Skim by Section
★ Why You'll Love this Recipe ★
If you love cannolis but aren't quite sure you want to get into advanced pastry-making then you will love this cannoli bundt cake recipe!
This cake is super easy to make, using cake mix as a starting point. One of my favorite cooking hacks is doctoring cake mixes.
Cake mix: it's okay to use it!
You'd be surprised to hear how many professional chefs also start with a cake mix. It's not a sin, I swear! It's a time-saver and you can get amazing flavor from a cake mix.
This pretty and yummy cake is topped of with a dusting of powdered sugar and more mini chocolate chips.
An Easy Dessert for Special Occasions
Celebrating a birthday, holiday or anniversary? This is an impressive dessert that tastes so good and is really easy to make. An all-around win.
Make a Meal
Try this delicious cannoli bundt cake as dessert with Chicken Marsala, a Panzanella Salad and a Smoked Rosemary Blackberry Whiskey Sour.
Italian Cannoli Cookies
If you can't get enough of that rich cannoli flavor, you'll want to also try my chocolate chip cannoli cookies. Easy to make, soft and fluffy chocolate chip cookies made with ricotta cheese.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
All the cannoli flavor you love...
... baked into a cake!
To pull this off, you just need some basic cake-making ingredients plus a few traditional Italian dessert ingredients.
We'll start with vanilla cake mix and add ricotta cheese, milk, and chocolate chips.
The ricotta cheese adds flavor as well as moisture. So you end up with a dense and delicious cake.
Next comes the frosting.
This is sort of a buttercream frosting with ricotta cheese and vanilla added in creating that traditional cannoli flavor you know and love.
★ How to Make this Recipe ★
This cannoli bundt cake is especially designed to be an easy-to-make, yet impressive dessert.
The full recipe is detailed as well as a how-to video can be found below.
To give you a quick idea of the steps, here's an overview of what's involved:
- Wrap ricotta in cheesecloth.
- Squeeze ricotta to remove liquid.
- Mix together cake mix, chocolate chips, eggs, milk, oil and ricotta to form batter.
- Pour batter into greased bundt pan.
- Bake then let cool.
- Turn cooled cake onto a cake plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
- Mix together frosting ingredients.
- Top bundt cake with frosting
- Add mini chocolate chips, slice and serve!
★ Tips ★
There are a few tips and tricks to nailing this cake on the first try so be sure to follow the directions and check out the notes for a few extra tips.
Here's how to get your bundt cake out of the pan.
Without falling apart, breaking in half or cracking.
Yes, there is a secret to getting your cooked bundt cake to drop smoothly out of the bundt pan.
You need to use baking spray to grease your bundt pan.
I use Baker's Joy which is made of flour and oil. The combination is like magic and the cake slides right out of the pan when you use a generous amount.
Do not use French Vanilla Cake mix.
Standard "Vanilla" cake mix or white cake mix tastes best. I find the "French vanilla" flavor to be off-putting. It taste like imitation vanilla extract. Not good! So be sure to check the box of cake mix before you buy.
The cannoli frosting doubles as a dip!
This is a two-for-one recipe in that you can actually serve the frosting as a dip! So, if you're looking for a fun, sharable dessert or party snack then make just the frosting (you can double it if feeding a crowd) and serve it with a sweet cookie. I like to use vanilla wafers or waffle ice cream cones broken into a pieces and dusted with powdered sugar.
You can also use yellow cake mix but keep in mind, the color will change.
★ FAQs ★
Cake mixes vary slightly in size. The exact size really doesn't matter much as long as it is close to 13.25 to 14.25oz.
Bake time may vary slightly, but just be sure to test your cake for doneness and pull it as soon as it's set and you'll be good to go.
For this recipe, you will want a large bundt pan for this recipe. I recommend a 12-cup size or larger.
If using a smaller bundt pan, you can cut the recipe down as needed.
Keep in mind, the batter will expand when baked so you want to make sure the bundt pan is not filled up more than ¾ full or you could eventually have a mess on your hands.
Need a large bundt pan? Shop bundt pans on Amazon
Since cannoli cake is made with ricotta and cream cheese, you will want to store this cake in the fridge. Bring out the cake about 20-30 minutes before serving to let it get to room temperature.
★ More Bundt Cake Recipes ★
Want more easy dessert ideas?
Browse all my dessert recipes and be sure to Pin your favorites for later!
This cannoli bundt cake recipe was featured on South Your Mouth!
Cannoli Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box vanilla cake mix 13.25oz to 14.25oz
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup ricotta cheese, squeezed to remove liquid
Cannoli Frosting
- ½ cup ricotta cheese, squeezed to remove liquid
- 4 oz cream cheese
- ¼ cup softened butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- A few shakes salt, to taste
Toppings
- 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
Easy-Order Groceries
- Add All Ingredients to Your Walmart Cart Adds everything with one click! You can edit items before you check out.
Mighty Mrs. is a #WalmartPartner.
Instructions
- Mix cake batter. In a large bowl, combine cake mix with chocolate chips. Toss to coat chocolate chips. Next add eggs, milk, oil and ricotta cheese. Beat with a hand mixer until completely blended.
- Prepare bundt pan. Generously coat bundt pan with baking spray (flour and oil) then pour cake batter into bundt pan.
- Bake. Bake at 350˚for 30-35 minutes. Cook time varies by pan. When the top of the cake starts to firm up, insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake and when it comes out completely clean, remove the cake from oven.
- Let cake cool. Let cake cool completely. To speed up cooling, you can put the cake in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Make frosting. While cake is cooling, prepare the frosting by blending together ricotta cheese, cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt with a mixer.
- Remove cake from pan. Next, take the cool cake and place your cake plate on top of the bundt pan, face down. Gently flip the cake over onto the plate.
- Top with powdered sugar, frosting and chocolate chips. Shake powdered sugar onto the cake then scrap frosting evenly over top letting it spread slightly over the side.Finally, top with chocolate chips. Slice and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Use Baker's Joy to coat your bundt pan. This is different than cooking spray. It contains both flour and oil and is the secret to getting your bundt cake out of the pan.
- Tossing the chocolate chips in the cake mix first will help them to "float" within the batter and prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the cake when baked.
- Be sure to squeeze extra liquid from ricotta cheese to prevent cake from becoming too moist and frosting from becoming too runny. You can use cheesecloth or just use clean hands. Squeeze then measure.
- Make sure you let the cake cool completely before adding the powdered sugar and frosting.
- This cake must be refrigerated due to the cream cheese frosting.
Kathy says
Best way to keep cake fresh in frig? I have it under a cake tin.
Angela G. says
Yes, store it in the fridge loosely covered so that there is some airflow to prevent condensation or drying out. A cake tin that is perforated in some way would be great.
Kathy says
Oops, I just scrolled down and saw the answer to my question.
Kathy says
Can this Cake be frozen?
Kathy says
Is vanilla cake same as white cake? I don't believe I've seen vanilla cake mix before.
Angela G. says
You can use vanilla, yellow or white cake mix. I just prefer vanilla if you can find it.
Erin says
Hi Angie, can I make the cake the night before and then frost it before serving? Thank you!
Angela G. says
Hi Erin, yes you sure can!
Patty says
What cup size bundt pan is used for this recipe? I usually make a 6 cup bundt cake but also make a 3 cup and minis as well. It helps to know what amount the recipe makes for using other size pans.
Angela G. says
Hi Patty, This recipe is best made using a 12-cup bundt pan. If using a smaller ones, as long as they add up to 12, you should be good! Just make sure the bundt pan is no more than 3/4 full of batter before putting it in the oven.
Kristin says
This cake is Awesome. Made it twice in past week.
Angela G. says
Hi Kristin, so glad you are enjoying it!
Kay Ware says
I'm going to make this cake soon. Does it need to be refrigerated when completed and frosted?
Angela G. says
Hi Kay, this cake tastes best when served the same day. However, if you would like, you can refrigerate it, loosely covered so that moisture is not trapped inside the container. I recommend a Bundt cake container with loose fitting or vented lid. Or a box large enough to hold the cake. You’ll also want to let the cake cool to room temperature before putting it into a container to prevent moisture from being trapped inside. Thanks for asking!
Kay Ware says
@Angela G., Im concerned with the Ricotta if leaving it in a cake cover on the counter. I usually do not like refrigerated cakes.
Angela G. says
Right. It should be refrigerated so that the ricotta doesn’t spoil. If you let it get to room temperature before you eat it, it should still taste great.
Latrece says
Will the cake freeze
Angela G. says
Yes. You can cover it in plastic wrap and freeze. Remove the plastic before letting it thaw to room temperature before serving.
millie martino says
Hi instead of a store cake mix can I make my own do you have the ingredients to home made cake mix
Angela G. says
Hi Millie, I have not made my own cake mix for this recipe but I found a recipe you can use here: https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/dry-cake-mix/
Connie D. says
I love this recipe.
Angela G. says
Hi Connie, So glad you love it! 🙂
Linda says
Delicious and easy to make
RD says
Butter is listed in the frosting ingredients but not on the directions for preparing the frosting. Is it correct to put it in the frosting?
Angela G. says
Hi RD, Yes, butter should be added in with the frosting ingredients. Thanks for asking!
Sherry Beckey says
What method do you use to remove water from the ricotta cheese? Do you use cheese cloth?
Angela G. says
Hi Sherry, Great question. Yes, the best way would be to use cheesecloth. You can also just use clean hand and squeeze the ricotta before you put it in your measuring cup if you don't have cheesecloth.
Dorothy Sellers says
Cream cheese not on list of ingredients, but is mentioned to add the cream cheese to the ricotta cheese.
Angela G. says
Thanks, Dorthy! There should be 4oz of cream cheese in the frosting.