A sweet, creamy, and delicious filling that’s surprisingly versatile!
A cannoli is an amazing Italian sweet treat made from a tube-like shell of fried dough filled with a rich and delicious filling. This is that filling! Cannoli filling is made from soft cheese, specifically ricotta or mascarpone, sometimes both. Add in some cinnamon, sugar and a few chocolate chips, preferably of the semi-sweet or dark chocolate variety, and you’ve got a perfect filling on your hands.
While this is a cannoli filling, it doesn’t have to be used just to fill cannoli! You can put this filling in cakes or cupcakes or use it as a frosting. It makes for a uniquely delicious birthday cake that’ll keep your guests talking about how good it was long after the party is over!
I love how easy and accessible this recipe makes this beautifully decadent filling. It only takes a few ingredients and no complicated techniques. It’s a bit reminiscent of cream cheese frosting you might find on a red velvet cake, but personally, I prefer this one. The freshness of using your own ricotta, especially if you make the ricotta yourself, means it’s better than anything store-bought or from a tub!
Cheese Choices…
While you can use ricotta cheese for this recipe, cannoli filling can be made with mascarpone cheese as well. Both are mild cheeses and very soft, so they absorb the vanilla and powdered sugar beautifully. The mascarpone will be a slightly nutty cheese and ricotta will have a higher water content while being ever so slightly more acidic. I’d recommend doing a 50/50 blend to get the best of both worlds, but you could do 100% of one or the other, as they’re an easy 1-for-1 substitution.
FAQs & Tips
How to Make Ahead and Store
You can easily store your cannoli filling in an airtight container or a strong zip-lock bag in your refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. But don’t store your cannoli filling already piped into your cannoli shells if you’re preparing a proper cannoli! This will give you soggy shells, and no one wants that.
Chill Out!
Keep your cannoli filling in the fridge to chill after you make it. The minimum chill time would be 2 hours, but you can let it chill for 8 to 12 hours in total to get the best flavor! Remember that this is made with cheese that has a high water content, so putting it right onto a pastry will let the water soak into your cannoli shell, cupcake, or cake if left for too long. Always apply to your cake or pastry as close to serving it as possible.
How To Avoid Soggy Bottoms
To help with the water content, drain the ricotta with a strainer before you use it. This doesn’t get rid of all the water, which you don’t want, but it will get rid of the excess water and help reduce the chances of creating a runny filling! Just a few minutes should work to get that excess out, and you’re good to go.
Serving Suggestions
You can, of course, put this cannoli filling inside a proper Cannoli Shell! If you choose to put it on a cake or cupcake, I recommend sticking to lighter flavors, like vanilla, so you don’t overpower the heavy richness of the cannoli filling being used. Go for a Vanilla Cupcake, Vanilla Cake, or Eggless Vanilla Cake! You can even use the cannoli filling as a dip for cookies, like Sugar Cookies or even shortbread Biscotti.
Cannoli Filling Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese strained
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Place the strained ricotta cheese in a large mixing bowl.
- Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon to the bowl with the ricotta.
- Using a hand mixer or a whisk, blend the ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
- Gently fold in the mini chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the filling for at least 2 hours to firm up before using to fill cannoli shells.
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