Sicilian Cannoli With Bittersweet Chocolate Filling Recipes

CANNOLI ALLA SICILIANA (SICILIAN CANNOLI)

Steps:

• Beat ricotta cheese and 1 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar together in a bowl until smooth. Stir in mixed peel and chocolate. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours.
• Mix flour, Marsala wine, butter, sugar, and vinegar together in a bowl to make cannoli dough. Wrap in plastic wrap; let rest for 30 minutes.
• Knead dough on a lightly floured work surface until smooth. Roll to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into twenty 4-inch squares. Wrap each square around a metal tubular mold, overlapping ends and dabbing with warm water to seal.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Lower some cannoli molds into the hot oil; cook until shells are golden and crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining cannoli molds. Cool briefly; twist molds carefully to remove shells. Let shells cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• Fill cooled cannoli shells with ricotta filling using a spoon or piping bag. Arrange cannoli on a serving platter. Garnish with pistachios; sprinkle 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar on top.

CANNOLI CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat a convection oven to 325 degrees F. Line 24 regular-size cupcake pans with liners.
• Combine the flour, orange zest, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a stand mixer, cream the sugar and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 8 minutes. Slowly add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract and orange oil to the mixer. On low speed, gradually alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mix until smooth.
• When the mixture is smooth, divide the batter evenly into the prepared cupcake liners. Bake until lightly browned and fully cooked through, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.
• For the filling: With a large wooden or metal spoon, mix the ricotta, confectioners' sugar, chocolate and orange peel in a medium bowl until combined.
• For the ganache: Place the chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. In small saucepan over medium heat, bring the heavy cream and sugar to a boil ensuring the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour the cream and sugar mixture over the chocolate and let sit 5 minutes. Gradually whisk until smooth. Cool completely.
• For the almond cream: In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the cream, sugar and almond paste until the cream is firm enough to pipe on the cupcakes but not too stiff and buttery.
• To assemble: Cut a small hole the size of an apple core in each cupcake and fill with the cannoli cream. Pipe a small amount of ganache on the entire surface of the cupcake and do the same with the almond cream. Top with toasted almonds.

SICILIAN CANNOLI WITH BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE FILLING

Steps:

• Cannoli Shells
• Sift the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon together and place in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. At a low speed, mix in the shortening, egg, marsala, and vinegar until just blended-do not overmix. The dough should be moist but not too wet (if it is too wet, mix in a bit more flour).
• Divide the dough into two equal portions, wrap in plastic, and chill in the refrigerator about 20 minutes. Take the dough portions out one at a time and roll out on a lightly floured surface until very thin. Cut into ovals approximately 3 inches by 4 1/2 inches. (I usually make a template out of cardboard or even parchment paper, but I have also done it freehand.) Place a cannoli form lengthwise on each oval and wrap the dough around the form, overlapping the long edges and pressing to seal. You may want to brush the seam with a little beaten egg white to ensure that it does not come unstuck.
• Pour 1 1/2 inches of vegetable oil into a skillet or pan deep and wide enough to hold 4 cannoli at once. Heat the oil to 350°F. Place the shells in the oil and fry, turning once, until deep golden brown, about 4 minutes. The shells should blister a little bit. Remove them from the oil, drain on paper towels, and when just cool enough to handle, remove them from the forms. Cool completely on wire racks before filling.
• Bittersweet Chocolate Filling
• Using a rubber spatula, combine the ricotta, chocolate, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and candied orange peel in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour. Scrape the mixture into a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch plain tip and pipe into the cooled cannoli shells. Dip the ends in chopped pistachios. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

CANNOLI SICILIANI: SICILIAN CANNOLI

Steps:

• To make the cannoli shells: In large bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and cut in the margarine until evenly blended. Then gradually work in the wine and water to form a compact dough. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for an hour. On a lightly-floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out 5-inch-wide circles and cover. Re-roll the scrap dough to form more circles. In a deep-fat fryer or heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Wrap each circle onto a mold, sealing the two edges that overlap with a dab of water and by pressing together. Carefully immerse a few shells at a time, into the hot oil and fry until golden and crisp. Drain the shells on paper towels, let cool and remove the molds from the cannoli.
• To make the filling: In a bowl, whip up the ricotta and sugar until creamy. Add the grated chocolate. Mix thoroughly. Using a piping bag, pipe the filling into each shell, starting at the middle and working out towards each end. Garnish the ends of each cannoli with sliced candied fruit and then dust the cannoli with icing sugar.

TRADITIONAL SICILIAN CANNOLI

Steps:

• SHELLS: In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.
• Add butter and marsala.
• Knead dough on lightly floured surface until well mixed.
• Wrap dough in Saran wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
• Roll out dough very thin.
• Cut dough into rounds using a 4 inch cookie cutter.
• Roll each round again until very thin.
• Roll each round around a cannoli tube, tightly, and seal with egg white.
• Fry in hot oil, turning, until golden.
• Drain on paper towels and let cool.
• Gently twist cannoli tube to remove shell.
• Cool COMPLETELY.
• FILLING: Mix together (by hand with wooden spoon) ALL filling ingredients.
• Keep covered in the refrigerator until your shells are cooled and ready to fill.
• Fill pastry bag with filling.
• Use a plain or open star tip.
• Insert tip to center of shell and fill to one end and then repeat this step on the other end.
• Dust with confectioners' sugar.