Strain the ricotta

1. Line a large strainer with two layers of cheesecloth and put the ricotta cheese on top. Cover the top of the cheese with cheesecloth or some plastic wrap. Put the strainer on top of a bowl with at least an inch or two of space between the bottom of the strainer and the bottom of the bowl for liquid to drain to. You can put something heavy on top the cheese and cheesecloth to help squeeze out liquid, if you’d like. Put in the refrigerator and let the ricotta strain for at least 4 hours, or overnight. I ended up with about 2 tablespoons of liquid being removed from my cheese.

Make the filling

1. Add the strained ricotta, mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar to a mixer bowl and mix on low speed just until well combined. Do not over mix or mix on a high speed or the mascarpone cheese can become thin and watery. You can even stir it all together by hand with a spatula, just to be sure you don’t over mix it. Keep in mind that this is a thinner filling.
2. Place the filling in the fridge to firm up a bit, about 2-3 hours. If you make the cake layers while this chills, it should be good to use when the cakes have fully cooled.

Make the Cake

1. Prepare three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
3. Add the butter, oil, sugars and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and beat together until light in color and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until mostly combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.
6. Slowly add the milk and sour cream mix until well combined. The batter may look a little curdled, but that’s ok.
7. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated. Do not over mix the batter.
8. Divide the batter evenly between the cakes pans and bake for 20-24 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
9. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

Make the buttercream

1. Add the butter and mascarpone cheese to a large mixing bowl and just beat until smooth. You don’t want to over mix the mascarpone cheese or it can become thin and watery.
2. Add the powdered sugar in two parts and mix until well combined and smooth, again being careful not to over mix. As you add the powdered sugar, it may start to look a little separated, but will come together as you add additional powdered sugar. Just don’t over mix it.
3. Add the vanilla extract and gently stir to combine.

Build the cake

1. To put the cake together, use a large serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of the cakes so that they’re flat. These cakes don’t have a large dome, but I like to make sure they’re completely flat.
2. Place the first cake on a serving plate or a cardboard cake round.
3. Pipe a dam of frosting around the edge of the cake and then fill it with 1/2 of the filling.
4. Add the second layer of cake, another dam of frosting and the remaining filling inside the dam.
5. Add the final layer of cake on top and then add a thin crumb coat of frosting to the outside of the cake. Refrigerate the cake until firm and sturdy, about 1-2 hours (you can speed the process up by putting the cake in the freezer for about 30 minutes, if you’d like). Set the remainder of the frosting in the fridge while the cake firms up and take it out about 20 minutes before you’re ready to continue, so it can soften a bit.
6. Frost the outside of the cake with the remainder of the frosting, then finish it off by pressing some mini chocolate chips onto the outside of the cake, along the bottom.
7. Pipe the remaining frosting along the top edge of the cake. I used Ateco tip 847.
8. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve. Store well covered or in an airtight cake carrier. Cake is best if eaten within 3-4 days.