Chocolate Cannolli
I love cannolli and one of the cool part about making cheese is that for almost every batch of cheese you make the whey is recooked and you can make ricotta from it. So I decided to make cannolli for one of our Super bowl snacks. Cannolli is really very easy but there are two processes - here’s how you do it.
Cannolli Cheese Filling
Ingredients:
About 1 small container of ricotta cheese
¼ to ½ cup of powdered confectionary sugar (to taste – more if you like)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional:
Chopped or shaved chocolate I use chopped Nestle’s morsels a lot
¼ teaspoon orange zest
¼ cup chopped pistachios
Anything you like, toasted coconut and almonds are good too.
Drain the ricotta for about an hour so it’s not really wet. Then mix everything together. Put it in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Do not stuff Cannolli until just before eating or they will get soggy!
Cannolli Shells
Get at least 4 to 8 Cannolli forms – these are stainless steel tubes to fry the Cannolli on. One inch Wood dowels work to but I prefer stainless much easier to clean.
Ingredients:
1-3/4 cups of flour (all purpose works)
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg slightly beaten
4 tablespoons hard butter broken up
½ cup cold water
1 egg white
Optional:
½ cup white wine instead or water
¼ teaspoon orange zest
Procedure:
Mix all dry ingredients. Make a well on the middle and add butter and egg. Stir in the dry ingredients a little at a time to moisten adding small bits of liquid as you go. The dough will beging to get sticky and form a ball Don’t play with the dough just form a ball and wrap it in plastic. Put it in the fridge until ready to roll.
Roll the dough out on a well floured counter or board to about 1/16 of an inch. If they are a bit thicker you can roll them more with the forms later but keep them thin the will puff up when fried- it’s dough after all. Cut into 3-1/5 inch circles. Use a large glass or the ring from a pint canning jar.
See picture #1
Take one of the circles and roll them with the Cannolli form to thin out and make a bit wider than deep. Roll dough around form and brush the inside edge with a bit of egg white. This will glue it together so it doesn’t open when frying. See picture below. Once rolled press the end to stick it together. Place the rolled Cannolli into a saucepan about 2 inches deep and at 350°F. Try to lay the sealed edge down. Fry for about 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown. Remove with tongs and place on a paper towel to drain. You can carefully twist the Cannolli off the form after a few minutes. Use a few paper towels it will be hot.
See picture #2
Let the Cannolli air dry and cool for at least an hour before stuffing. They may be kept for about 3 to 4 days in an airtight ziplock bag before they go stale.
Do not fill Cannolli unless you plan on eating then within an hour or so or they will get soggy.
Get you cheese filling out and give it a stir to loosed it up some. If you have a pastry bag fill it with the cheese and pipe in the filing from both ends. If you don’t have a pastry bag use a ziplock bag and just snip off a corner. Move all the filling into the corner, line it up with the hole and give it a gentle squeeze. Turn the Cannolli shell around and fill from the other side.
See picture #3
Once the Cannolli are filled place them on a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!
See picture #4
