Strawberry Tart with Cannoli Filling

Just last week, my hubby and I had a nice little meal at Maggiano's following a movie. The movie was ok, we had more than a few laughs. The meal was just right. We both had a salad and shared a dessert they recommended for us. It was a strawberry pie. It had a crispy pie shell filled with slightly sweet cream that tasted like cannoli filling, and topped with macerated strawberries. It was so good, I had to deconstruct it in my head and make it on my own.

Draining ricotta cheese using a can of beans 

Mix it well with sugar till smooth 

Cannoli filling... good enough to eat by itself

Strawberry Tart With Cannoli Filling

Store bought pie shells, I used small individual-size shells
2 cups strawberries sliced
2 lb ricotta cheese
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar for filling
1/2 cup granulated sugar for filling
2 Tbsp granulated sugar for strawberries
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
Pinch of cinnamon
Dash of Cointreau
Sprig of mint for garnish

Convenient ready-to-bake shells

Bake your pie shells ahead of time. Slice strawberries and combine with 2 Tbsp of sugar and a dash of Cointreau. Set aside in the fridge until ready to serve the dessert. Drain ricotta cheese in a fine mesh strainer. I used a clean plate on top of the cheese and a can of beans to weigh it down. Using food processor, mix ricotta cheese, sugar, vanilla and almond extracts and cinnamon until the mixture is smooth and creamy, for about two minutes. Just before serving, scoop cannoli filling into the pie shells and top them generously with macerated strawberries. Garnish with a mint leaf.

Layers of cannoli filling and strawberries

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