How to make Sicilian Cannoli

INGREDIENTS FOR PASTRY:

• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp choc powder/cocoa
• 1 tsp table salt
• 1 tsp ground coffee
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp icing suguar
• 250g plain flour
• 30ml white vinegar
• 30ml Marsala (this can be difficult to find so you can replace it with Amaretto or Frangelico)
• 50g lard
• Peanut Oil (for frying)

INGREDIENTS FOR FILLING:

• 500g creamy ricotta cheese
• 200g white sugar
• Candied cherries, glazed oranges, glazed lemon (as much as you like)

UTENSILS:

• 2 medium sized mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Medium sized sieve
• 4 metal tubes for making cannoli recipe (you will not be able to achieve the cannoli shell shape without this!)
• Cookie cutter (9cm in diameter)
• Pastry bag (Or a zip lock bag if you don’t have one!)

STEP ONE – PREPARING THE PASTRY:

1. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, then add the salt, cocoa, coffee powder, icing sugar and cinnamon.
2. Next, add the lard.
3. Break the egg into the bowl and mix everything together really well using your hands.
4. Adding just a small amount at a time, pour in the Marsala & white wine vinegar, and mix it through. Do this gradually to make sure the dough remains soft and firm, and you might reach the consistency you need without adding all of these liquids.
5. Add a small amount of flour to your work bench an continue to knead the dough on top.
6. All of your ingredients should have come together at this point and it will feel a bit harder than bread dough.
7. Wrap it in cling film (glad wrap) and leave it in the fridge for 1 hour.

STEP TWO – PREPARING THE FILLING:

1. Dice the glazed oranges & lemon into small pieces.
2. Cut the cherries in half.
3. Strain the water out of the ricotta and put it into a mixing bowl.
4. Add 200g sugar.
5. Mix well using a whisk until the sugar starts to break down.
6. Add the glazed fruit, leaving the candied cherries aside for later.
7. Cover the ricotta mix using cling film (glad wrap) and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour.

FRYING THE CANNOLI SHELLS

1. Remove the dough from the fridge and cut a piece from the end.
2. Add some flour to the work bench, place the dough in the centre, and begin to spread it out into a circle using a rolling pin. It should be no more than 1-2mm thick.
3. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out a circle, then lift it out and wrap it around one of the metal tubes until the ends meet and join the two together using a small amount of egg white.
4. Repeat this, covering all of the metal tubes.
5. Once the oil has reached 170-180°C, drop in two shells at a time, and allowing them to cook for around 2 minutes. Keep an eye on them, they should be brown but not burnt!

VINCENZO’S TIP: If you try to fry more than two at a time, the oil will start to cool down and you won’t get a good result!

Only once the shells have completely cooled (this will take around 20 minutes), remove the metal tube and now they are ready to be filled!

HOW TO SERVE

The shells should only be filled just before you serve or they won’t stay crispy!

When it is time for dessert, fill a pastry bag with ricotta, squeezing it into the tubes, getting enough on both sides, and decorating each one off with half a cherry or lemon.

Dust a generous amount of icing sugar over the top using a sieve…

VINCENZO’S TIP: If you don’t have a pastry bag, just fill a small zip lock bag with the cream, and cut off one of the corners, leaving a hole just big enough to push the candied fruit through