Mike’s Birthday Cake

This year Mike requested that I make one of his favorite cakes, Cannoli Cake. I usually only make it around Christmas time to share with family but he insisted I make it for his birthday. Well your wish is my command! Happy Birthday babe!!!

I wonder if I’ll have to make it again for Christmas? hehe

Cannoli Cream
By Fallon

The cannoli cream filling is actually really easy to make! I’ve definitely perfected how to make it just right with using 3 cups whole milk ricotta (strained overnight for extra liquid), 1 cup sifted confectioner’s powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 3 ounces of mini chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate that has been chopped up.

Combine the ricotta cheese and powdered sugar with a hand mixer and combine. Add in the cinnamon. Mix in the chocolate and place in the fridge for an hour to let it thicken up. I chopped my bittersweet chocolate in the food processor, so easy.

You can add pistachios and orange zest as well. Mike ONLY likes the chocolate but I can guarantee it will taste even better with those extra add-ins. You can use this as a cake filling, pancake/waffle topper, toast, homemade cannoli shells and whatever else you can think of. I prefer spoonfuls. ;) I did double the recipe for the cake because we like a lot of extra cannoli cream. I do have a cannoli filling recipe that I’ve made that is slightly different with the addition of vanilla extract and pistachios. And how about a Mexican Cannoli?

 
He couldn’t wait any longer, his mouth was watering to try his cake!        

Buon Appetito,
Fallon

Extra Cannoli Cream…

What me again?!?! That’s right! I’m posting twice on this beautiful Monday! I woke up at 4:45am thanks to Mike not shutting off his alarm. I tried to doze off but I just couldn’t handle it anymore. I had a small breakfast and headed out to the apartment gym. I did 20 minutes of cardio with the treadmill and then Jillian Michaels Shred It DVD. I was a sweaty mess but it felt oh so good!

I came back, made Mike some oatmeal and I made myself another breakfast… a protein shake! Then I decided to make the cannoli cream filling for his cake. So far this cake is coming out amazing but now I have a whole jar of cannoli cream… I’m thinking I should sell it before I decide to eat it. Oh and of course ALL the extra cannoli cream didn’t fit in that jar, so I had to spoon feed myself the extras, with the extra cake I cut off to layer it. Yeah cake at 10am, I must be crazy BUT at least I did get my workout in.

How much would you pay for this? Whole milk ricotta, powdered sugar, cinnamon and Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate shavings.

   
Almost done, it just needs the cream cheese/ whipped cream frosting and a little decoration.
I also placed it strategically near the lettuce, so I can remember to eat a salad today.. then cake. ;)

Well technically it is the last day to celebrate “summer.” Cannoli Cake is more a holiday cake but since Mike is a labor day baby we get to enjoy this cake early! Tomorrow is a new day but today is all about celebration!

Always,
Fallon

Mexican Cannoli

My boyfriend loves his cannolis. He loves the ones I would make for him back when I was living in Las Vegas. I would pick up empty cannoli shells from a local Italian deli and make my own cannoli filling. He has been mentioning cannoli lately and he knows I can’t deliver what he use to get in Vegas. So I had to improvised. Thanks to Cinco de Mayo I had some inspiration from corn tortillas and cinnamon sugar. I turned them into tostadas by baking the corn tortillas in the oven and sprinkling a blend of stevia/cinnamon on the top. They crisped up very nicely after 10 minutes and I let them cool completely before adding my cannoli filling. Strawberries have been way to ripe to purchase at the store, so I opted to use raspberries instead. It adds color and a hint of berry sweetness. When I put it together I couldn’t believe how fancy it looked!

My boyfriend came home from work and I wasn’t making dinner for a few more hours. I asked if he wanted a snack while he watched his favorite show and of course he didn’t deny! I brought him this beautiful dessert and his eyes grew large. “What is that?” he said. “This is a Mexican cannoli.” I said. He looked somewhat confused but tried it anyways. He said,“Babe this is delicious. It tastes so good and the combination of cannoli filling and raspberries is perfect. Not too sweet and the shell adds the perfect sweet crunch to the whole thing.” Yes those words came out of his mouth and I had to make this dessert again for him that night! My boyfriend can be quite the food critic!



Mexican Cannoli                                                                                   
By Fallon

Ingredients
1 batch of cannoli filling
Corn tortillas
1 tablespoon stevia (granulated sugar or another sugar substitute)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cooking spray
Chocolate chips
Fresh raspberries (any berries)

Directions
First make a batch of cannoli filling. I didn’t have pistachios so I didn’t add them but I’m sure it would be extra delicious in this dessert. Once the filling is done, store in the fridge to thicken up.



Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper. In a small bowl add the stevia and cinnamon together, mix till combined. Spray tortillas lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle the cinnamon/stevia mixture on top. Flip over and repeat. Place in the oven for at least 10 minutes. At around 6 or 7 minutes flip the tortillas around. After 10 minutes keep checking to make sure they have not burned.

Once they turn a light brown and are crispy remove. Cool completely on a cooling rack.

To assemble: Place a tablespoon of cannoli filling on a plate. This will act as the glue to the tostada shell. Trust me, this will slide off the plate if you don’t do this step! Place the shell on top with 1/4 cup of filling. Spread around the middle, add 5-6 raspberries and a little more filling. Top a second shell on top with 2 tablespoons of filling. Top with a raspberry and sprinkle chocolate chips on top.





This makes a lot. I believe we had 4 full desserts out of it plus extra filling that I kept mixing berries with as a snack during the day time! If I had cocoa powder, I would of sprinkled a little on top to give it more of that expensive looking dessert effect. Oh and a sprig of fresh mint!

Enjoy,
Fallon

A Cannoli Cake for Thanksgiving

Hey bloggers! How was your holiday weekend? Mine was super crazy. I must say since I have to work 10pm-10am on Black Friday, I am just now perfectly recovered. That day totally wore me out!

As for Thanksgiving I spent it with my boyfriend at his parents house. It was great seeing everyone again. It is hard to believe 2010 is almost done. I’d like to know where this year went! Again, this four day weekend went too fast as well.

I’m not the type of person to go empty handed when I’m invited to someone’s house. I’m always asking what can I bring, what do you need etc. Well my boyfriend kept telling me he wants a cannoli cake. The last time I made this cake was 2 years ago for Christmas. I’m a bit rusty in the cannoli cake department if you know what I mean. All I can remember was it took me forever to make, I made mistakes, I made a huge mess and it took me forever. ;) Well this time around I planned it out so I wasn’t doing a cake for an entire 5 hours. The first day I baked the cake and let it cool overnight.

Then the following morning I put the cake together by splitting the two 9in rounds to make four layers, make the filling and the rum simple syrup.

Hello Captain!

I put the cake together and I let it set in the fridge for almost 2 days. Then the morning of Thanksgiving I frosted the cake and decorated it. I must say this process was much better for me since I had work every day, BUT I made mistakes AGAIN.

Mistakes:

-Not enough ricotta filling, I forgot to double it.

-Rum simple syrup, not enough rum flavor.

-I doubled the frosting but forgot to double the powdered sugar. Oops

I mean the cake was good, but it wasn’t great. Now I have to make this cake AGAIN because I want it right. I follow the recipe from Dolce Italiano. As for the frosting it’s a whipped cream/cream cheese frosting. Once I get the recipe right, I will share it, for now.. enjoy the photos! PS: Check out this post on my first cannoli cake I made! (Yikes it looks so much better then the one I made recently.)

The filling was smooth, creamy and thick!

You can never have enough simple syrup on a cake when it calls for it.

     

Whipped cream that took forever, 3 cups worth before blending!

My piping skills are bad but I made it work!

Can’t have a cannoli cake without an actual cannoli on top. ;)

 

And since you made it to the very end, don’t forget I’m hosting a giveaway with CSN. Click this LINK to join the fun!

Fallon 

Dessert: Cannoli

Now what is an Italian meal without dessert, let alone a cannoli! This is by far one of the best desserts to have after an Italian meal. I like my tiramisu, but a cannoli definitely has been in the top so far. Just something about the sweet, creamy ricotta filling, paired with pistachios and chocolate chips is like heaven. What makes a great cannoli is the shell. You can have a good filling but if the shell isn't good then the cannoli is lifeless. I've tried a ton of cannoli shells, and I find the ones with the bubbles, are flaky, slightly sweet, hit of cinnamon and the perfect crunch to the creamy middle. One day I will try a cannoli in New York, one day!

Delicious shells. 

Apparently these were my best cannoli as of late. My boyfriend even said mine tasted better then the one we tried at Villa Nova in Newport,CA.

Cannoli from Villa Nova.

I think I found the perfect recipe after doing research, comparing methods, ingredients, amounts etc. As for the shells if you have a bakery that makes awesome shells buy them! As long as the bakery I use is still around, I will continue to buy their shells. The process is very long and the dough is very tricky. It definitely saves A LOT of time. The ricotta filling takes 3 minutes flat. At least for me it does. ;)  

Cannoli By Fallon  
Ingredients
8 large cannoli shells
16 oz whole milk ricotta, strained ( I like Trader Joe's ricotta, although Polly-O is amazing!)
80g powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Mini chocolate chips
Chopped pistachios

In a strainer covered in cheese cloth, let the ricotta sit overnight in the fridge to drain. Usually the ricotta I buy isn't liquidity enough, but if I push a spoon against it, some liquid does appear. Once ricotta is drained add to the food processor and blend away. Stop every often to scrape the sides. After processing 3-4 times, add the sugar a little at a time. Next add the cinnamon and vanilla. Blend till the ricotta becomes smooth and fluffy. Add to a metal mixing bowl. Mix in chocolate chips and pistachios. I just eyeball this, make sure not to over add because it will take away from the creamy ricotta. Set in the fridge covered for 3 hours or until really chill. You want the ricotta to be like a thick paste.

Smooth and creamy. This is how it should look.

In a freezer bag or piping bag add the ricotta filling. Cut a small tip off that will fit into the cannoli shell. Fill up both sides all the way. Then decorate the sides by dipping into chocolate chips and/or pistachios. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar and serve.

Mix-ins

You can easily double this recipe if you are making a lot of cannoli.

This is the last of the dinner posts. Now it time to get back to a normal schedule! I have some good posts coming soon.

Buon Appetito,
Fallon