Cannoli
| Serves: 25 people | Recipe course: Desserts | Total time (min.): 325 | Complexity (1 to 3): 3 |
This traditional Italian pastry is made with a dough that is similar to a pasta dough, however this recipe contains wine and is enriched with a little butter and sugar. Once rested the dough is thinly rolled like pasta, circles of dough are then wrapped around metal tubes and fried in oil. Once cool the pastry can be dipped into chocolate and nuts and then filled with a sweet ricotta filling.
Begin this recipe a day in advance, or at least four hours ahead, to allow the dough to rest in the fridge. For this recipe you will need some metal Cannoli tubes, these can be purchased online - it is helpful to have at least 8 tubes if not more to make the process more efficient. We also recommend the use of a thermometer to allow you to control the oil temperature when deep frying the cannoli shells.
For the filling to be the correct consistency you will need to strain the ricotta through a cheesecloth, or a piece of muslin, to remove the excess liquid. Fill the Cannoli when you are ready to serve or serve within a few hours - otherwise the shell will get soggy. You can prepare the Cannoli shells in advance, then fill them when needed. Once cool, place the shells in an air-tight container, they will keep for up to 4 days.
Begin this recipe a day in advance, or at least four hours ahead, to allow the dough to rest in the fridge. For this recipe you will need some metal Cannoli tubes, these can be purchased online - it is helpful to have at least 8 tubes if not more to make the process more efficient. We also recommend the use of a thermometer to allow you to control the oil temperature when deep frying the cannoli shells.
For the filling to be the correct consistency you will need to strain the ricotta through a cheesecloth, or a piece of muslin, to remove the excess liquid. Fill the Cannoli when you are ready to serve or serve within a few hours - otherwise the shell will get soggy. You can prepare the Cannoli shells in advance, then fill them when needed. Once cool, place the shells in an air-tight container, they will keep for up to 4 days.
Ingredients
For the cannoli:
300g plain flour
25g caster sugar
¼ tsp salt
30g unsalted butter, room temp
120ml dry wine
2 egg yolks
Vegetable oil, as needed
200g dark chocolate, broken up
100g pistachios, finely chopped
For the filling:
500g ricotta, strained through a cheesecloth
200g mascarpone
30g candied peel, finely chopped
40g icing sugar, sieved
1 tsp vanilla extract
To finish:
Icing sugar, as needed
Method
1 - Lift the Chef Patissier XL head and fit the head shield. Fit the Dough tool to the machine and attach the Mixer bowl to the machine
2 - Add the flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl. Mix on speed 1 for 30 seconds until roughly combined.
3 - Add the butter, wine, and egg yolks. Mix on speed 1 for 4 minutes until a smooth dough has formed. If the dough is too sticky, add a little flour.
4 - Knead on speed 1 for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the dough fully comes together. Remove the dough tool from the machine. Wrap the dough and chill in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight (this step is optional).
5 - Once chilled, remove the dough from the fridge and place on a lightly floured work surface. Divide into four equal pieces.
6 - Take one piece and cover the rest. Roll out the dough into a log until roughly 2 mm thick, then use a 3.5” round cutter and cut out circles.
7 - Place each cannoli tube in the middle of dough circle and roll the tube down to the bottom edge. Then, roll it back to the top edge to shape the dough, the edges should overlap slightly in the middle.
8 - Dip your finger in egg white and lightly wet the overlapped dough to seal. To strengthen and secure the shape, roll along the worktop again, keeping the dough taught so it clings to the shape of the tube. Press it together with your finger to prevent the tube from separating when frying later.
9 - Place the wrapped tubes on the prepared baking tray. Repeat the rolling and shaping process with the remaining dough.
10 - Heat the oil in a large saucepan and place over a medium-high heat until the temperature reaches 176ºC.
11 - Fry the cannoli in batches of 3 for 2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Carefully use tongs to roll the cannoli over in the oil, then remove from the saucepan and drain the excess oil.
12 - Place on a plate or tray lined with paper towels for 30 seconds. Use paper towels to gently remove the tubes and leave to cool completely.
13 - To decorate the cannoli shells, attach the EasyWarm bowl to the machine and fit the Creaming beater. Add the dark chocolate into the and fit the splash guard.
14 - Set to temp setting 7 and mix on speed 1 for about 10 minutes until the chocolate has melted. Alternatively, use the ‘chocolate melting’ pre-set if applicable.
15 - Empty the melted chocolate into a small bowl and leave to cool slightly. Dip the end of each cannoli until coated and sprinkle with the chopped pistachios. Place the cannoli onto a wire rack until the chocolate has set.
16 - To make the filling, attach the clean Mixer bowl to the machine and fit the Whisk tool.
17 - Add the ricotta, mascarpone, candied peel, icing sugar, and vanilla extract and mix on speed 5 for 30 seconds until combined
18 - Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Mix on speed 5 for 20 seconds until combined, if the mixture is too dry, add 1-2 Tbsp of whipping cream and mix until combined.
19 - Transfer the mixture into a piping bag. Cut the end of the bag to give an opening of approx. 1.5-2 cm and fill each cannoli tube with the ricotta filling.
20 - To finish, dust with icing sugar.
Substitutions:
Dry wine can be replaced with 120 ml of Marsala wine
Vegetable oil can be replaced with sunflower oil
Dark chocolate can be replaced with 200 g of chocolate chips