to whip everything together.
Pour the cream in a thin stream while continuing to whip, add the cinnamon, fresh orange zest, vanilla extract and mix.
Soak the gelatin in very cold water for about ten minutes, squeeze it lightly and put it in a small container, add two or three tablespoons of water and dissolve it in a bain-marie or in the microwave for just a few seconds (about 3–4).
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Quickly pass it through a sieve using a strainer and pour it in a thin stream over the cream, continuing to work with the whisk (this will prevent lumps of gelatin).
Now add the chocolate chips and gently fold them in with a spoon or spatula.
Retrieve the pan with the biscuit base, line the sides with cake acetate or a strip of parchment paper (so you can unmold it easily) and pour in the mixture, gently tap the pan to release air bubbles and level the cream well.
Place it in the freezer for 3 hours, but do not freeze it completely. After the time has passed, carefully unmold it and transfer it to a cake plate.
The preparation of our cheesecake is finished; now we only need to decorate it as you like.
I decorated mine with chopped pistachios, crushed cannoli and diced candied orange; I also decorated it with two filled ricotta cannoli and small ricotta rosettes around the edges.
For the quick ricotta filling I simply mixed the well-drained ricotta with the sugar and cinnamon, then I filled a piping bag and used it to stuff the two decorative cannoli and to pipe the rosettes at the sides.
The ricotta cannolo cheesecake can be frozen before decorating and kept for a couple of weeks. To defrost, leave it overnight in the fridge, but it will tend to release moisture and you may find water at the bottom of the plate—if so, blot often with a paper towel. The cake should always be decorated just before serving. If frozen, you can even glaze it with a chocolate mirror glaze.
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Notes
You can prepare the cake several days in advance since it will go into the freezer; just be sure to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap so it does not absorb unpleasant odors.
