Simply Delicious: A fancy holiday cake - Wicked Local

When it comes to shaking things up on holiday menus, Christmas is easier than Thanksgiving. On turkey day everyone in our family wants the classics. It makes for an easy dinner, even if it’s not terribly exciting. Our Christmas menu is pretty much the same every year with certain items like the prime rib, the giant meatball and some kind of baked pasta dish like lasagna or stuffed shells.

But no one minds if we get creative with sides and desserts, as long as their favorite cookies also get made. In our family that would be chocolate truffles for Jess, peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate for Melissa, coconut macaroons drizzled with chocolate for Julia and peanut butter blossoms for Thommy.

While some things stay the same, other traditions have gotten lost along the way, including the people we celebrate with. For years, the Kitchen Genius’s sisters and their families always joined us for Christmas. But families grew and circimstances changed.

The sister from Lowell started spending Christmas at home with her grandchildren and a sister who moved from Las Vegas to Wareham a few years ago has an elderly mother-in-law who is in a wheelchair and difficult to move. Now the two Wareham sisters and their families celebrate together up there and the Lowell sister stays in Lowell.

That leaves just us, but our crew keeps growing too, so it’s still a very festive day with 12 adults and seven children. During the years that KG’s sisters joined us Gini always brought appetizers and Cythia always brought dessert. She is an incredible baker and she and David also always stopped for cannolis at Mike’s Pastry in the North End of Boston.

The cannolis never failed to disappear quickly. They are wildly popular among our Italian (or Italian loving) crowd. When KG requested a cannoli cake for his recent birthday, it occurred to me that it would also make a wonderful dessert for Christmas day. Now that we have tasted how delicious it is, this will definitely be on our Christmas dessert menu this year.

It’s not a quick and easy recipe, but the payoff when you serve it is worth it. The filling is a classic canolli filling with ricotta, mascapone, confectioner’s sugar and a hint of cinnamon with some mini chocolate chips mixed in just for fun and texture. I topped it with mini chocolate chips and chopped pistacios because cannolis dipped in either are a favorite.

To similate the tubular shape of a cannoli, this is a jelly roll style cake, kind of like a Buche de Noel. The process of rolling up a warm cake without breaking it always stressed me out a little, but if you do it when it comes straight out of the oven it never fails to work. Then you just have to let the cake cool completely wrapped up in the towel you use to roll it.

But even if you do have a mishap, this cake is covered with a whipped cream "frosting" that will hide any cracks or mistakes.

If you know you will run short of time to make a fancy dessert on Christmas day, this cake can be made the day before and stored in the refrigerator. Your family and guests won’t be sorry you did.

Cannoli Cake

Serves 10

Cake:

5 eggs, separated

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup pure cane sugar, divided

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cake flour

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

1 tablespoon pure cane sugar

1 tablespoon water

Confectioner’s suger for dusting

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 15 by 10 inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper cut to the size of the bottom. Grease the side of the jelly roll pan.

In a small mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine the egg yolks, vanilla and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Mix on high speed for five minutes until mixture is thick and the color of butter. Scrape the mixture into a larger mixing bowl and wash the small mixing bowl and the beaters.

In the now clean bowl, combine the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt. Beat on high speed until soft peaks form. While still mixing, gradually add 1/4 cup granulated sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the egg yolks. When they are combined, sift flour into the batter 1/4 cup at a time, gently folding after each addition. Don’t skip the sifting because it will be hard to fold otherwise. The batter should be very light and fluffy.

Pour the batter into the prepared jelly roll pan and smooth top. Bake for 10 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back lightly when touched. While the cake is baking, mix together the Grand Marnier, sugar and water. Place a clean tea towel on the counter and using the sifter sprinkle the towel with confectioner’s sugar. When the cake is done, immediately invert the hot cake onto the towel. Carefully peel the parchment paper off of it. Using a pastry brush, brush the top with the Grand Marnier mixture. Starting with the 10 inch side, gently roll the cake in the towel until you have a large tube. Cool completely, about an hour.

Filling:

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese, drained if it is really wet

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

In a small mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine the ricotta, mascarpone, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. When blended, remove beaters and mix chocolate chips in with a large spoon. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Frosting:

1 cup whipping cream

3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1/4 cup chopped pistacios

In a small mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine the whipping cream and sugar. Mix on medium high speed until medium peaks form. Remove beaters and gently fold in Grand Marnier and vanilla. Reserve chocolate chips and pistacios for the top of the cake.

To assemble:

Gently unroll the cake. Spread the top of it with filling, leaving a little space around each side. Starting with the same 10 inch side you used for the first rolling, reroll the cake. Place it seam side down on a serving platter. Spread cake with frosting on all the rolled sides, but not the two ends. Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips and pistacios. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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