Mascarpone Cannoli Cheesecake

As we occasionally do, we celebrated Kevin, Matteo, and Declan's birthdays all at once this year. Mom had Kevin's cake covered: a family friend volunteered to make him a Minions cake. For Matteo and Declan, I asked their moms for ideas. Cheesecake for Matteo, chocolate for Declan. Since our family is mainly Italian, I decided to make a cannoli cheesecake that I saw on one of Giada De Laurentiis's TV shows last fall (the decision may or may not have also been guided by the fact that Matteo will be spending some time in Italy this summer).