Cannoli Cake recipe, an easy from-scratch Italian cake with cannoli filling. This homemade cannoli cake is full of easy to find ingredients including ricotta, mascarpone, orange zest, and mini chocolate chips. Find out how to make a cannoli cake with different flavors for your personal taste.
Another fun Cannoli recipe to add to my collection! This Cannoli Cake Recipe is the best if I do say so myself! So good! Be careful because you may eat more than you mean to. haha! You know I love cannolis like my popular Cannoli Cookies, Cannoli Dip, and Mini Cannoli Dip Cups. So adding a cake to the mix seemed to be the next logical thing to do!
What is a Cannoli?
If you haven’t seen my other cannoli recipes and don’t know what a cannoli is, let’s start with that.
A cannoli is an Italian pastry that is shaped in a long tube with a filling generally made up of ricotta cheese and powdered sugar.
An Italian cannoli may include other things such as candied fruit, chocolate chips, nuts, cinnamon, mascarpone cheese, or a wide variety of other things.
You can find them at Italian grocery stores and bakeries, as well as many other bakeries and grocery stores now.
If you’re never had one, give them a try! National Cannoli Day is also June 16th, so if nothing else get one to celebrate in June!
Check out my “What is a cannoli?” for more info.
How to Make Cannoli Cake:
(Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the complete DETAILED recipe card with the full ingredient list, full directions, and print option)
This Italian cake with cannoli filling frosting may look difficult to make, but it’s actually quite easy. A little tricky for those with no baking experience, but easy for those a bit more experienced. If you’ve never baked a homemade cake before this may not be the best one to start with or please at least read all the info, tips, and suggestions.
The cake is a bit time-consuming though, but worth the trouble in my opinion. The good thing is that I think it’s actually better the next day so you can definitely make this cake ahead of time!
Ok, so to get started on this homemade Cannoli Cake, be sure your oven is preheated. Also butter and flour two round baking pans.
Start making the cake batter by mixing the dry ingredients together including the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
In another bowl, beat together the wet ingredients starting with the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy which may be a few minutes.
Beat in an egg one at a time, then beat in vanilla extract and fresh orange zest.
The orange flavor is not really strong and gives a nice subtle citrus taste to the cake. However, if you really don’t like orange, you can leave it out. I’ve gotten a lot of feedback on the orange in the cake. Some people think it’s too much, not enough, or just the right amount SO definitely a personal choice.
You could also swap out some of the vanilla extract for almond extract. Or you could use Fiori di Sicilia Extract which is part citrus and vanilla.
Pour the cake batter into two 9-inch round baking pans and spread to form an even layer. You could also use 8-inch round baking pans. If you do use the 8-inch just know they may take a little longer to bake.
I like to use these baking strips to put around the pans. They help make level cake layers. They’re not perfect, but do help in my opinion. Be sure to also use good quality cake pans for best results.
Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool the cake layers slightly, then remove from the pans and cool completely on wire cooling racks.
Once the cake is completely cool, use a long serrated knife to cut each cake layer in half to form 4 layers. You don’t have to cut the layers in half. If you just want a double layer cake skip that part.
How to Make Cannoli Cake Filling:
(For the full printable version of the recipe, scroll down to the bottom of the post for the recipe card and print option. Although be sure to read here for more tips and information or check out my other cannoli recipes!)
This Cannoli Cake filling is really just an easy Cannoli Frosting that is in between each layer and on the outside of the cake.
First, start with some good quality THICK ricotta and mascarpone cheese. Both should be readily available at most grocery stores. The mascarpone can be a little pricey so look around and you may be able to find it cheaper. If you have to, you can substitute cream cheese.
Be sure to use full-fat cheeses or ones that are not too runny. If you use lower-fat cheeses the frosting may not be thick enough to frost the cake. Drain off any excess liquid on top of the cheese. You really want the cheeses to be thick (like cream cheese).
FOR BEST RESULTS PLEASE DRAIN YOUR RICOTTA (AND/OR MASCARPONE) OVERNIGHT – If you’re at all unsure about your particular brand of ricotta (and/or mascarpone) or if it seems runny, you should drain it overnight. See my post on how to strain ricotta cheese for directions and info. There are many types and brands of cheese so results can vary A LOT. If you can find it in your area, you can also try ricotta impastata (pastry ricotta).
In a large mixing bowl beat together the ricotta and mascarpone cheeses. Then beat in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, orange juice, cinnamon, and salt.
Again, you can omit the orange juice if you want, but it’s not too strong.
A few people have mentioned they’ve had a hard time with the frosting. PLEASE make sure your cheeses are THICK and not runny. Different brands can vary slightly. If it’s warm in your house that can also play a factor. Make sure all ingredients are cold. You can also try to add additional powdered sugar (or more cheese if thick) if necessary to thicken the frosting.
How to Assemble the Cannoli Cake:
Place one of the cake layers on a cake plate or stand. Before I put the cake down, I like to put strips of wax paper that I can remove after I frost and decorate the cake. It helps keep the plate clean. Or at least in theory it helps. I seem to always make a mess regardless. haha!
Frost the top of the layer. Then sprinkle about 2-3 tablespoons of mini chocolate chips on top. You can also add some chopped roasted nuts such as pecans, walnuts, or pistachios if you’d like.
Place another cake layer on top and repeat with the frosting and chocolate chips. Once all the layers are done, frost the outside of the cake.
Use the remaining chocolate chips to decorate the outside of the cake. If you want a lot of chocolate chips, you may need more than one package.
You can also use any extra frosting for piping or decorating. I’m not much of a cake decorator so don’t judge my pitiful piping. haha!
Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve and any leftovers after.
If you make this into a two layer cake you may want to cut back on the frosting recipe. If you make the 4 layers, you’ll have enough frosting for a thin layer of filling between each layer and a thin layer on the outside of the cannoli cake.
I didn’t have much frosting left for piping. If you want to do a lot of piping or have a thicker layer, you may want to make extra frosting.
You can also decorate the outside of the cake with chopped nuts if you’d like. Or top the cake with some maraschino cherries too.
This cake is quite large with all the layers and could easily feed a crowd. A thin slice is plenty!
Serve this cake after a great Italian meal along with some coffee and your guests will love you.
Be sure to store this cake covered in the fridge. Like I said, it’s a little better the next day in my opinion.
Who would like a piece of this fabulous Cannoli Cake?
Quick video to see how easy this Cannoli Cake comes together… (cake is slightly more yellow in the video due to different brand of butter, eggs, etc.)
Hope you enjoy this Cannoli Cake recipe!
Want More Cannoli Recipes?
Be sure to check out all my other fun cannoli recipes!
Cannoli Cookies – One of my most popular recipes. These cake-like cookies always get rave reviews.
Best Cannoli Dip – Quick and easy and so fun for parties and potlucks!
Chocolate Cannoli Dip – Perfect for chocolate lovers. All the flavors of a cannoli plus extra chocolate.
Cannoli Milkshake – Fun treat for kids or adults. Add your favorite liqueur for a grown-up version.
Cannoli Dip (Orange Almond) – I added a little extra orange and almond to this version of cannoli dip.
Mini Cannoli Dip Cups – Love these cute little dessert cups. Great idea for parties and potlucks!
Cannoli Cream Chocolate Truffles – These cute little candies make the best holiday treats!
Cannoli Cheesecake Bars – Easy cheesecake bars with all the tastes of cannoli.
Mini Frozen Cannoli Cheesecake Bites – Cheesecake bars cut into bite-size pieces and dipped in chocolate.
Cannoli Poke Cake – an easy cake with cannoli topping.
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You might also like these Cannoli Cupcakes, which is the cupcake version of this cake! Or this fun colorful Spumoni Cake!
Cannoli Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake Batter:
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup milk
Frosting: (see notes below)
- 10 ounces ricotta cheese drained overnight if needed (see notes below)
- 16 ounces mascarpone cheese drained overnight if needed (see notes below)
- 3 cups powdered sugar (possibly more if needed)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh orange juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 10 ounces mini chocolate chips divided (if you want a lot of chocolate chips on the outside, you may want to have another bag on hand)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 9-inch round baking pans (or can substitute 8-inch round baking pans).
- Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt in medium mixing bowl until well combined.
- Beat together butter and granulated sugar in large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Then beat in fresh orange zest and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract until well combined.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk into the butter and sugar mixture, beating after each addition until just combined.
- Pour cake batter into prepared pans, spread to form even layers. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. (If using 8 inch pans, baking time will be about 30-35 minutes.)
- Cool cakes slightly then remove from pans and finish cooling completely on wire racks. When cakes are completely cool, split each layer in half horizontally with a long serrated knife to form 4 layers.
- For frosting, beat together ricotta and mascarpone in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Beat in powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, orange juice, cinnamon, and salt until well combined.
- To assemble cake, place one layer on cake dish. Top with frosting then sprinkle about 2-3 tablespoons of mini chocolate chips on top. Repeat with remaining layers. Frost outside of cake and add remaining chocolate chips to outside of cake or as desired. Use remaining frosting to decorate or pipe as desired. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition:
(Nutrition data is provided when available for informational purposes only and calculated using an online nutritional calculator. For the most accurate information please calculate based on specific ingredients and brands you use as well as any changes you made to the recipe. I am not a certified nutritionist or registered dietician and any nutritional information provided should only be used as a general guideline and estimate.)
About Lisa Huff
Lisa Huff is a Cookbook Author, Freelance Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, Blogger/Writer, and award-winning home chef. She loves creating unique recipes from healthy to decadent including cocktails, appetizers, main dishes, dessert recipes and more and has appeared on various shows, publications, and websites.
Hello! This looks amazing! I can’t wait to make it but I need to ask a question on the baking pans. Are they 9×2 or 9×3? I have to order pans so I thought I should ask first and order the correct height. Thanks!
The 2 inch would be fine but if you have to buy pans I personally would get taller pans so you can make other things in them.
I made it the cake came out great but the frosting was way to watery I added more sugar but too sweet and still watery
Sorry to hear you had a hard time with the frosting. Did you drain the ricotta cheese overnight and drain out all the liquid. That is generally what goes wrong with people.
If you make this the day before, should it be stored in the fridge? Will that make the cake dry out?
Yes cover and store in the refrigerator.
I have made this twice and it is fabulous! It is a keeper. Our guests loved it! A beautiful, fragrant and yummy cake! I added a bit of fiori di sicilia in the icing.
Cake was too heavy and almost dry. Frosting turned out great, but the cake was horrible.
Hmmm definitely shouldn’t have been dry. Did you make any substitutions?
Hi, oh my gosh this looks amazing i cant wait to make it. But i have a question. I saw in somw of your othe cannoli recipes (specifically the chocolate cannoli dip) that you suggested Amaretto, choclate liqueur, or mayne grand marnier mmm. Anyway, if i wanted to add to the cake would i just substitute for the orane juice maybe? Or wait was that in the icing. Just dont want to add liquid and mess up proportions.
Hi Liz! If you want to add a liqueur to the cake, you could substitute it for the vanilla extract in the cake (some people have used other extracts as well such as almond extract). And in the frosting you could also substitute it for the vanilla and/or orange juice. You could probably add a little more but I’d suggest making the frosting first and adding at the end. If you drain your ricotta really well it should be firm enough to add more liquid but some people struggle with the ricotta. You could also use just mascarpone cheese in the frosting for a thicker frosting and then could add more liqueur (or could again try a different extract).
I have now made this cake twice and will be agin tomorrow. This is absolutely amazing! I love everything about it and it serves a ton of people! Thank you for all of your suggestions in the recipe!
Hi. I’m Cathy; what ricotta cheese did you use that you didn’t have to drain. You didn’t mention the name.
Sorry, it’s a local store brand. If you don’t want to drain, you could use cream cheese or more mascarpone cheese. But the draining is super easy!
Not sure why I cannot print this
Sorry, I’m not sure. I just double-checked and it looks ok. There’s a print option at the top of the recipe card at the bottom of the post and seems to be coming up ok as far as I can tell.
Is it possible to use this recipe to make cake pops?
I haven’t tried it but don’t see why not. I’d suggest making sure your ricotta is drained VERY well so that the frosting is as firm as possible. And you’ll need to store the pops in the fridge with all the cheese in the frosting.
This is the best cake ever! I’m from Brooklyn and though I haven’t lived there in 25 years I still remember cannoli cake from some of the best Italian bakeries. I’ve lived in few different places that CLAIM to cannoli cake but NO they didn’t even come close. I figured since I’m never go back to NY I better find a recipe myself. Well this one is it! And I use the almond extract not vanilla because that is the authentic flavor. When I make this everyone goes crazy they cannot get enough. I have absolutely no problem with the frosting so I’m not sure what that’s about and I use it straight out of the refrigerator. Anyway AMAZING recipe!!!!
Thank you so much Sarah for the sweet comment! Totally made my day! :)
I am going to make this for my daughters 21st Birthday. How far in advance can I make the frosting? Can I add rum or other liquor in place of and addition to the vanilla extract? and omit the orange juice.
You could make it a few days in advance and should be ok. And yes you could substitute out the vanilla extract, just be careful to not add too much so that the frosting doesn’t thin down too much. I’d recommend straining the ricotta overnight to thicken as much as possible. Happy bday to your daughter!
Is that what’s wrong with the frosting?! It was horrible. Extremely runny. I continued to add sugar to thicken, but it never did. I ended up throwing it out.
Sorry you had a hard time with the frosting. As I mentioned above, lots of brands of ricotta so should be drained overnight or could substitute more mascarpone if unsure.
Hey Lisa,
Happy New Year! Sorry I didn’t post back earlier but I wanted to let you know that the cake was a big hit. Everyone loved it and made a request that the next time I made it to send them a piece. I am glad I posted a question because it’s how I found the recipe again.
I followed everything to a T and did substitute out the vanilla for a small amount of Cafe Patron, and it came out perfect. Since it was her 21st I had some fun with the decorating.
Thanks for the great Cannoli Cake recipe. I will be making it again this weekend to send back to school with her.
Best Regards,
Beth
Thanks Beth! So happy to hear you all enjoyed the cake!
I was wondering what brand ricotta you use? I have not made this yet but would like to avoid the runny frosting/draining if I can! Thanks ????
I generally use a local store brand (Stew Leonard’s) but don’t be scared to drain it! It’s really easy (I have a post How to Strain Ricotta Cheese) if you need help.
I made the cake today. It baked beautifully, yet the frosting/filling was too runny. I added more con sugar, yet it still wasn’t firm enough. Any advice? Can you add a small amount of cornstarch to it?
Did you drain the ricotta overnight? It’s generally a runny ricotta that causes that problem. At this point I’d add some more softened cream cheese and/or mascarpone to try and thicken it up a little.
I made this last year for my boyfriends birthday! Absolutely delicious! However, I cannot remember if it’s supposed to be kept in the fridge after its made?
With the cheese in the frosting, you should definitely store in fridge.
Do you think I could substitute buttermilk for milk in the cake? Thanks!
I don’t see why not. May change the taste slightly but would think it would still work.
I did everything the recipe said for frosting and mine is still runny,even after adding more powdered sugar and i didnt want to add more cause it was already super sweet. I put it in the fridge so hopefuly that helps. ????????
That should help a little but if it’s still too runny you can mix in some softened mascarpone or cream cheese to thicken. Unfortunately, every ricotta is a little different so that’s why I always suggest draining overnight to get it as thick as possible.
Mine too I wasted all the cheese