Chocolate Cannoli Dessert

Serves 8, Prep and Cook: 45 mins

200g packet lattice biscuits

½ cup milk

700g fresh ricotta

600ml thickened cream

3 tsps vanilla extract

½ cup icing sugar mixture

CHOCOLATE CUSTARD

200g block dark cooking chocolate

½ cup custard powder

1 litre (4 cups) milk

¹⁄³ cup caster sugar

1 To make custard, use a vegetable peeler to shave

1 tblsp off the long, thin side of the chocolate into a bowl. Reserve for decoration. Finely chop remaining chocolate.

2 Whisk custard powder with ½ cup of the milk in a large saucepan until smooth. Gradually whisk in remaining milk and sugar until combined. Whisk over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until custard comes to the boil. Reduce heat to low.

3 Whisk for about 2 minutes or until custard is thickened.

Remove. Whisk in chopped chocolate until melted. Set aside while preparing biscuits and ricotta.

4 You will need 15 biscuits, reserve remaining for another use.

5 Working with one biscuit at time, dip in milk for 3 seconds. Trimming to fit, arrange glazedside down, over base of a 22cm x 33cm x 6cm deep, ovenproof dish (12-cup capacity). Reserve milk.

6 Crumble ricotta into a large bowl. Add reserved milk, ½ cup of the cream (refrigerate remaining cream), vanilla and sugar. Whisk until well combined. Spread over biscuits in dish.

7 Whisk custard until smooth. Spread over ricotta layer. Cover dish with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

8 To serve, beat remaining cream with a hand-held electric mixer until soft peaks form. Fill a piping bag fitted with an 11mm star nozzle. Pipe cream over custard. Sprinkle with reserved chocolate.