We watched people making cannoli on MasterChef tonight, and Anya wants to make some now. I am trying to sort a good recipe.
Shells:
- 7 oz all-purpose flour
- 1 oz cocoa powder
- 1 oz sugar
- 2 eggs
- ¾ oz butter
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon Marsala wine
Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, melted butter and eggs in a bowl. Then add the Marsala. The dough will start out quite sticky. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth, about 15 minutes. Form into a flattened disk and wrap in plastic wrap. and let it rest for half an hour.
Roll out the cannoli dough to about the thickness of a penny. Cut it into circles with diameter of about 2.5″ for smaller ~1/2″ diameter forms, 3.5″ diameter circles for larger ~7/8″ diameter forms. Wrap the circles around the metal tubes to shape the cannoli and seal with a little dab of egg white. Heat a pot of oil to 375 degrees F. Fry the dough, still wrapped around the tubes, for about one minute. Use a skewer to remove the form from the hot oil. Let the cannoli cool on paper towels. Once cool, slide out the metal tubes. Fill shells immediately before serving – pipe filling into center and top with chopped pistachios, hazelnuts, or chocolate.
Honey Ricotta Filling:
- 15 ounce whole milk ricotta, drained and squeezed dry
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, scraped
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks
Whip the heavy cream in the bowl of a stand mixer to stiff peaks and then set aside in the refrigerator.
Combine the ricotta cheese, honey, powdered sugar, and the scraped seeds of the vanilla bean. Fold in the whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.
Chocolate Mascarpone Filling:
- 3/4 cup whole milk ricotta, drained and squeezed dry
- 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips, plus more for decoration
Beat ricotta, mascarpone, confectioners sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt together until smooth. Fold in mini chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.