Cannoli Pancakes

If you have ever had a cannoli then you know how delicious they are. How about a cannoli pancake ? This is a whole other level of yummy! Loaded with sweet, creamy cannoli filling this breakfast cannoli is like starting your day with dessert!

Breakfast is a meal I don’t typically dedicate a lot of time to because it can be a little time consuming , and I don’t have a lot of time to make a breakfast , I usually just grab a bowl of cereal or a bagel and I am good to go , but when I do have the time , I like to do it right! Boring and basic breakfasts don’t cut it for me and even though I love traditional pancakes, I’m always on the hunt for new unique pancake recipes.

Have you ever made cannoli filling before? Sounds easy, right? Just some ricotta cheese blended with powdered sugar? Wrong! So wrong!

The key to a good cannoli filling is super dry ricotta cheese. Most recipes will tell you to drain it, but that doesn’t seem to be enough. Even if your ricotta seems to be dry to begin with, as most whole milk ricottas are, do not be fooled!

How to Make the Perfect Cannoli Filling

• Use whole milk ricotta cheese and mascarpone. Mascarpone will add depth and creaminess to the final product.
• Dry out your ricotta well. Drain it in a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth in the refrigerator, uncovered overnight. In the morning, wring it in the cheesecloth to push any more moisture out. Roll the dry ricotta on a few paper towels.
• Make sure you whip the mascarpone before adding ricotta! Whip the two together for several minutes to prevent lumps of mascarpone in the filling. Then add the rest of the ingredients.

One thing to keep in mind is that since the ricotta cheese for the cannoli filling must be drained overnight, Cannoli Pancakes are a breakfast you’ll want to plan in advance!

Ingredients

• CANNOLI FILLING:
• 8 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese, drained and dried*
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or Grand Marnier
• 11/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 314 cup chocolate chips
• BUTTERMILK PANCAKES:
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• Cooking spray or butter, for the griddle

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer using the whisk attachment, beat mascarpone until light and fluffy.

Add dry ricotta cheese, whisking until fully combined, approximately 2-3 minutes.

Add vanilla, combining well, and then powdered sugar.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Refrigerate until after you make the pancakes.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs until light and fluffy. Add buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla, whisking until combined.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and fine sea salt.

Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix. Batter will be lumpy.

Heat griddle to 350 degrees or heat a medium skillet over medium heat.

Grease well and pour in pancake batter.
Size is really up to you, however if you want to fold your cannoli pancakes like I did in the picture, aim for a diameter of about 8 16k inches. You can also make smaller pancakes and stack them with filling between each layer.

Wait until you start to see the batter bubble, then flip.

Continue with all pancake batter.

Remove cannoli filling from the fridge. Top pancakes, fold pancakes or layer pancakes with cannoli filling.

Garnish with your choice of powdered sugar, chocolate chips, fresh raspberries or mint leaves. You can also use Dutch Honey syrup, but the filling is sweet and takes the place of syrup.

If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it went!