Tender low carb vanilla cupcakes with a creamy keto cannoli frosting. Top them with a few sugar-free chocolate chips and you are in healthy dessert heaven!
If you’ve ever spent much time in the Boston area, chances are you’ve been to the famous North End. This is the Italian district and it’s like suddenly stepping out of the US and into some place in Europe. The streets are more narrow, the houses are older and closer together, there’s no parking to be had, and many people around you are speaking Italian. Italian restaurants on every corner, and two famous pastry shops right across the street from each other in an epic cannoli battle. You’re either a fan of Mike’s Pastry or a fan of Modern Pastry. You can’t be both.
It’s very possible that my first taste of cannoli was from Mike’s Pastry. They have a long glass display case to showcase their wares, and most of the space is taken up with a vast array of cannoli. So many delicious flavours, so little time! Wonderful crisp shell, deliciously creamy ricotta filling, sometimes drizzled in a bit of chocolate, dusted with powdered sugar. So good with a cappuccino!
I channeled that delicious cannoli experience for these adorable low carb cupcakes. I discovered that ricotta alone has too high a liquid content to make a proper frosting so I combined it with some cream cheese. I also found that blending the ricotta first helped me get a perfectly smooth mixture. I took these sweet little mini cupcakes to a friend’s for the Fourth of July and they were a huge hit with kids and adults alike!
Hi Carolyn,
I checked out your cannoli recipe on a Sweet Life, but was wondering… Can I use Vanilla Whey Protein Powder in lieu of the unflavored whey protein powder. I love the taste of vanilla anyhow, but would that substitution alter the recipe and make it something else? Thanks- Olga
Sure, just don’t add anymore vanilla extract.
O.M.G. First the tart, now the cupcakes. Cannoli Freakin’ Heaven. Thank you.
Hi, Is here a substitute for the whey protein powder, ie coconut flour? Thank you.
No substitute except egg white protein powder. You can skip it but your cupcakes may not rise as well.
For extra moist and spongy cupcakes I use almond milk instead of water and use egg whites instead of whole eggs. I beat the egg whites until almost to meringue and fold it into the batter last. It makes spongy moist cupcakes.
Is there a way to make the icing dairy free, my little girl can not have dairy?
A friend told me that there is a dairy-free ricotta but I have no idea what brand it is or where to get it. That’s about all I can suggest, since this recipe is based on ricotta and thus it’s integral to the flavour of the cupcakes.