Cannoli Ice Cream
All the flavors of your favorite Italian pastry in a frozen treat. Ricotta. Toasted pistachios. Chocolate. Even chunks of cannoli shells.
Last weekend, our good friends M&M came to visit from Boston. After getting stuck in DC and missing their connection, they finally made it and we had a great time. We did a lot of just hanging out, catching up, hit up the largest Oktoberfest celebration in the US (right here in Cincinnati), and of course Hubby showed off his grilling skills and we ate delicious food. I always enjoy indulging visitors with some of their favorite treats while they’re in town. What can I say, nothing says you love someone like baking for them.
I knew I wanted to make some ice cream, because let’s face it, I’ve been obsessed with ice cream this year. Lucky for me, the he-portion of M&M will eat anything. And for the she-portion, well I had made these cannoli cupcakes for her bridal shower back in 2011, so I knew cannoli ice cream would be a hit for her. As an added bonus, Hubby loves cannolis. It’s the one dessert I refuse to make for him at home. He hasn’t had a good one since we moved, because let’s face it, the cannolis in the North End are tough to compete with.
I, on the other hand, can’t eat cannolis. Well just the filling. It’s the ricotta. My lactose intolerance rears it’s ugly head when it comes to ricotta. In all honestly, they weren’t my favorite before I was lactose intolerant anyways. But I aim to please, so I decided to whip up this cannoli ice cream.
I didn’t taste it, but I think M ate some for every meal while she was in town. I know she had it for a late night snack after we went to Oktoberfest and she also had a small bowl for breakfast one morning. On top of that, Hubby finished the rest off in a couple days, so I’m taking that all to mean that it was good.
So if you have a friend or loved one who likes cannolis, I’m confident they will enjoy this ice cream. I know I enjoyed making it for some of my favorite people.
Two Years Ago: Fall Bruschetta and Blueberry Lemonade
Three Years Ago: Double Fudge Brownies
Six Years Ago: Mussels and Strawberry Filled Cupcakes
Cannoli Ice Cream
All the flavors of your favorite Italian pastry in a frozen treat. Ricotta. Toasted pistachios. Chocolate. Even chunks of cannoli shells.
Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
1 (15 oz) container whole milk ricotta or equal amount fresh
4 oz cream cheese, diced into small cubes
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup cannoli shell pieces
3 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted, roasted pistachios, chopped
Directions:
In a blender combine heavy cream, milk, sugar and corn syrup and blend mixture on low speed until sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute.
Add in ricotta, cream cheese and vanilla bean seeds and blend mixture until well pureed.
Transfer to an airtight container and freeze 1 hour, stirring once halfway through freezing.
Transfer mixture to an ice cream maker and process according to manufactures directions. Add in cannoli shell pieces, chocolate and pistachios during last few minutes of processing. Transfer to airtight container and freeze until semi-firm.
Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I’ll take any leftovers! They sound amazing. I keep saying dessert recipes with bacon and bookmarking them, but I haven’t tried any yet. Adding this one to the list now too. 🙂
These look so terrific. I love the flavor combinations!
I’m intrigued!
interesting! I have a recipe for chocolate bacon fudge or maybe pb bacon fudge but I’m afraid to try it
The frosting sounds amazing. I honestly still can’t bring myself to get behind bacon in desserts. Maybe someday I’ll try a bacon cupcake if I’m given one though. 🙂 I can only resist so long.
YUM! These look so good! I haven’t tried the bacon / sweet combo yet, but I’m sure I would love it!
This looks delicious but I’ve got to ask….what is a pirate party?
Fun and Fearless – It’s exactly like it sounds… Everyone dresses up as a pirate (or something related – Hubby and I went as Treasure maps last year). They even hire this guy who looks like Captain Jack Sparrow to come and there’s a prize for best costume. One of the best parties of the year!
Sounds great! The problem I’ve seen with bacon is that sometimes it is chewy in cupcakes. That’s not good. I like that this recipe says to cook until crispy. Extra crispy for me!
My favorite candy bar is bacon chocolate!!! I can’t wait to try this 🙂
Wow, those look and sound amazing!
oh yum. after putting bacon in last years cookies this might need to be next 🙂
I’m so curious to try bacon in baked goods, but do you think turkey bacon would work?
Corrine – I’m sure turkey bacon would work if you could get it nice and crispy. I’ve heard that if the bacon isn’t super crispy, it has a really weird chewy texture in baked goods.
Thanks Jen! I’m going to give it a try!
This has just about everything that I would want to go together. Awesome recipe!
This is certianly a unqiue mixture of tastes and textures, but it comes together nicely. Definatly a must try!
Chocolate..caramel…bacon…PERFECTION.
I am infatuated with the perfect smoky/salty addition of bacon into sweet baked goods. So delicious. Of course, I’m kind of a fan of adding bacon into just about anything.
Great pics, def wanna try these out!
Sorry the cupcakes didn’t turn out like you wanted. Have you ever tried the bacon/chocolate cupcake at Cherry Bomb Bakery in Brighton? They are fantastic!