Felidias Stacked Cannoli Recipes

CANNOLI

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Cut in the shortening until it is in pieces no larger than peas. Make a well in the center, and pour in the egg, egg yolk, Marsala wine, vinegar and water. Mix with a fork until the dough becomes stiff, then finish it by hand, kneading on a clean surface. Add a bit more water if needed to incorporate all of the dry ingredients. Knead for about 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
• Divide the cannoli dough into thirds, and flatten each one just enough to get through the pasta machine. Roll the dough through successively thinner settings until you have reached the thinnest setting. Dust lightly with flour if necessary. Place the sheet of dough on a lightly floured surface. Using a form or large glass or bowl, cut out 4 to 5 inch circles. Dust the circles with a light coating of flour. This will help you later in removing the shells from the tubes. Roll dough around cannoli tubes, sealing the edge with a bit of egg white.
• Heat the oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) in a deep-fryer or deep heavy skillet. Fry shells on the tubes a few at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden. Use tongs to turn as needed. Carefully remove using the tongs, and place on a cooling rack set over paper towels. Cool just long enough that you can handle the tubes, then carefully twist the tube to remove the shell. Using a tea towel may help you get a better grip. Wash or wipe off the tubes, and use them for more shells. Cooled shells can be placed in an airtight container and kept for up to 2 months. You should only fill them immediately or up to 1 hours before serving.
• To make the filling, stir together the ricotta cheese and confectioners' sugar using a spoon. Fold in lemon zest and chocolate. Use a pastry bag to pipe into shells, filling from the center to one end, then doing the same from the other side. Dust with additional confectioners' sugar and grated chocolate for garnish when serving.

FELIDIA'S STACKED CANNOLI

Steps:

• Spoon the ricotta into a large, fine-mesh sieve or a colander lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth or basket-type coffee filter. Set the sieve over a bowl and cover the ricotta well with plastic wrap. Drain the ricotta in the refrigerator at least overnight, or up to 24 hours. Discard the liquid in the bottom of the bowl.
• Pour the flour, granulated sugar, and salt into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the oil, vinegar, and 1/3 cup wine. Process the dough, adding more red wine a few drops at a time if necessary, until you have a smooth, supple dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate from 2 hours to overnight.
• Beat the drained ricotta and 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar in a mixing bowl with a handheld electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Fold in the chocolate, orange rind, and pistachios. Store in the refrigerator until needed.
• Roll half the dough out 1/16 inch thick (about the thickness of a dime) on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 3-inch rounds, setting them on a lightly floured kitchen towel as you do. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Gather the scraps together and reroll them, cutting as many rounds as possible. You should have at least eighteen rounds. Let the dough rest at least 15 minutes before continuing, or the finished pastry layers will be tough.
• Pour enough of the vegetable oil into a large, heavy skillet to fill about 1/2 inch. Heat over medium heat until the oil appears rippling and an edge of one of the dough rounds gives off a slow sizzle when dipped in the oil. Carefully slide as many of the rounds into the oil as will fit without touching. Fry, turning once, until both sides are golden brown, about 2 minutes. The dough circles will bubble and take on an irregular shape as they fry; make sure the oil is deep enough to cook and brown all the surfaces of the dough as they fry. Adjust the heat during cooking to maintain a lively sizzle and to give the dough a chance to cook through to the center. Don't allow the oil to get too hot: the dough colors quickly and can burn before the center is sufficiently cooked. Transfer the cooked pastry rounds to paper towels to drain, and fry the remaining rounds, adding more oil to the pan and waiting for the oil to reheat as necessary. Cool the circles completely before continuing.
• Place a circle of the fried dough in the center of a serving plate and top with a rounded 2 tablespoons of the ricotta filling. Repeat with another dough circle and more filling, and top with a dough circle. Make five more stacked cannoli in the same way. Drizzle honey over each and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Sprinkle some of the chopped toasted pistachios around the cannoli.
• To prepare classic, tube-shaped cannoli, you will need metal cannoli tubes about 1 inch in diameter, available in specialty cookware shops. Prepare the filling as described above. (The above amount will fill about eight traditional cannoli.) Prepare and roll out the dough as described above, and beat an additional egg with a few drops of water until foamy.
• Wrap one of the dough circles around a cannoli tube; you will see that the edges overlap. Lift the top edge and dab the lower edge with a few drops of the beaten egg. Press the two edges together to seal them tightly. Let the dough tubes stand a minute or two so the egg will dry. Repeat with the remaining dough and tubes. If you don't have enough cannoli tubes to accommodate all the dough circles, work in batches.
• Pour enough vegetable oil into a deep, heavy braising pan to fill 3 inches. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer registers 350° F. Carefully slide a few of the shells and tubes into the hot oil. Fry, turning as necessary, until the shells are golden brown and blistered evenly on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove them carefully with a wire skimmer or slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels. As soon as the tubes are cool enough to handle, slide the shells off the tubes. Cool completely before filling. Fill the cannoli shells with a teaspoon just before serving, or they will become soggy. However, the fried shells can be stored at room temperature for several hours before filling.