How to Make A Cannoli for Dessert

The term "cannoli" is plural while the term "canolo" is singular.

If you want a dessert that will impress your friends and family, cannoli will do the trick. A cannolo is a Sicilian pastry with a crispy outer shell and a filling such as cream or chocolate. In Italian, the term cannoli means "little tubes." These dessert can be very time consuming but are worth the wait. The shells and filling can be made ahead of time, so when you're ready to serve it only takes a minute.

Things You'll Need

• Large mixing bowl
• Electric mixer
• Metal pastry tube
• Spatula
• Pasta maker
• Sauce pan
• Pastry brush
• Flour sifter
• Metal kitchen thermometer
• Cooling rack
• Paper towels
• Piping bag
• #10 metal tip
• 4 to 5 inch round plastic container
• Fork
• 3 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons shorting
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yoke
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 egg white
• 1 quart vegetable oil
• 2 pounds ricotta cheese, drained
• 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg or cinnamon
• 2 ounces mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Making the Shell

1. Mix together the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Cut the shorting into button-sized pieces and add to the flour mixture. Make a dent in the center of the flour. Pour the egg, egg yoke, vinegar, Marsala wine and water into the dent.

2. Mix the dough with a fork until it becomes stiff. Apply flour to your hands to keep the dough from sticking. Kneed the dough until smooth. Cover the dough in the bowl with a towel. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for one to two hours.

3. Divide the dough into four pieces. Roll out each section of the dough on a floured surface. Set the pasta machine to a thin setting. Run the dough through the pasta machine until it is thin. Repeat for each section of dough.

4. Pour the oil into a large sauce pan. Turn the stove on medium high to start heating the oil. Lay the dough flat. Place the plastic container onto the dough. Press firmly on the top of the container to use as a cookie cutter. Repeat for each section of dough. Combine all of the excess dough together and run through the pasta maker again. Repeat the same step.

5. Rub a small amount of vegetable oil over each of the pastry tubes. Wrap the dough around the tube. Make sure that one end of the dough overlaps the other. Brush the dough with egg whites to seal the edges. Set cooling racks with three layers of paper towels underneath.

6. Poke the thermometer into the oil to make sure it is between 350 and 375 F. Adjust as needed. Using metal tongs, lower the tube with the dough into the oil. Leave the tube in for two to three minutes. Repeat for each shell.

7. Place the shells on top of the cooling rack. Remove shells from tubes when they are cool.

Making the Filling

1. Drain the ricotta cheese. Place the ricotta cheese into a mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer beat until smooth.

2. Blend in the confectioners' sugar until it is well mixed. blend in the vanilla and the nutmeg or cinnamon. Fold in the chocolate chips using a spatula.

3. Attach a No. 10 round tip to a piping bag. Fill the bag with the cream. Twist the top of the piping bag so you have pressure for filling.

4. Hold the shell in one hand gently. Place the tip of the piping bag into one side of the shell. Squeeze the bag. Fill the shell until you reach its outer edge. Repeat for the other side.

5. Place all of the filled cannoli on the drying rack. Fill the flour sifter with 1/3 cup of confectioner's sugar. Sift over the cannoli. Serve when finished.

Tips & Warnings

• Make the shells and filling ahead of time. The filling can be kept in the fridge for 24 hours and the shells keep for a week if they are in an airtight container.

• Fill the shells when you are about to serve them so they do not become soggy.

• If you do not have a piping bag, use a plastic bag with the tip cut off.

• Instead of using chocolate chips, use orange zest or chopped nuts.

• Use caution when deep frying the shells. The grease can splatter.

References

• The Pastry Samples; All About Cannolis; Renee Shelton
• Recipe Girl: How to Make Homemade Cannoli

Resources

• Sicilian Cooking: Sicilian Desserts