My husband’s favorite ice cream is Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. In preparing for a recent holiday, he suggested making a flavored cannoli filling instead of traditional ricotta cannoli — and that’s how this recipe was inspired.
Cherry Garcia Inspired Cannoli
A cherry-and-chocolate cannoli filling inspired by Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream, studded with Amarena cherries and bittersweet chocolate chips.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth
Ingredients
- 4 cups ricotta cheese strained if too wet
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups powdered sugar adjust to taste
- 3 tbsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups 72% bittersweet chocolate chips
- 16 oz jar pitted Amarena cherries chopped with syrup
- Cannoli shells store-bought
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine the heavy cream and powdered sugar. Whisk until soft peaks form.
- Add in the ricotta cheese, vanilla extract, and Amarena cherry syrup; mix well until smooth and creamy.
- Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped Amarena cherries.
- Taste the cannoli cream and adjust the sweetness by adding more powdered sugar if desired.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together.
- Once chilled, fill cannoli shells with the cream just before serving.
Notes
- Shortcut: You can use a pre-made cannoli mix and doctor it up instead of making the filling from scratch.
- Shells: Cannoli shells are hard to make and time-consuming, so we typically buy them — we recommend Ferrara shells, available at Restaurant Depot.
- Too Thin? If the cannoli cream seems too thin, thicken it by draining it in a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or paper towels in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.
