A pillowy, golden puffed skillet pancake loaded with creamy ricotta and chocolate.
This Cannoli Dutch Baby had me soooo tempted to add in some Marsala wine like the real cannolis do and as much as I would love to say that I restrained myself because it’s breakfast and we really shouldn’t be consuming wine with our breakfast, the truth is that it’s Dry January and that’s the only reason I didn’t do it. So if you want to come over for brunch in Feb we’ll be trying this with wine. In the name of authenticity, you understand.
We love a good puffy pancake around here and we make them all the time and by we I mean me. A dutch baby is essentially a great big popover that you douse with syrup instead of gravy and it is insanely good.
Best of all, the pancake puffs up into this pillowy, brown, crispy edged, custardy centered dish that is as impressive as it is tasty. It’s also ridiculously easy to make and whips up in the blender in all of five minutes. If you’re looking for a brunch dish for guests, this is it.
The basic version of a Dutch Baby is pretty darn good as it is, but I am who I am and I love to play with the recipe and mix things up. Ricotta is a favourite topping in our house so making a Cannolified version seemed like a pretty reasonable step.
Scroll past the recipe if you’re looking for tips, substitutions, questions, etc. and details on how to make this recipe, but if you want to get straight to it, here’s my recipe-ish…
Cannoli Dutch Baby
Ingredients
For the pancake:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3/4 cup ricotta
- 2/3 cup flour
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips divided
For the topping:
- 1 cup ricotta
- 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp cream
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 450.
- Add the butter to a 12” cast iron skillet and place it in the oven for 4-5 minutes until melted and hot.
- Add the eggs, milk, ricotta, flour, vanilla and salt to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour into the melted butter in the hot pan, sprinkle with about half of the chocolate chips and bake at 450 20-25 minutes until browned and puffed.
- While it bakes whisk together the ricotta, cream and brown sugar.
- Remove the pancake from the oven and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.
- Serve immediately with the ricotta.
Real Cannoli are stuffed with a ricotta mixture and so I added ricotta straight into the batter and whisked up some more with brown sugar and added it on top.
The puffed and browned edges are reminiscent of the crisp cannoli shell and the chocolate is optional, but just do it.
cannoli dutch baby Recipe ingredients, tips, substitutions:
Ricotta – whole milk ricotta. No need to drain it.
Milk – I use whole milk.
Vanilla – real vanilla. No substitutions. I like the little flecks of vanilla bean paste, but pure extract works just fine too.
Chocolate Chips – dark chocolate chips are what I use in this, but feel free to mix it up or even omit them.
Cannoli Dutch Baby Recipe Variations:
- Chocolate Orange Version – add 1 tsp orange zest to the blender with the rest of the ingredients and a pinch of orange zest to the ricotta topping.
- Pistachio Version – Add 3 Tbsp chopped pistachios to the top as soon as the pancake comes out of the oven.
cannoli dutch baby recipe, how to make it…
This is so easy it’s almost silly to offer extra guidance here.
All of the pancake ingredients go straight into the blender. Whiz it up until very smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.
Melt the butter in your heavy skillet in the oven until it’s super hot and bubbly. Pour the batter into the pan and bake.
Whisk together some ricotta cheese with some brown sugar.
Take the pancake out of the oven, sprinkle with more chocolate and serve with the brown sugar ricotta.
Easy. Peasy.
looking for more super delicious breakfast recipes? try these…
- Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Muffins
- Air Fried Apples
- Cottage Cheese Toast
- Cherry Chocolate Overnight Oats
- Chocolate Baked Oats with Espresso & Ricotta
Let me know what you think below!
