Cannoli Pound Cake

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Finding little cakey treasures is such a joy! This recipe was buried deep in my recipe annex. I dusted it off and made it. But, it was missing something. It needed accessories! So, I tried it with a sweet and salty pistachio topping, mimicking the texture of a cannoli shell. Food umami!

This Cannoli Cake is so moist and decadent. It’s like eating a cannoli that just won’t end! You will discover all the traditional cannoli flavors in this cakey treat. The Marsala wine imparts balance to the overall cannoli flavor. The cake crumb is so tender. And like a good wine this cake gets better with age! Keep it wrapped tight, and you will enjoy this cake for several days.

Perfect for a baby shower, bridal shower, brunch or just to share with people you love! Having simply delicious recipes like this one in your cooking arsenal is important for any occasion. You can bless and impress with this Cannoli piece of heaven!

Cannoli Pound Cake

ChefHotDish

All the flavor of a traditional cannoli in a beautiful cake. Sweet citrus and salty pistachios add the perfect finish as the topping.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings 1 loaf

Equipment

• Large Mixing Bowl
• Medium mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Bread pan

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup sugar granulated
• 1 each lemon cleaned and zested
• 1 each orange cleaned and zested
• 1/2 cup olive oil extra virgin
• 2 tbsp Marsala fortified wine
• 1 cup ricotta cheese whole milk
• 2 each eggs large
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt Kosher or fine sea
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chocolate chips mini, semi-sweet
• 1/2 cup salted, roasted pistachios chopped small plus more for garnish
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar optional
• 1 each lemon cleaned and zested plus juice (optional)
• 2 tbsp heavy cream (optional)

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using pan spray or butter, generously coat the inside of your bread pan.
• Using the large mixing bowl, place the sugar and the first two citrus zests in the bowl. Using your fingers, rub the zests into the sugar, mixing well. This "scents" the sugar and causes the sugar to turn an orange/yellow color from the zest.
  
• Whisk in the olive oil, Marsala and allow for the sugar mixture to begin to dissolve. Whisk in the ricotta and the eggs, incorporating well. Sprinkle the baking powder, cinnamon, allspice and salt on top of the wet ingredients and whisk together well. Still using the whisk, gently add in the flour. It will become dough-like at which point switch to a spatula.
  
• Add chocolate and pistachios and gently fold into cake batter.
• Scrape mixture into prepared bread pan. Bake in oven for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. You may see melted chocolate on the toothpick…this is ok! Just look out for any wet batter on the toothpick. If it's wet, return to the oven for 5 minutes and toothpick test again.
  
• Allow to cool on a wire rack in the pan until the sides begin to pull away from the pan; roughly 15-20 minutes. Turn out the cake to finish cooling.
  
• If you would like to create a drizzle on top of your cake, use the last three ingredients of the recipe as follows: whisk powdered sugar, the zest of 1/2 lemon, one squeeze from the lemon half and heavy cream in a bowl until well combined and no lumps. Spoon over the top of the cake or individual slices. Finish with the additional chopped pistachios and enjoy!
  

Notes

This cake is amazing!  The contrast of sweet and salty is perfectly balanced.  You can choose to make the topping or not.  Perfect for an afternoon tea, baby shower, bridal shower or a sweet treat for your family. 

It REALLY tastes like a cannoli….just more to enjoy! 

Keyword Cannoli, Chocolate Chips, Lemon Zest, Marsala, Orange Zest, Pistachios