Raspberry cannoli cupcakes are a tasty treat! These homemade cupcakes are light and fluffy, filled with raspberry preserves, and topped with homemade cannoli frosting.
We are HUGE fans of cannoli cake in our house. I thought I would come up with a fun version for cupcakes that's perfect for the upcoming Spring season. These cannoli cupcakes from scratch are filled with raspberry preserves and make a fun weekend baking treat.
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🧁 Ingredient notes
- Cupcakes - My favorite go to recipe for cupcakes is from Life, Love and Sugar. I have adapted the recipe slightly to complement the flavors of the cannoli frosting. These cupcakes are light and fluffy, plus, they come out perfectly every time! You can use a boxed mix if you like, but I highly recommend trying this recipe out.
- Raspberry preserves - The filling for these cupcakes is simple. I use my favorite store bought raspberry preserves, however, if you don't like the seeds, you can get seedless jam instead.
- Cannoli Frosting - Cannoli cream is mixed with powdered sugar to make this frosting that is adapted from Snappy Gourmet's Cannoli Frosting. I recommend using whole milk ricotta cheese as opposed to part skim. Part skim ricotta tends to be watery and won't work well for this recipe. For an even thicker frosting, strain your ricotta in cheesecloth over a bowl overnight in the fridge to remove as much excess moisture as possible.
🥣 Step by step instructions
Start by whisking or sifting the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. This helps remove any lumps in the dry ingredients.
Next, mix together the butter, sugar, oil, and almond extract using a stand mixer or a hand mixer for at least 3 minutes till light and fluffy.
Mix in the eggs and then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Next, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients to thoroughly mix this fluffy batter.
Evenly divide the batter up into 12 greased or lined cupcake tins. I like using baking scoops to do this to make less of a mess and make even sized cupcakes!
Bake for 15-18 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Let them cool completely. While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the frosting by mixing all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
Then, when the cupcakes have cooled completely, remove part of the middle of the cupcake to make room for your filling. You can do this using a small spoon or alternatively, I like to use piping tips. They are the perfect size to pop in and pull out the middle of the cupcake.
Next, fill the inside of the cupcake with approximately 1 Tablespoon of the raspberry preserves.
Lastly, top the filled cupcakes with the homemade cannoli frosting and garnish with fresh raspberries and mini chocolate chips!
If you ever don't recognize a tool or skill that I mention, be sure to look it up in the Glossary of Cooking Terms and Definitions for more information.
⭐ Top tip
Make sure you let your cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting. If not they will fall apart and the frosting won't stay on the cupcakes.
📋 Variations
- Different fruit - Try different types of preserves in the filling for these cupcakes like strawberry, blueberry, or even cherry!
- Boxed mix - Not up to making cupcakes from scratch? Use a vanilla cupcake boxed to make things a bit simpler and add ¼ teaspoon almond extract to the batter.
🧁 Storage tips
- Plain unfilled and unfrosted cupcakes will keep up to 4 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Filled and frosted cupcakes will keep up to 2 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Cannoli frosting can be made ahead of time and stored up to 2 days in the airtight container in the refrigerator.
💭 Frequently asked questions
To make a thicker cannoli cream for this frosting, strain the ricotta cheese in cheesecloth over a bowl in the refrigerator overnight to remove any excess moisture. The completed frosting can also be stored in the refrigerator to help thicken it up.
Cupcakes need to be refrigerated when they are frosting contains dairy or eggs or if the cupcakes are filled with a custard. Since these cupcakes contain both ricotta and mascarpone cheese, they need to be refrigerated before serving.
For a quick overview of this recipe, check out my web story for these homemade cannoli cupcakes with raspberry!
🥣 More baking recipes
If you loved this recipe for my Raspberry Cannoli Cupcakes, check out these other baking recipes, that I know you will love too!
📖 Recipe
Raspberry Cannoli Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoon unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup whole milk
Cannoli Frosting
- 5 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Raspberry Filling & Garnish
- ¾ cup raspberry preserves
- fresh raspberries for garnish
- mini chocolate chips for garnish
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350˚ and line cupcake tins with liners or grease generously with butter or baking spray.
- In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl add butter, sugar, oil, and almond extract. Using a hand mixer, mix the ingredients together on low until they are combined. Increase speed to high and beat for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add in eggs and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to mix until everything is mixed together.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture and mix until incorporated. Add half of the milk in and mix together. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and then the remaining milk. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix until everything is incorporated.
- Divide cupcake batter into the prepared cupcake pan and bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of a cupcake.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.
Cannoli Frosting
- While the cupcakes are cooking and cooling, combine all of the ingredients for the frosting together in a medium bowl. Mix on medium speed with a hand mixer for 2 minutes until everything is well combined. Place frosting in the fridge until it's time to frost the cupcakes.
Assembly
- When the cupcakes have cooled completely, remove part of the center of the cupcake using a large piping tip or a small spoon.
- Fill the inside of the cupcakes with approximately 1 Tablespoon of the raspberry preserves.
- Using a piping bag and large open tip or a baking scoop, add frosting to the top of the filled cupcakes.
- Garnish cupcakes with a fresh raspberry and a sprinkling of mini chocolate chips.
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