Food and Fiber Friday - Redneck Cannoli!

Last Saturday was my 66th birthday!

And yes, I don't mind mentioning my age. I'm proud of every year I am alive, kicking and not in jail!

I also make my own birthday cakes (the curse of being the baker in the family).

Since my birthday this year fell on Saturday and I was going to the Rosemary and Thyme Herb Society Meeting, I made a cake and took it to the meeting. That way I could have my cake, but not have to eat it all!

I also had a bit of a 'mean mother' vibe and wanted to torment Savvy, who is 3000 miles away! So I made Cannoli Cake (and sent her pictures).

In true fashion, I took two different recipes and did a mash-up of them. The initial recipes were from Snappy Gourmet and Taste of Home.

I also wanted to make a larger cake since I was sharing with a group, plus wanting to take some to work. Because I doubled the recipe, both for the cake and the filling and icing, I had extra filling left over. I hate waste! Especially when it involves something sweet and delicious.

What to do with the extra filling? 

Hmmm...

Left-over sugar cones which were used as a garnish. Extra filling.

Cannolis!

Filling went into the sugar cone and then dipped into the mini-chocolate chips. Instant almost-a-real-cannoli!

Even Texter, who will say no to some of my concoctions, grabbed these up! I think she liked them better than the actual cake. 

I do have to say I only made up the cannolis when I was getting ready to eat one, as the filling would turn the sugar cone soft. And since I'm actually suppose to be watching my sugar intake, I would break up a sugar cone and dip it into the filling, eating only a couple of pieces. 

This cake was good! And easy to make. I also had the endorsement of an ex-New Yorker who stated 'this is a cannoli' about the taste of the cake. 

One thing which was mentioned about the cake is that it is not overly sweet. I have a 'keeper' recipe for future birthday cakes!

My mash-up of the two recipes follows. Please note, I doubled this recipe to make a double layer 9x13 cake.

Redneck Cannoli Cake

Cake:

1 box French Vanilla Cake Mix

1 tablespoon orange zest

Prepare the cake mix according to the box, adding in the orange zest. Once cooked, allow to completely cool.

Filling:

1 15-ounce cartoon of ricotta cheese 

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon rum extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ounces mini-chocolate chips

Frosting:

10 ounces ricotta cheese*

16 ounces mascarpone cheese

3 cups powdered sugar (may need more)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon fresh orange juice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 ouches mini-chocolate chips

Garnish:

Sugar cone ice cream cones or waffle cones, broken up.

*Note: I had extra filling left over since I had doubled the recipe and was only layering between two layers. So I used the left over filling in place of the ricotta cheese in the frosting. 

To assemble:

Place filling between the layers, sprinkling the mini-chocolate chips on top of the filling. Ice the cake with the frosting. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top and sides of the cake. Garnish with the broken up sugar or waffle cones. 

Hint: If you aren't going to take it to a party, I would make this as round layers and then slice the layers in half, adding more filling to the cake. I would probably double up the filling recipe if doing so. 

Store cake in the refrigerator. 

Cannolis

Extra filling

Whole sugar or waffle cones

mini-chocolate chips

When ready to serve, fill the cones with the excess filling. Dip in mini-chocolate chips.