Cannoli Cupcakes

My mom loves cannoli, so for her birthday I whipped up some Cannoli Cupcakes.  They turned out beautifully and were perfectly sweet...just like my mom!  Happy Birthday, Mom.  Woof!






To make the Cannoli Cupcake, I began with a  simple yellow cake flavored with orange zest.  Then I hollowed out the cupcake and  spread it lightly with dark chocolate.  Finally, I filled the cupcake with cannoli filling made from mascarpone and ricotta.  A sprinkle of mini-chocolate chips was the "icing on the cake"!


Cannoli Cupcakes (recipe adapted from Chef Talk, Mele Cotte, and Beantown Baker

For the Cupcake Base
2 1/4 cups (270 grams) all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup milk
vegetable oil
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, very soft
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange zest (I would bump it up to two tablespoons next time!)
3 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake tins with paper liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

Use a 2 cup glass measuring cup to measure out the milk.  Add enough oil to reach 1 1/3 cups.  Add the vanilla extract and orange zest.  Whisk with a fork to combine.

Add the milk mixture and butter to the flour mixture.  Mix on high for 1 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on high for about 30 seconds after each addition.

Scrape down the bowl and do a final 1 minute mix.

I was able to fill 24 cupcake tins and one small ramekin.  Do not overfill.  I filled each tin half-way with batter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.  Remove from the pan and allow to cool completely.  Use a sharp knife to hollow out each cupcake to allow for the filling.

For the Chocolate Glaze
3 ounces of dark chocolate chips
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl.  Spread the chocolate glaze onto the rim of the hollowed out cupcake.

For the Cannoli Filling
2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese, drained
2 cups mascarpone cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

I tried to drain the ricotta through a paper towel lined, fine mesh sieve, but no liquid dripped through.  However, compressing with a clean paper towel removed a bit of liquid.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the ricotta, mascarpone, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. 

Pipe the filling into and onto each cupcake.

Sprinkle with mini-chocolate chips and you'll be good to go!

Enjoy!