Ricotta Cream

Making Ricotta Cream

For those who aren’t big fans of cream cheese fillings or frostings (I’m one of those), ricotta cream is a terrific alternative. It’s lighter and fresher tasting, especially when you make it with homemade ricotta. Yet it’s utterly delicious. Served with some sort of crisp cookie garnish, it makes a dessert all by itself. And of course it’s the classic filling for cannoli. Start by placing the ricotta in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle (you can do this by hand if you’d rather).

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This recipe is adapted from Grace Massa Langlois’ new book, Grace’s Sweet Life. If you haven’t been to her blog of the same name, I highly recommend that you visit. It’s a treasure trove of Italian and Italian-inspired bakery. Ricotta cream can be used as a filling for all sorts of things, but is most commonly seen piped into cannoli. You’ll need:

1 lb. 6 ounces (3 cups) fresh ricotta cheese, drained overnight
6 ounces (1 1/3 cups) confectioner’s sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1.75 ounces (1/3 cup) finely diced candied citron or orange peel (optional)
2.75 ounces (1/3 cup) miniature semisweet chocolate chips

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