Giada De Laurentiis' Cannoli Cheesecake Combines 3 Classic Italian Ingredients

If you're looking for a super-Italian dessert to round out an Italian-themed date night or other dinner at home, and you're not quite ready to try your hand at cannoli just yet, you may want to give Giada De Laurentiis' cannoli cheesecake a try. According to the chef's lifestyle site Giadzy, it combines the flavors of three classic Italian ingredients — mascarpone cheese, biscotti, and Italian cherries in syrup — to create a decadent dessert that you'll want to eat and eat...and eat some more.

There's no actual cannoli filling or pastry involved, but the end flavors are just as delicious as those of any fresh cannoli that you might pick up at your favorite local Italian bakery. The best part? While this recipe does require a lengthy amount of time (nearly seven hours total), it's still relatively simple to follow and you likely have many of the ingredients already in your pantry — and if you don't, they'll have them at your preferred big box grocery store.

Giadzy explains that to make the cake, you'll need the aforementioned biscotti, mascarpone cheese, and Italian cherries in syrup, as well as some butter, salt, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, lemon, eggs, and mini chocolate chips. Simple, right? You will need a springform pan, but if you don't have one already, this is a great, affordable investment to make if you want to start baking more at home, as it's necessary for most cheesecake and many tart recipes.

After cooking the biscotti crust and beating the cheesecake ingredients and adding them to the crust, you can throw the cheesecake into the oven to bake, before allowing it to cool at room temperature for an hour and then in the fridge for at least an additional four hours (via Giadzy). As we mentioned, this recipe takes a lot of time, but it's not a difficult one; most of that time is spent simply waiting.

When your cheesecake is ready, top it with a spoonful of the Italian cherries and a dollop of whipped cream for a sweet taste of Italy that has never been simpler.