A Valentine’s Treat: Homemade Cannolis
As St. John’s Meadows celebrates Italy this month honoring the rich and vibrant history and culture, we could not resist a homemade cannoli. Conveniently in time for Valentine’s Day, this simple and decadent recipe is a perfect treat for your loved ones. To save time our class used mini cannoli shells from Wegmans but created the filling from scratch. See below for the filling ingredients and the process. See more of our baking recipes and inspiration for classes on our Pinterest page.
Cannoli Filling Ingredients:
- 2 cups of ricotta cheese, preferably whole milk
- 3/4 cup of powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon of allspice
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup (or more!) mini chocolate chips
- 1 lemon
Process:
- Begin by getting into the Italian mood by listening to Andrea Bocelli, we liked this mix of his classic hits on YouTube
- Mix together the ricotta and powdered sugar together in a bowl
- If the mixture seems lumpy, use stand mixer to make the filling smooth
- Combine spices together into the filling mixture
- Zest almost the entire lemon into the filling mixture
- Combine all ingredients together and mix until smooth
- Add in the chocolate chips (we used the whole bag!)
- Let the filling set in the freezer for 10-15 minutes until set
- While waiting for filling to set, get creative with your presentation! We used paper hearts for plate liners and sprinkled powdered sugar, lemon zest, and chocolate chips around the plate. We all eat with our eyes first and residents enjoyed the final display.
- Once the filling is set, with a spoon drizzle mixture into both ends of the cannoli shell, place on the plate and top with powdered sugar
- Enjoy this lovely taste of Italy on the most romantic day of the year.
