Endless Ice Cream: Cannoli Cups

Here is a marriage of two of my favorite things: cannoli and ice cream. This is a pretty easy recipe: no eggs, no straining, barely any cooking at all. Plus, these cups are adorable, and perfect for individual party desserts. You can fully assemble and garnish them up to three days ahead of time and pop them back in the freezer, in an airtight container, until it’s time to eat. No need to defrost, you can eat them right away. I really like the wonton wrapper cups, they are crispy but not crispy enough to give you Doritos mouth shank.

Cannoli Ice Cream Cups

Makes about 1 quart of ice cream / 24 ice cream cups

Ingredients

• 16 oz ricotta cheese (as fatty as you can find)
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tbs cornstarch
• 1 Tbs rum
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• orange oil, to taste (I used about 8 drops)
• 3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 24 wonton wrappers
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• Crushed shelled pistachios, powdered sugar, and cinnamon to garnish

Method

1. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool. Take 2 tablespoons of the milk and whisk it into the cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the ricotta on low until smooth (you could mix by hand or use a food processor instead). Slowly pour in the sugar/milk and beat until combined and smooth. Add the cornstarch slurry, rum and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the orange oil, drop by drop, and taste in between. Orange oil can be pretty overpowering; you are going for just a hint of orange.
3. If your mixture is still pretty cool, you can put it right into the ice cream maker and churn. If it has warmed up, cover it and put it in the fridge for an hour or so and then churn according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Add the chocolate chips during the last 2 minutes of churning. Put the ice cream in a shallow, airtight container. Freeze for at least 4 hours or up to 2 weeks.
4. For the wonton wrapper cups: Preheat your oven to 350F. Dip each wonton wrapper in the melted butter, let the excess butter run off, and press gently into a muffin tin. Bake for about 5 minutes. The tip should be browned, but not burnt. Pull the tin out, carefully cover with aluminum foil, and bake for another 2-4 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the foil, and let the cups cool on a wire cooling rack.
5. When the cups are cool, fill each one with a small scoop (2 Tbs) of the ice cream. Sprinkle with the crushed pistachios, cinnamon, and powdered sugar. Serve immediately, or place in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 4 hours.

Find all of our ice cream recipes in Endless Ice Cream