An Italian Dessert For Spanish Final

My Spanish final was to cook something. Well, the whole assignment was to make a dish that meant something to you, make a photo presentation, translate the recipe into Spanish, and talk about the recipe is made and why it is important to you. I made a list that was almost a whole page long with possible ideas. Most of the recipes I make, including the brownies I made earlier this week, have a great memory or important person attached to them.

After a couple days of reviewing my list, I realized what waswrong with my list and why the decision was so hard. I hadn't written down the obvious first choice: Cannoli cake!
Every family birthday party is centered around two things. Yep, the cake is just as important as the birthday boy or girl.

Crackly Circles of Spongy Goodness 

Cannoli cakes, and cannoli in general, make me think of my dad and twin sister. I never see either of them eating cakes or really any other desserts (other than ice cream. My dad's ice cream crazed) but as soon as a cannoli enters the picture, they're fighting over the last cheesy, almond scented crumb. Slices of cannoli cake go missing from the fridge night after night during birthday week, and we never manage to leave a cousin, aunt, or uncle's party without a hefty slice of ricotta filled cake. Cannoli cake makes me happy because it reminds me of when the whole group of us is happy. And they taste pretty darned fantastic.

The cakes at these parties, though, are from our favorite bakery here in Chicago, Ferrara Bakery. So, I was going to have to combine some of my go to recipes for this cake. I had a standby recipe for whipped  cannoli filling, and sponge cake. All was well. Then there was the matter of making the cake portable and easy to serve to 25 people with just a few napkins and a plastic butter knife. Mini cakes, or if we're still going with the fancy names: Petits Fours. They're the answer to almost every cake serving problem becausethey can be eaten with fingers and are precut into adorable mini cakes. For some added interest, I added a layer of pistachio cake to the center and topped it with marzipan, because, really, what's a cannoli without some nuts?

Slightly Chunky Pistachio Batter

When you cut out the little mini cakes from the sponge, you're going to end up with a lot of delicious scraps that should be saved. Even if you're not the "waste not want not" type, you absolutely must save these scraps. I added them to cups of coffee and topped it with vanilla yogurt mixed with a tiny splash of almond extract, and a dash of cinnamon and cocoa. The mix of the cake and coffee brings out a surprising combination of flavors that I had no idea were hiding on the cake. It was like magic. We feasted on 30 second tiramisu. Or, if you want to mak it sound more impressive tiramisu crudo. I find that if you give things fancy names, people think they're very fancy and that your slaved over them for hours.

I'm not sure how well I was able to translate this fairly long recipe into Spanish, and Petit Quatros de Cannoli doesn't sound quite as chic as the Italian name, Tortine de Cannoli, but they taste amazing, the perfect balance between sweet, savory, nutty, and fruity, travel well, and taste like little mini family birthday celebrations. They give a whole new meaning to, "It's like a party in your mouth."

Mini Cannoli Cake "Petit Fours"
Makes 1 sheet cake of each flavor (number of servings depends on size of petit fours)


Sponge Cake:
1 cup unbleached cake flour
5 extra large eggs, separated and at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt.

Pistachio Cake:
4 extra large eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup roasted unsalted pistachios
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups cake flour
8 oz butter, melted
1/2 c milk (almond milk will also work)
Pinch of salt

Marzipan:
3 cups slivered skinned almonds
1 2/3 cups sugar
Squeeze of lemon juice (about 1 Tbs)
2/3 cup water
1/4 tsp almond extract
Pinch of salt
Food coloring of choice (Optional)

Cannoli Cream:
3 cups Ricotta cheese (Drained for at least 24 hours)
1 cup mascarpone cheese
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
Zest of 1 Meyer lemon or 1/2 a lime
1 cup dried fruit or mini chocolate chips (I like using freeze dried oranges from Trader Joe's)


For the Sponge:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. With an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of sugar until they are pale yellow and form medium peaks when the whisk is removed. In another bowl, beat the egg whites, salt and other 1/2 of sugar until they form stiff peaks. Add the vanilla and fold the egg white mixture into the yolks. Sift the flour into the eggs and fold in gently. Pour into a prepared sheet pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes, until golden. Cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into small circles.

For the Pistachio Cake:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine pistachios and sugar in a food processor and pulse until they form a medium grained powder. In a bowl, combine the flour, pistachio mixture, salt, and baking powder. In a different bowl, whisk together the butter, milk, eggs, and almond extract. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, combining thoroughly. Pour the mixture into a prepared sheet pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes, until done. Cool for about 10 minuted before cutting into rounds with a small cookie cutter or other round.

For the Marzipan:
In a spice grinder or food processor, grind the almonds into a fine powder. It is easier to get a finer powder if you work in small batches, about 1/2 cup at a time. Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil and add the sugar. Cook until the sugar dissolves. Add the almond powder, salt, and lemon juice. Continue cooking until the mixture forms a paste that stays together when a little bit is rolled into a ball. Remove from the heat and add the almond extract and any desired food coloring, making sure to mix both in thoroughly. The final stirring is a little challenging because of the thickness of the marzipan, but if you really beat it with a wooden spoon, everything should combine. Dust your work surface with powdered sugar and roll the marzipan out to about 1/4" thick. Use a small round cutter to punch out circles that are the same size as your cakes or a little smaller. Set the marzipan circles aside.

For the Cream:
In a food processor, pulse the cheeses and sugar until smooth. Add the lemon zest and pulse until it reaches the texture of cream cheese frosting (10 quick pulses should do the trick). Move to a bowl and fold in fruit, almond extract and pistachios. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until ready to use. When removed from the fridge, the mixture should have thickened up quite a bit.
*To Drain Ricotta: Set a fine mesh strainer over a medium bowl so that it does NOT rest on the bottom of the bowl. Line the inside of the strainer with cheesecloth or paper coffee filters. Pour your cheese into the strainer, top with more cheesecloth, strainers or paper lunch bags. Top again with a heavy plate or bowl and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days. I like 2 days of straining because processing the cheese later brings out any retained moisture and the drier filling holds up much better with the cake.*

To Construct:
1) Cut the cake circles in half so you have 2 thin circles instead of 1 thick circle.
2) Top 2 pieces of sponge with a small dollop of cannoli cream (I used about 1 tsp but it depends on the size of your cakes)
3) Sandwich a pistachio cake half between the 2 creamed sponge halves.
4) Top the 3 layer mini cake with a marzipan round.
5) Alternate sandwiching pistachio between sponge and sponge between pistachio slices.
6) If you are going to be traveling with the cakes, it helps to put a toothpick through the top, deli style, so the layers do not come apart.

You can also make 1 big cake with this recipe if you bake the cakes in 9" round cake pans, roll the marzipan out to 1 large round, and frost the whole thing with whipped cream frosting. You will have to halve one of the cake recipes, though in order to get a 3 layer cake. If you want a 4 layer cake, just add a little more cheese to the cream recipe to make sure you have enough to fill the whole cake.