Pistachio Cannoli Cake

If you love cannoli, this cake should be on your table, with its luscious filling of ricotta, flavored with chocolate and candied orange peel. The cake batter contains pistachios, and it's also sprinkled with them along the sides. In short, it's a show-stopper of a cake that tastes divine too. It would perfect for company, especially with Easter not far off. 

Not surprisingly, the recipe comes from domestic goddess Martha Stewart. However, after my first attempt that turned out less than perfect, I made a few tweaks. The cake didn't rise well enough on the first try, and I attributed that to a couple of things: I didn't have all the ingredients at room temperature, and I didn't alternate mixing the dry and wet ingredients. I had to try a second time incorporating the changes, and as a consequence, the cake rose higher and was lighter in texture. 

I also deleted the heavy cream from the filling the second time around. Without it, it's much more like a cannoli filling, with the chocolate bits and candied orange peel. But there wasn't enough to make a substantial amount to fill all the layers, so I doubled the amount of ricotta. 

As I do with many recipes containing ricotta, I drained it overnight to eliminate excess water. Look how much came out:

Cut the two layers into four, then stack them together, brush the edges with melted chocolate, then pat the chocolate edges with minced pistachios. Then separate each layer and stack them on individual sheets of waxed paper while you mix the filling.

Spread the filling on each layer, then top with a dusting of powdered sugar on top.

If you have extra candied orange peel, decorate the top with it (find my recipe here for making it) or with more chopped pistachios.                                                                

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Martha Stewart's Pistachio Cannoli Cake (my changes in italics)

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans

• 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

• ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons shelled unsalted pistachios (3 ½ ounces) (Use more because the side won't be covered properly otherwise)

• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

• ¼ teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• ¼ teaspoon orange-flower water (optional) (I used 1 teaspoon)

• 2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks, room temperature

• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature

Filling

• 2 ¾ cups fresh ricotta (about 1 ½ pounds) (I used 4 cups)

• ¾ cup heavy cream (I omitted this - not needed)

• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ¾ cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for serving (I used 1 1/4 cups)

• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (¾ cup), plus 2 ½ ounces more, melted (½ cup) (I would use mini chocolate chips to keep the ricotta whiter-looking since the shards I chopped turned the ricotta beige)

• 4 ounces candied orange peel, cut into a ¼-inch dice (I used more)

• Preheat oven and prep cake pans:

1. Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans. Line pans with parchment; butter parchment. Dust with flour, tapping out excess.

2. Grind pistachios; reserve some and process rest with dry ingredients:

3. In a food processor, finely grind pistachios. Remove and reserve 1/4 cup ground pistachios, then add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to processor and pulse to combine.

4. Beat butter; add yolks one at a time:

5. Beat butter with granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add orange-flower water; beat to combine. Beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time, thoroughly combining after each addition and scraping down bowl as needed.

6. Add pistachio mixture and sour cream:

7. Add pistachio mixture to egg mixture in three batches, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with pistachio mixture.

8. Divide batter between pans and bake:

9. Divide batter evenly between cake pans; smooth tops with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans once, until tops spring back when lightly touched, 30 to 35 minutes.

10. Cool cakes, then refrigerate:

11. Transfer pans to a wire rack; let cool 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack; remove parchment and let cool 1 hour. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

12. Make filling:

13. Meanwhile, combine ricotta and cream in bowl of food processor; process until smooth. Add salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and confectioners' sugar; process to combine. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in chopped chocolate and orange peel. Refrigerate in an airtight container at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

14. Cut cake to create layers; stack and brush with melted chocolate and pistachios:

15. Cut each cake horizontally into 2 layers. Stack on a cardboard cake round or a plate; brush edges with melted chocolate, then pat some of reserved ground pistachios onto chocolate. Separate, then refrigerate in a single layer until set, 10 minutes.

16. Assemble cake:

17. Place one cake layer on a cake stand, bottom-side down; spread 1 1/2 cups filling evenly over top, then place second layer on top. Repeat with remaining filling and cakes, finishing with a cake layer, bottom-side up. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to overnight. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and remaining reserved ground pistachios for serving.

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