Few desserts are as entwined with Italian American culture as the cannoli. This filling is a classic recipe.

This recipe comes from a baker in Verona, Italy. He made some of the best cannoli I've ever eaten. It was a tradition on our day trips to Verona to begin at the bakery and enjoy a cannoli and a cappuccino.

Ingredients

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3 cups ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup toasted almonds, chopped
• 1/2 tsp orange zest
• cannoli shells

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine all ingredients together.
2. Place the filling in a ziplock bag.
3. Chill the filling for 30 minutes.
4. Cut a corner off the bag and pipe the filling into cannoli shells.

Note: Presentation is key to great cannoli. You can simply sprinkle with powdered sugar, or dip the ends of each filled cannoli into melted chocolate then chopped nuts. Don't be afraid to be creative. Pull out the colored sugars, sprinkles, and candy confetti for a wild experience!
A common question is, "How many cannoli shells will this recipe fill?" It depends. Are you using small cannoli shells? Medium? Large? There can be no absolute answer to this question. On the average this will fill 25 medium to large shells.