I have some exciting news to share with everyone – I’ve recently accepted a new job in the world of potash and phosphate. While I am very excited to start my new role, I’m sad to say fair well to colleagues and friends at my current job in transportation. A good friend at work has been requesting cannolis for a while, so I knew I had to make them for her on my last day (even though I know we will stay friends, we just won’t be seeing each other every day). These were a bit scary for me to make as I’ve never eaten a cannoli in my life, so I had nothing to compare it to and it involved using oil to fry the cannoli pastries (reference: Bob’s disaster with frying pastry), but hey, sometimes you just have to jump off the cliff and hope you fly. This time it worked out in my favour and they actually were way easier to make than I thought. Let’s get to the recipe.
Cannoli with a Ricotta Cheese Filling
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour dough
- 2 tablespoons sugar dough
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder dough
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon dough
- 1/2 teaspoon salt dough
- 3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil dough
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar dough
- 1/2 cup apple juice dough
- 1 egg white for binding the dough together
- 2 cups ricotta cheese - well drained filling
- 1 tsp vanilla filling
- 2 cups icing sugar filling
- Chocolate nuts or pistachios for decoration
Instructions
- Start by sifting together your dry dough ingredients.
- Mix in the wet dough ingredients until a firm dough forms (if it's too dry, add in a bit more apple juice).
- Roll into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for two hours.
- Once the dough has had a chance to cool, cut into four parts and roll out the first part on a floured surface until it's the thickness of a dime.
- Cut out a circle that is roughly 4-5 inches long.
- Using a large pot, pour in enough vegetable oil until it's three inches deep. Bring to 375°F.
- Wrap the dough around a cannoli form, and "glue" one of the edges to the other using the beaten egg white.
- Set the cannoli form and dough into the heated oil. It will start to bubble and become a golden color. Let fry for 1-2 minutes until a nice golden color.
- Remove from the oil and set onto a cooling rack with paper towel on top.
- Remove the cannoli form after 20-30 seconds (be sure to use a towel to protect your hands as they will be HOT!)
- Let the cannoli cool before filling. Continue to make until the dough is all gone.
- For the filling, drain your ricotta, add in your vanilla and icing sugar and mix until it's well combined.
- Fill the cannoli shells using a piping bag and dip in the ends in your decoration of choice.
- Be sure to serve the cannolis as soon as they are filled. If not filling immediately, you can keep the filling up to two days in the fridge and the cannoli shells will keep up to two months in an air tight container.
After taking photographs, I was able to sample the cannolis and I was impressed! Definitely a great treat. I also liked that it wasn’t overly sweet and having the ricotta filling added a different dimension of flavours for a dessert. I’ll likely make these again and try out different kinds of fillings. Also special thanks to Chef in You for the guidance on this recipe.
What’s your favourite kind of cannoli?
Carlene
This will be how I know I’ve mastered baking… when I can make a cannoli. They are my absolute favorites!