Cannoli Ciambella Bundt Cake

If you’re looking for a delicious cake that only improves as the days go by, look no further. This recipe, from Rosella Rago’s Cooking With Nonna website, is moist and packed with flavor — and it tastes even better a day or two after it’s baked. That’s because it contains ricotta, orange peel, chocolate chips and pistachios. How’s that for a winning combination? Feel free to substitute almonds if pistachios are not your thing, but they are classic flavors in a traditional cannolo and I love them all.

I made a couple of small tweaks to Rossella’s recipe and you can choose to follow them or leave the recipe exactly as she wrote it. In her recipe she says to put the pistachios in a food processor and process until fine. I found that the pistachios will turn to a paste if you’re not careful, so I added part of the flour to the food processor while processing the nuts. This way, you can be assured they’ll grind to a powdery consistency, just like the flour. For the glaze, I added orange juice to the confectioner’s sugar instead of milk, to give it a light orange flavor. I also didn’t have any candied orange peel (a situation I hope to remedy soon), so I used orange peel shavings to decorate the top, along with some of the mini chocolate chips and chopped pistachios. This is a recipe I’m sure will become a regular in my household.

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Cannoli Ciambella Bundt Cake

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• For the Cake:
• 3/4 cup pistachios, crushed
• 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• zest of 1 orange
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups whole ricotta
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• For the glaze and toppings:
• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice or whole milk
• Candied orange peels, orange zest, mini chocolate chips and extra pistachios for decorating

Instructions

1. To make the cake:
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Spray a Bundt pan with baking spray, or butter and dust with flour.
4. Set aside.
5. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
6. Set aside.
7. If using whole pistachios, add the pistachios to the bowl of a food processor and process until fine, about 30 seconds.
8. (I added some of the flour mixture to the pistachios in the food processor. It helps avoid getting a pistachio paste and encourages a texture more like the fine texture of flour.)
9. Set aside.
10. In another mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, orange zest and vanilla extract.
11. Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
12. Beat in the ricotta until fully combined.
13. Beat in the eggs one at a time until fully combined.
14. Beat in the dry ingredients until just absorbed.
15. Do not over mix.
16. Fold in the chocolate chips and ground up pistachios.
17. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
18. Cool completely before glazing.
19. To make the glaze and decorate:
20. In a bowl, whisk together the confectioners sugar and orange juice, or milk until smooth.
21. The glaze will be thick.
22. Pour the glaze over the cake and top with candied cherries, orange slices (or orange zest) and crushed pistachios.

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