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With a touch of cinnamon and a smattering of mini chocolate chips, this Cannoli Tart has all the great flavors of a classic cannoli wrapped into one simple tart. It’s a quick, easy dessert that’s light and delicious!
If you love the flavors in this cannoli-inspired dessert, check out this amazing cannoli cheesecake and my cannoli layer cake, too!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Like a cannoli, but easier. This dessert delivers all of the flavor of a classic cannoli with none of the deep frying or painstaking stuffing of individual pastry shells.
- Light, delicious flavor. Some cannolis can be overly sweet and kind of heavy. This tart is light and not to sweet. Perfect for any occasion.
- No-bake (almost). Aside from baking the crust for a few minutes to make sure it holds together, this dessert is totally no-bake. Perfect for warm summer days when you want to keep your kitchen as cool as possible.
- Outstanding texture. The mascarpone filling for this cannoli dessert is so smooth and creamy, a bit like my stabilized mascarpone whipped cream. Next to the subtle crunch of the graham cracker crust and the smattering of mini chocolate chips on top, it’s a dream to bite into.
What Does Cannoli Taste Like?
A cannoli is a classic Sicilian dessert made from a crunchy shell (almost like a taco!) of deep-fried pastry dough that’s stuffed with a smooth, creamy mascarpone (and sometimes ricotta) filling. The shell is rich and buttery while the filling is relatively light and tastes faintly of cinnamon and vanilla. Then there’s a kick of chocolate from the mini chocolate chips that often garnish this Italian favorite. Pretty dreamy, right?
Ingredient Notes
Here’s what you’ll need to bring this cannoli tart recipe to life. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card below for precise measurements.
Crust
- Graham cracker crumbs – I like to crush my own to make an easy graham cracker crust. I think the flavor is better. But feel free to buy the crumbs or the crust pre-made. Vanilla wafers would also work.
- Sugar – I used granulated sugar, but you could use light brown sugar for a richer flavor.
- Unsalted butter – To hold the crust ingredients together. You could also use salted butter, if that’s what you have on hand.
Filling
- Mascarpone cheese – You can usually find this kind of cheese in the deli section of the grocery store. I love how creamy it is. If you’re a fan of ricotta in a cannoli, feel free to swap out some of the mascarpone. Just be sure to strain the ricotta.
- Vanilla extract
- Ground cinnamon
- Powdered sugar – The powdered sugar adds sweetness to the filling as well as structure.
- Heavy whipping cream – The heavy cream needs to be cold when making whipped cream for the filling. Otherwise, it won’t whip up and hold volume properly, and your filling will fall flat.
- Mini chocolate chips – To top the tart. A chopped (or shaved) semi-sweet or milk chocolate bar would also work.
How to Make a Cannoli Tart
Here’s a quick look at how to make this cannoli tart. Have a look at the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.
To make the crust
- Prep. Spray a 9-inch tart pan and preheat oven to 325°F.
- Mix. Mix together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar and then mix in the melted butter.
- Bake. Press the crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan and bake for 7 minutes.
- Cool. Allow the crust to cool completely.
Filling and assembly
- Make the filling base. Gently mix together the mascarpone, vanilla, cinnamon, and ½ cup of powdered sugar.
- Add volume. Beat together the heavy cream and the remaining powdered sugar on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the filling base.
- Assemble. Spread the filling into the crust and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.
- Chill. Cover and chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours, or until firm.
- Serve. Serve cold, dusted with powdered sugar if desired.
Tips for Success
- Cool completely. Allow the crust to cool completely before adding the filling. If it is too warm, the filling will melt.
- Mix on low speed (and not too much). When making the filling, mix on low speed (or even by hand) and just until everything is incorporated. Mixing at too high a speed or for too long will cause the filling to break down and become watery.
- Maintain volume. When folding the whipped cream into the filling, do so gently so as not to knock the volume out of it. It’s also a good idea to mix the whipped cream into the filling in 2 parts. Again, to maintain volume.
- Don’t skimp on chill time. You’ll need to chill this dessert for at least 2 hours (probably 3) before serving. The filling needs that time in the fridge to set.
How to Store
Cover the tart with plastic wrap or arrange slices in a single layer in an airtight container. You can store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. To freeze, place in the freezer until firm, then wrap it well. It would be hard to wrap up when un-frozen. You can keep it frozen for up to 3 months. Unwrap and thaw in the fridge prior to serving.
More Tart Recipes
- Creamy Lemon Tart Recipe
- Reese’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart
- White Chocolate Butterscotch Tart
- Raspberry Nutella Tart
Cannoli Tart
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Chill Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 37 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
With a touch of cinnamon and a smattering of mini chocolate chips, this Cannoli Tart has all the great flavors of a classic cannoli wrapped into one simple tart. It’s a quick, easy dessert that’s light and delicious!
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/4 cups (168g) graham cracker crumbs
- 3 tbsp (39g) sugar
- 5 tbsp (70g) unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 12 oz mascarpone cheese*
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup (86g) powdered sugar, divided
- 3/4 cup (180ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
- Mini chocolate chips, for topping
Instructions
Make the crust:
- Spray a 9-inch tart pan with non-stick baking spray and preheat oven to 325°F.
- Add the graham cracker crumbs and sugar to a medium sized bowl and stir to combine. Add the melted butter and stir until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into the tart pan and press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Pack it firmly. Use a measuring cup or glass with sharp corners and straight edges to help and use your fingers for the sides of the pan.
- Bake for 7 minutes, then remove from oven and set aside to cool completely. If you want to speed up cooling, you can put it in the fridge or the freezer.
Make the filling:
- Add the mascarpone cheese, vanilla extract, cinnamon and ½ cup of powdered sugar to a mixer bowl and gently stir to combine. You don’t want to mix on a high speed or over mix or the mascarpone can become watery and start to break down. Be gentle. You could even just combine it by hand with a spatula. Set aside.
- Add the heavy whipping cream and remaining ¼ cup of powdered sugar to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture in two parts.
- Add the filling to the completely cooled crust and spread evenly. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips. Cover or store in an air-tight container and refrigerate until firm, 2-3 hours.
- Sprinkle with some additional powdered sugar, if desired, then serve. Cover or store leftovers in an air-tight container. Tart is best eaten within 4-5 days.
Notes
- If the mascarpone cheese gets too warm, even at room temperature, it can get watery. It’s naturally very creamy and doesn’t need to really be room temperature to use it. If your fridge tends to be really cold and the cheese seems a little firm to use straight out of the fridge, you can set it out for 5-10 minutes before you need it. But I often use it right out of the fridge without any problem.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Silce
- Calories: 459
- Sugar: 19.1 g
- Sodium: 157.1 mg
- Fat: 35.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 31.3 g
- Protein: 4.9 g
- Cholesterol: 98.3 mg
Where’s the ricotta?
Yea, I really love mascarpone cheese, so I used that. But I mention in the post that you can also use ricotta. Feel free to use all ricotta (and strain it), or a mix of both.
Hi Lindsay – Love your recipes & have made many of them… they are amazing! Wondering if this cannoli tart recipe could be made in a 9×9 pan, then cut into squares. Thoughts? Thank you!
Awesome! Glad to hear that! I haven’t tried it that way, so I don’t know for sure. The filling is very light and not as firm as some bars, so you wouldn’t be able to stack the bars very easily or anything, but I think you could probably make it work. The filling is a similar kind of texture (not a similar flavor) to a no-bake cheesecake. It’s got that softer, light texture to it. I hope that helps!
Looking forward to trying this recipe. Question: what is the asterisk referencing (ie Filling
12 oz mascarpone cheese*)?
Thanks.
It was referencing a note at the bottom about the mascarpone cheese, but it somehow got removed. I’ve added it back. Thanks!
This was infinitely better than any cannoli I’ve ever had. It was so much easier due to not having to fry or buy shells. I will definitely be making this again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I made this Cannoli Tart for the first time yesterday. It is delicious. Do you know if I can freeze it for a party on Sunday? Thank you.
I’m glad you’re happy with it! I think freezing it should be fine.
What kind of tart pan should be used? How do you remove the tart from the pan?
I used a tart pan with a removable bottom, like this tart pan.
Can ricotta cheese be used in place of mascarpone?
I imagine it would be fine. I might just be sure to strain it well.