My Italian Cannoli Pound Cake topped with a creamy white chocolate ganache, is the perfect dessert for the winter season. But I love the rich, tender crumb of this moist pound cake all year long. Loaded with chocolate chips with a delightful cinnamon flavor, this cake is sure to be a hit with your whole family.
Mama Jeanette’s delicious cake has long been a holiday tradition in our home, but it seems to be showing up more and more throughout the year.
It’s an old family recipe that I’ve been trusted with and one I wanted to share with my extended family of friends and followers across the internet.
Ingredients for Cannoli Pound Cake
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make my Cannoli Pound Cake. In Chef Speak, this is called the “Mise en Place,” which translates to “Everything in its Place.”
Not only does setting up your ingredients ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Made with simple ingredients
- ricotta cheese
- all-purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- large eggs
- vegetable oil
- vanilla extract
- chocolate chips
- cinnamon chips
- orange zest
- lime zest
- baking powder
- cinnamon
- salt
Where Can I find Cinnamon Baking Chips?
Hershey’s makes the cinnamon baking chips that I use when I make this pound cake, but you can use any brand that you like. If you can’t find them at your local grocery store or Walmart, you can find them on Amazon.
If you can’t find the cinnamon chips, you can leave them out of the cake. Although they do give the cannoli pound cake an added layer of flavor, it’s not a deal breaker if you have to leave them out.
How to make Cannoli Pound Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F and place the oven rack in the center of the oven.
- Prep a Standard loaf pan, coating it with butter and sugar, or use pan spray to coat the pan.
- Add the all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon to a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk the dry ingredients to combine.
- Add the sugar, orange zest, and lime zest to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or electric mixer and a large bowl).
- With the mixer on low, mix the zest into the sugar allowing the oils from the zest to blend into the sugar. Mix for about two minutes, then set aside until needed.
- Add the vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and room-temperature eggs to a large bowl.
- Mix until well combined.
- Add the ricotta cheese to the wet ingredients.
- Whisk until well blended.
- Add the granulated sugar to the mixture.
- Mix to blend into the wet ingredients.
You want a mild-tasting oil for this cake, you can use olive oil if you like, but it will change the flavor.
- Add the dry ingredients to the ricotta mixture.
- Mix just enough until blended.
- Add the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and cinnamon chips to the cake batter.
- Mix just enough to incorporate the chips. Don’t overmix!
- Pour the cake batter into a prepared loaf pan and place the pan on the center rack of your preheated oven and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack in the baking pan for 15 minutes, then turn the cake out of the pan and onto the rack to finish cooling.
- Place the white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. In a separate, microwave-safe container, microwave the heavy cream for 20-30 seconds.
- Pour the cream over the white chocolate, making sure that most of the white chocolate is covered. Let stand for 5 minutes. Then, stir in a gentle, circular motion until the white chocolate has melted completely and the mixture is smooth.
*If necessary, the mixture can be microwaved for a few seconds more.
Pour the white chocolate ganache over the cooled cannoli pound cake and allow it to set for a few minutes until it starts to firm up.
This cake comes together pretty quickly and has such a delicious blend of flavors your house will smell amazing as it bakes in your oven. This old family recipe is one of my favorite Italian desserts.
After one bite of this delicious cake, I know you’ll agree that this is the best Cannoli Pound Cake you’ve ever tasted!
I can thank Mama Jeanette for teaching me how to make her famous Italian Pound Cake. It may not be the easiest pound cake recipe, but trust me when I tell you, this cake is definitely worth the effort.
This is my favorite loaf pan and the chips I use for baking my cannoli pound cake.
Feel free to use the chocolate chips of your choice to make this cake.
More Cakes You’ll Love!
Very Best Italian Cannoli Pound Cake
Equipment
- standard loaf pan 8-½ x 4-½ x 2-½ inches.
Ingredients
- butter and sugar to coat loaf pan (flour and butter or pan spray can be substituted)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- ½ cup cinnamon chips Hershey's Brand – available at Walmart, Blairs Candy, and Hershey's
White Chocolate Ganache
- 1 cup white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and place the oven rack in the center of the oven.
- Prep a Standard loaf pan, coating it with butter and sugar, or use pan spray to coat the pan.
- Add the all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon to a large mixing bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients to combine and set aside until needed.
- Add the sugar, orange zest, and lime zest to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or electric mixer and a large bowl). With the mixer on low, mix the zest into the sugar allowing the oils from the zest to blend into the sugar. Mix for about two minutes, then set aside until needed.
- Add the vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and room-temperature eggs to a large bowl. Mix until well combined.
- Add the ricotta cheese to the wet ingredients. Whisk until well blended.
- Add the sugar mixture to the mixture. Mix to blend into the wet ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the ricotta mixture. Mix just enough until blended.
- Add the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and cinnamon chips to the cake batter. Mix just enough to incorporate the chips. Don’t overmix!
- Pour the cake batter into a prepared loaf pan and place the pan on the center rack of your preheated oven and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow cake to cool on wire rack in pan for 15 minutes, then turn the cake out of the pan and onto the rack to finish cooling.
White Chocolate Ganache
- Place the white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl.
- In a separate, microwave-safe container, microwave the heavy cream for 20-30 seconds.
- Pour the cream over the white chocolate, making sure that most of the white chocolate is covered. Let stand for 5 minutes. Then, stir in a gentle, circular motion until the white chocolate has melted completely and the mixture is smooth.*If necessary, the mixture can be microwaved for a few seconds more.
Assembly
- Pour white chocolate ganache over the cooled pound cake.
Lynne
Are the 1/2 cup whit chocolate chips to go into the cake? Step 6 doesn’t list the white chocolate chips only chocolate and cinnamon chips
Add in chocolate chips and cinnamon chips, only mix enough to combine the ingredients
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Lynn
I meant all chocolate chips for the first part so that includes the white chocolate for the cake. The white chocolate for the glaze is in the next part of the recipe.
Roshael
Help… I am so excited about making this pound cake BUT do not know where I can purchase cinnamon chips. Is it possible to make these myself? Kindly let me know how I may acquire these please. Thanks so much Chef Dennis!
Chef Dennis Littley
I bought them at my local grocery store. It’s an item you’ve probably never realized they had. If they don’t have it you can just leave them out or substitute them with other chocolate chips
Brandi
To make the ganache, is the white chocolate not microwaved before the heavy cream is poured onto it? Instructions say to put the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, but does not say to microwave the white chocolate?
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Brandi
its in the directions:
White Chocolate Ganache
1. Place the white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl.
2. In a separate, microwave-safe container, microwave the heavy cream for 20-30 seconds.
3. Pour the cream over the white chocolate, making sure that most of the white chocolate is covered. Let stand for 5 minutes. Then, stir in a gentle, circular motion until the white chocolate has melted completely and the mixture is smooth
4. If necessary the mixture can be microwaved for a few seconds more.
Nancy Nanni
Love it..love it. So simple, but simply delicious!!
Just shared your recipe with neighbots who asked for it after just one slice.
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m very happy to hear you enjoyed my cake recipe, it’s one of my favorites! Thanks for sharing it with your neighbors.
Heather
You had me at Cannoli. I have never heard of Cannoli pound cake so this is definitely getting pinned!
Agnes
Everything looks so delicious! I would love to have a coffee with that a slice of the cake.
Karen Morse
A classic favorite that my husband and I enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea! Definitely worth trying too especially this season. It would also be a nice gift for family and friends!
Kita Bryant
Wow that looks so delicious! I would really love to get my hands on a slice of this!
Anna Nuttall
Yum, I never can turn down a delish pound cake. Very nice recipe and you know I will be making this soon. xx
Lynndee
That pound cake absolutely looks incredible. I bet it’s as delicious as it looks. Wish I have even just a slice right about now. 🙂
1stopmom
My family loves a good pound cake. This one looks delicious and would be a nice change from just a regular pound cake.
Pam Wattenbarger
That looks so good. We usually have a caramel pie for Thanksgiving, but I can see us making an exception and having this Thursday!
Brandy
I love a good pound cake, this Italian Cannoli pound cake looks like something I’d love to bite into as a special treat any day but for sure thinking about using this recipe on Thanksgiving now for the fam.
Robin rue
This is the beat thing I’ve seen all day. It sounds phenomenal and I can’t wait to make it 😃
Marcie W.
Wow, talk about delicious! I adore a good cannoli, especially the ones I had in Italy, so this is my kind of dessert.