Try this recipe for cannoli cheesecake for a wonderful mashup of two beloved sweets. In a cannoli, a sweet, creamy mixture of ricotta and mascarpone fills a tube-shaped shell of fried pastry dough. The taste of this Italian pastry served as the inspiration for this cheesecake. For up to three days, cover any leftovers and store in the fridge.
| Prep Time: | 35 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 55 mins |
| Additional Time: | 4 hrs 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 7 hrs |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 1 9-inch cheesecake |
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 2 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons white sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 1 ½ cups mascarpone cheese
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup cold heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup miniature chocolate chips
Instructions
- Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and lightly spray paper and sides of the pan with cooking spray.
- Stir graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl until well combined. Press mixture firmly into the bottom and sides of the prepared pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven until lightly toasted and firm, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
- Let crust cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes, then wrap the outsides of the pan tightly with aluminum foil.
- Make the filling: Beat ricotta, mascarpone, sugar, and flour together in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on low speed until smooth, scraping down the sides with a spatula as needed. Mix in vanilla, cinnamon, and lemon zest on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed until well combined.
- Pour batter into the prepared crust. Place the springform pan in a large baking dish, then carefully fill the baking dish halfway with water.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are set and the center jiggles slightly, 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours. Turn the oven off, crack the door open slightly, and let cheesecake cool slowly, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven; transfer the springform pan to a wire rack and remove the foil.
- Chill cheesecake, uncovered, in the refrigerator until completely firm, at least 4 hours, then carefully remove the springform pan.
- Make the topping: Beat cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla together in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on medium-low speed until well combined, about 1 minute. Continue beating on high speed until stiff peaks develop, about 1 minute.
- Spread topping over cheesecake, then sprinkle with chocolate chips.
- Turning the oven off and cracking the door open while the cheesecake is still in the oven helps prevent the top from cracking. Even the top will be covered with the whipped topping, it’s a great technique that can be applied to other cheesecakes as well.
Reviews
I made this for my husband (I’m not a cannoli fan) without any changes to the recipe. He absolutely loves it-I think it might be his new favorite cheesecake. My sons love it too, definitely will make again.
This is an excellent recipe. I’ve made it twice and served it to different groups of people, receiving excellent responses. I don’t have a spring pan, so I used (2) 9″ pie crusts. Split the batter evenly between them and cook for 90min. Follow the same cool down procedure mentioned in the recipe. 90min cook time will give you more of a creamy result. I have not tried longer bake times yet to see if you get that classic cake/ creamy cheesecake texture. Don’t buy cheap Walmart pie crust. Use better crust from King Soopers or your local grocers, or of course you can make your own.
Made this cheesecake and it took well over 2 hours to bake and the top was very dark. Even at that baking time, the sides were set but the center giggle may still be too much. I followed the instructions as written.. The batter was VERY loose/runny when I poured it in the pan. I have been baking/creating cheesecake flavors for many years but this is the first one with ricotta. Only gave it a 3 rating because I haven’t tasted it yet but the unbaked batter showed good flavor.
Bellissimo! My Sicilian Grandmothers would have loved this cheesecake! This will be at the top of my cheesecake list from now on! The only change that I made was to make almond cookie crumbs in my blender. I sprayed my spring-form pan with cooking spray, sprinkled the cookie crumbs in the bottom of the pan, then tipped the pan to distribute the crumbs onto the sides. It eliminated a heavier crust.
I really enjoyed the cannoli flavors of this cheesecake. A heads up: Italian style cheesecakes use ricotta cheese for the filling, rather than all cream cheese. The result is a cheesecake that is not as dense and smooth as a regular cheesecake. A delicious difference. I did make changes: I cut the amount of crust in half and it was just enough. I added 1/2 cup of mini Chocolate chips to the filling. And instead of whipped cream on top, I made a topping of 1-1/2 cups sour cream , 3 Tblsp sugar & 1 tsp vanilla. I spread it on the cake 15 minutes before it was done baking. Then I garnished the cake with chopped pistachios and mini Chocolate chips. Delicious!