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Cannoli

asprea — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:22:26 +0000

Last month I finally got the courage to join The Daring Kitchen. The main reason why I hadn’t joined before was simple…I was scared of the commitment…kind of like a relationship. Well I’m glad I did, my first challenge was a dessert dear and close to my native land, Cannoli.
The irony is that I actually bought the Cannoli forms a few months back and they just sat in my cupboard unopened. So if this challenge had not come along they may have very well sat there much longer.

The challenge for November was brought to us by Lisa Michele from, Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. The recipe was a combination from various cookbooks; Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.
I followed the dough recipe as was written. We had the option of using white wine, Marsala or grape juice….trying to keep the recipe as authentic as possible I went with the Marsala. The dough itself was very simple to make. I made it the day before and let it sit in the fridge overnight. At first I was a bit put off by the amount of Marsala in the dough, but once fried it turned out just fine.

The dough was simple to work with; I used a pasta machine to roll out the dough…it cut down on the elbow grease and the time significantly.
For the filling I went with a Ricotta sweetened with sugar and flavored with vanilla. I also made Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Crème Patisserie, which by the way is out of this world! Again to save some time I made the fillings the day before.
Ok, so far so good. I got up on Saturday morning and started rolling out my dough and heating up the oil ready to fry. I really despise frying and not for the reasons you may think, I despise it because it just stinks up the house…and did it ever. The stench stuck around for days, and I swear when I walk into my house I can still smell it!

Nevertheless, the end result was just unbelievably delicious. My husband devoured the Cannoli and actually said, “I don’t think I could ever eat another bakery Cannoli after having these”…I would say that’s a success because my husband takes his Cannoli very seriously.
Would I ever make these again? Sure I will, but it will have to be warm enough to fry outside..and considering it’s almost December in Toronto I probably wont be making these for at least another 6 months.
So if you love Cannoli, I urge you, I beg you to try to make them at home, you will not regret it.

Cannoli

Adapted from Lisa Michele from, Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives

CANNOLI SHELLS
2 cups (250 grams/8.82 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)

DIRECTIONS FOR SHELLS:
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.

2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.

3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.

4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer’s directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

8. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

Daring Bakers November Challenge - Cannoli

livelaughlovecook — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:45:19 +0000

I’ve only been part of the Daring Bakers group for 3 challenges and I LOOOVE discovering what the challenges hold. This month was super fun! I’ve never really thought of making cannoli before, but really enjoyed the challenge.

I used my pasta maker to roll the dough really thin and found that the dough had to be flattened to the thinnest setting in order to get the lovely blistery shell. The shells were incredibly easy to make and cooked up within about 20 seconds.

Rather than making the traditional ricotta filling I ended up making a vanilla bean cheesecake filling. They were delicious!

Daring Bakers November Challenge - Cannoli

nanaglenmum — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 10:02:50 +0000

Cannoli are known as Italian-American pastries, although the origin of cannoli dates back to Sicily, specifically Palermo, where it was prepared during Carnevale season, and according to lore, as a symbol of fertility. The cannoli is a fried, tube-shaped pastry shell (usually containing wine) filled with a creamy amalgamation of sweetened ricotta cheese, chocolate, candied fruit or zest, and sometimes nuts. Although not traditional, mascarpone cheese is also widely used, and in fact, makes for an even creamier filling when substituted for part of the ricotta, or by itself. However, cannoli can also be filled with pastry creams, mousses, whipped cream, ice cream etc. You could also add your choice of herbs, zests or spices to the dough, if desired. Marsala is the traditional wine used in cannoli dough, but any red or white wine will work fine, as it’s not only added for flavor or color, but to relax the gluten in the dough since it can be a stiff dough to work with.

Despite not technically a “baking” challenge, I was SO excited to see this month’s challenge recipe at the Daring Kitchen. I have only had cannoli a few times, but have always loved their delicate crispy shell and creamy fillings. We had a choice of fillings, so I made half with vanilla and half with chocolate, and dipped the ends of both in melted dark chocolate. For the cannoli with chocolate filling, I then dipped the ends into candied orange peel also for a bit of a jaffa flavour. YUM YUM!!

Anyway, if you would like a printable copy of the recipe, you can find it here.

My first batch, I tried the forming them around the premade cannelloni tubes. Unfortunately, they blistered and cooked along with the cannoli and I was unable to separate the two without smashing the entire thing into smithereens. Luckily, I had some stainless cream horn shapes in my cooking stash, and they worked a treat. Had they not worked, I would have opted for the flat, layered version aka millefeuille/napoleon style. All in all, a great hit with the family and definately will be made again. Am hoping Santa will bring me an ice cream maker for Christmas, as I can really imagine these with a yummy home made ice cream filling!! Delish!

How to Eat a Cannoli - and recipe

Ray Brown — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:01:04 +0000

Cappuccino Cannoli recipe and my poem, “How to Eat a Cannoli”, perfect together at

THERE’S A NEWF IN MY SOUP!

“A blog featuring two of my passions…Cooking and Newfoundland dogs”

http://newfinmysoup.blogspot.com/2009/11/taste-of-sicily-ricotta-cappuccino.html

Daring Baker's November Challenge: Cannoli

savoriesnsweets — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 02:26:02 +0000

This month’s challenge was a lot of fun! I’ve bought cannoli for years, but never knew how to make them. Now, I can make some decent cannoli all on my own! I served my cannoli for Thanksgiving dessert this year and they were a big hit. They were filled with a pumpkin filling and I even made my own ricotta using this recipe. Overall, this was a great challenge and I loved participating in it! Here’s some shots of my pumpkin cannoli.

Finished pumpkin cannoli

Homemade ricotta cheese

Posting Date – November 27, 2009

Equipment:
Cannoli forms/tubes – optional, but recommended if making traditional shaped cannoli. Dried cannelloni pasta tubes work just as well!
Deep, heavy saucepan, enough to hold at least 2-3-inches of oil or deep fryer
Deep fat frying thermometer. although the bread cube or bit of dough test will work fine.
Metal tongs
Brass or wire skimmer OR large slotted spoon
Pastry bag with large star or plain tip, but a snipped ziplock bag, butter knife or teaspoon will work fine.
Cooling rack
Paper bags or paper towels
Pastry Brush
Cheesecloth
Sieve or fine wire mesh strainer
Electric Mixer, stand or hand, optional, as mixing the filling with a spoon is fine.
Food Processor or Stand Mixer – also optional, since you can make the dough by hand, although it takes more time.
Rolling pin and/or Pasta roller/machine
Pastry or cutting board
Round cutters – The dough can also be cut into squares and rolled around the cannoli tube prior to frying. If making a stacked cannoli, any shaped cutter is fine, as well as a sharp knife.
Mixing bowl and wooden spoon if mixing filling by hand
Plastic Wrap/Clingfilm
Tea towels or just cloth towels

Required: Must make cannoli dough and shells. If you don’t have or do not want to purchase cannoli forms, which I would never ask of any of you, you could simply cut out circles, squares, or any shapes you want and stack them with the filling of your choice to make stacked cannoli’s aka Cannolipoleons (directions below). If desired, you can channel MacGuyver and fashion something heat proof to get traditional shaped cannoli (6-8 inch sawed off lengths of a wooden broom stick or cane, sanded down and oiled, is THE authentic cannoli form!), or non-traditional shapes such as creating a form to make bowls, or even using cream horns if you happen to have them. Mini cannoli would be great too, and I’ve provided links to retailers of cannoli forms of all sizes.

Also, for those who don’t like to cook or bake with alcohol – grape juice, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, apple juice..any sweet juice of a fruit, especially ones used in or to make wine, can be substituted. Just add a little more vinegar to insure you get enough acid to relax the dough

6-8 inch long by 3/4 to 1 inch circumference cannoli forms aka your basic cannoli form size

Variations: The filling is YOUR choice! Anything you want to fill them with is perfectly fine, sweet or savory, or you can use the filling recipe provided – making whatever changes you want to it. Cannoli would make a great addition to a Thanksgiving dessert table/spread. In many Italian households, during the holidays, cannoli is always part of the dessert offerings. You could also make a Thanksgiving themed cannoli, like pumpkin cannoli (I came up with a great pumpkin filling recipe below) or apples, pecans, walnuts, any dried fruits etc. An idea to gussy up your cannoli is; dipping the rims of the shell in melted chocolate and rolling in chopped nuts or sprinkles, then letting them set prior to filling. Dipping or pressing mini chocolate chips into the filled ends OR just stirring mini chocolate chips into the filling prior to stacking or filling whatever shaped shells you come up with, is another great idea and makes a nice presentation The sky is the limit here, be creative! Naturally, if you have any dietary restrictions, by all means, go with it. I’ve provided a link to a gluten-free cannoli recipe and a slightly savory vegan cannoli recipe to help get you started.

Lidisano’s Cannoli
Makes 22-24 4-inch cannoli
Prep time:
Dough – 2 hours and 10-20 minutes, including resting time, and depending on whether you do it by hand or machine.
Filling – 5-10 minutes plus chilling time (about 2 hours or more)
Frying – 1-2 minutes per cannoli
Assemble – 20–30 minutes

RECIPE NOTE: THE EQUIVALENTS FROM THIS RECIPE WERE PREPARED USING THIS CONVERSION SITE: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/index.asp.

Note – If you want a chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) and a little more wine until you have a workable dough (Thanks to Audax).

CANNOLI FILLING
2 lbs (approx. 3.5 cups/approx. 1 kg/32 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained
1 2/3 cups cup (160 grams/6 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it), sifted
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (4 grams/0.15 ounces) pure vanilla extract or the beans from one vanilla bean
3 tablespoons (approx. 28 grams/approx. 1 ounce) finely chopped good quality chocolate of your choice
2 tablespoons (12 grams/0.42 ounces) of finely chopped, candied orange peel, or the grated zest of one small to medium orange
3 tablespoons (23 grams/0.81 ounce) toasted, finely chopped pistachios

Note – If you want chocolate ricotta filling, add a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder to the above recipe, and thin it out with a few drops of warm water if too thick to pipe.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

DIRECTIONS FOR FILLING:
1. Line a strainer with cheesecloth. Place the ricotta in the strainer over a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Weight it down with a heavy can, and let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight.

2. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl and stir in chocolate, zest and nuts. Chill until firm.(The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

ASSEMBLE THE CANNOLI:
1. When ready to serve..fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain or star tip, or a ziplock bag, with the ricotta cream. If using a ziplock bag, cut about 1/2 inch off one corner. Insert the tip in the cannoli shell and squeeze gently until the shell is half filled. Turn the shell and fill the other side. You can also use a teaspoon to do this, although it’s messier and will take longer.

2. Press or dip cannoli in chopped pistachios, grated chocolate/mini chocolate chips, candied fruit or zest into the cream at each end. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and/or drizzles of melted chocolate if desired.

PUMPKIN FILLING
1/2 cup (123 grams/4.34 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained
1/2 cup (113 grams/4.04 ounces) mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup (122.5 grams/4.32 ounces) canned pumpkin, drained like ricotta
3/4 cup (75 grams/2.65 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1/2 to 1 teaspoon (approx. 1.7 grams/approx. 0.06 ounces) pumpkin pie spice (taste)
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 2 grams/approx. 0.08 ounces) pure vanilla extract
6-8 cannoli shells

1. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta and mascarpone until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl, cover and chill until it firms up a bit. (The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

2. Fill the shells as directed above. I dipped the ends of the shells in caramelized sugar and rolled them in toasted, chopped pecans.

Daring Bakers Challenge: Cannoli

emmalee13 — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:10:09 +0000

This month I took part in my first Daring Bakers Challenge. I was so excited to learn that the challenge this month was Cannoli. When I lived in Boston I lived in the North End, which is the Italian section. I was surrounded by Italian bakeries filled with delicious pastries that I couldn’t eat because I was gluten free. Now that I can eat gluten again and make my own cannoli! This was a great challenge, not too difficult because I have deep fried donuts before and so have experience with the hot oil. I found the dough a little difficult to work with but once I figured out that I could get it thin enough if I used the pasta machine it was a piece of cake. I made a full batch of dough but only used half and ended up with 20 shells. The filling is AMAZING!, rich and creamy, definitely better the next day when the candied orange peel had a chance to flavor the cream. I will definitely be pulling out this recipe from time to time when I get the craving for the North End.

CANNOLI SHELLS (This is a half recipe and I got 20 shells)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp unsweetened baking cocoa powder
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ Tbsp vegetable or olive oil
1 tsp white wine vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
Approximately 1/4 cup sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand (I used grape juice)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts

Note – If you want chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) and a little more wine until you have a workable dough (Thanks to Audax).

CANNOLI FILLING
2 cups ricotta cheese, drained
1 cup confectioner’s sugar, (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it), sifted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or the beans from one vanilla bean
2 ounces of finely chopped, candied orange peel

3 tablespoons (approx. 1 ounce) finely chopped good quality chocolate of your choice (I used semi-sweet chocolate)

Note – If you want chocolate ricotta filling, add a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder to the above recipe, and thin it out with a few drops of warm water if too thick to pipe.

2. Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little. (I rolled out the dough as thin as I could and it was still too thick so I then cut circles and used a pasta machine to roll each piece thinner and then cut out my finale circle.)

3. Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes. Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little water on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting water on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly. (I found that my shells browned very quickly and I only fried them for about 45 seconds to 1 minute.)

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

2. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and blend until smooth. (My ricotta was a little too drained but I just added some heavy cream and the filling came out perfect.) Transfer to another bowl and stir in chocolate and zest. Chill until firm. (The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

ASSEMBLE THE CANNOLI:
1. When ready to serve…fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain or star tip, or a ziplock bag, with the ricotta cream. If using a ziplock bag, cut about 1/2 inch off one corner. Insert the tip in the cannoli shell and squeeze gently until the shell is half filled. Turn the shell and fill the other side. You can also use a teaspoon to do this, although it’s messier and will take longer.

Thanksgiving and Daring Bakers

lapyles — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:24:36 +0000

On this day after Thanksgiving, I have a lot to be thankful for, like friends and family. I am also thankful for the adorable new puppy we have, and the free Christmas tags I got with something I bought this week (see below). Finally, I am thankful for the Daring Bakers challenge this month that allowed me to enjoy some delicious cannolis.

She's so black, I have to use the flash.

Cute!

These turned out pretty well, other than making far fewer cannoli than the recipe intended (this owed to my general history with deep frying shells, or blowing them up). I made the mistake a few times of not letting the egg white completely dry, and that doesn’t help matters.

One of the best parts about this challenge was that I got to go to my favorite cooking store in town to get the cannoli forms. Apparently the Superstore just doesn’t supply cannoli forms, but it gave me an excuse to go check out all the cool stuff they have at the Happy Cooker.

Instead of throwing out the cannoli that puffed up and lost their form, I made them into a (version of) stacked cannoli. Still just as tasty. I also found that I was able to save the cannoli shells for a few days, and the filling in the refrigerator, so that I could put them together for dessert after the day I made them. If the cannoli get left for very long while they’re filled, they get all soggy, and that defeats the purpose of a nice, crispy (or burnt in some of my cases) cannoli shell).

With my adorable, albeit cannoli-free, dog

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

Pasta Machine method:
1. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Starting at the middle setting, run one of the pieces of dough through the rollers of a pasta machine. Lightly dust the dough with flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Pass the dough through the machine repeatedly, until you reach the highest or second highest setting. The dough should be about 4 inches wide and thin enough to see your hand through

2. Continue rolling out the remaining dough. If you do not have enough cannoli tubes for all of the dough, lay the pieces of dough on sheets of plastic wrap and keep them covered until you are ready to use them.

3, Roll, cut out and fry the cannoli shells as according to the directions above.

For stacked cannoli:
1. Heat 2-inches of oil in a saucepan or deep sauté pan, to 350-375°F (176 – 190 °C).

2. Cut out desired shapes with cutters or a sharp knife. Deep fry until golden brown and blistered on each side, about 1 – 2 minutes. Remove from oil with wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, then place on paper towels or bags until dry and grease free. If they balloon up in the hot oil, dock them lightly prior to frying. Place on cooling rack until ready to stack with filling.

2. Fill the shells as directed above. I dipped the ends of the shells in caramelized sugar and rolled them in toasted, chopped pecans.

TIPS AND NOTES:
- Dough must be stiff and well kneaded

- Rolling the dough to paper thinness, using either a rolling pin or pasta machine, is very important. If the dough is not rolled thin enough, it will not blister, and good cannoli should have a blistered surface.

- Initially, this dough is VERY stubborn, but keep rolling, it eventually gives in. Before cutting the shapes, let the dough rest a bit, covered, as it tends to spring back into a smaller shapes once cut. Then again, you can also roll circles larger after they’re cut, and/or into ovals, which gives you more space for filling.

- Your basic set of round cutters usually doesn’t contain a 5-inch cutter. Try a plastic container top, bowl etc, or just roll each circle to 5 inches. There will always be something in your kitchen that’s round and 5-inches if you want large cannoli.

- Oil should be at least 3 inches deep and hot – 360°F-375°F, or you’ll end up with greasy shells. I prefer 350°F – 360°F because I felt the shells darkened too quickly at 375°F.

- If using the cannoli forms, when you drop the dough on the form into the oil, they tend to sink to the bottom, resulting in one side darkening more. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to gently lift and roll them while frying.

- DO NOT crowd the pan. Cannoli should be fried 2-4 at a time, depending on the width of your saucepan or deep fryer. Turn them once, and lift them out gently with a slotted spoon/wire skimmer and tongs. Just use a wire strainer or slotted spoon for flat cannoli shapes.

- When the cannoli turns light brown – uniform in color, watch it closely or remove it. If it’s already a deep brown when you remove it, you might end up with a really dark or slightly burnt shell.

- Depending on how much scrap you have left after cutting out all of your cannoli shapes, you can either fry them up and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar for a crispy treat, or let the scraps rest under plastic wrap and a towel, then re-roll and cut more cannoli shapes.

- Push forms out of cannoli very gently, being careful not to break the shells as they are very delicate. DO NOT let the cannoli cool on the form, or you may never get it off without it breaking. Try to take it off while still hot. Hold it with a cloth in the center, and push the form out with a butter knife or the back of a spoon.

- When adding the confectioner’s sugar to the filling..TASTE. You may like it sweeter than what the recipe calls for, or less sweet, so add in increments.

- Fill cannoli right before serving! If you fill them an hour or so prior, you’ll end up with soggy cannoli shells.

- If you want to prepare the shells ahead of time, store them in an airtight container, then re-crisp in a 350°F (176 °C) oven for a few minutes, before filling.

- Practice makes perfect. My first batch of shells came out less than spectacular, and that’s an understatement. As you go along, you’ll see what will make them more aesthetically pleasing, and adjust accordingly when rolling. My next several batches turned out great. Don’t give up!!

November Daring Bakers: Holy Cannoli!

Kelly Mecker — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:47:29 +0000

So I know I haven’t blogged in awhile. I have been baking, I just need to get caught up with the blogging.

In the mean time, I was challenged by the Daring Kitchen to make cannoli. The recipe can be found here. I’ve never fried anything in my life and as yummy as cannoli are, I wasn’t too keen on hot oil, unless it’s rubbed over my back in an extremely relaxing massage (actually, I haven’t had one of those either). But this definitely qualified as a new experience, so I bought the vegetable oil and marsala wine and got to work.

The making of the cannoli dough was actually quite simple, I didn’t even have to whip out a mixer. I chilled the dough overnight and put the ricotta in a cheesecloth over a bowl to drain. I’ve also never drained ricotta so when in the morning there was only a small amount of liquid in the bowl, I thought I must have done something wrong. I dumped the liquid and pressed the remaining ricotta through a strainer, thinking that was supposed to be done to lighten the texture. That was 20 minutes of needless activity. Note: do not strain ricotta. It didn’t ruin it or anything, it was just pointless.

For the actual frying, I wanted to do this right. So I bought the cannoli forms from Sur La Table and greased them up a bit with butter. Then I started rolling out the dough very thinly and cutting rounds that immediately shrunk in to be a little thick circle. I re-rolled the circles thin again and wrapped them around the cannoli forms and lightly egg-washed the overlapping part to seal.

Now for the frying part. The only thermometer I had that would work for frying was from the 50’s. I got the oil so hot that it read over 400F. It was only supposed to be around 350F. But the oil wasn’t boiling or anything, I couldn’t understand it. Well, I thought I’d give it a try anyways. So I turned down the heat a bit and dropped a couple of cannoli in. Whoa! There goes the bubbling of the oil. And though the cannoli are supposed to be in the oil for about a minute each, these two were beyond burnt in 20 seconds.

Okay, heat came down more and I let the oil sit for a few minutes. Next couple rounds were about the same until I got the hang of it. And unfortunately, I could not test the heat of the oil anymore because I lifted the thermometer out of the oil and hit it very lightly on the counter where it broke. PANIC! Broken mercury thermometer! I had to take a little time-out to clean up that mess. But there really wasn’t too much to clean. The silver mercury that came out was hard, not a liquid like I thought it would be. I wiped the counter down with a rag after I threw away the broken glass and contents.

The rest of the cannoli went pretty well. I managed to salvage quite a few shells to fill with the yummy sweet ricotta filling. I dipped a few in chocolate and pistachios as well. Most of the cannoli’s were donated to my fellow choir members and friends, because there’s no way I could eat all that fried dough. And the remaining ricotta filling (since I had so much left over) was put in the refrigerator so that I could squeeze a bit on my finger randomly for the next week. Mmm….

I also now have two identical mercury thermometers from the 50’s because I felt so bad about breaking the one, I found them online at antique dealers as replacements. I only meant to order one, but I ended up getting two by accident. I thought the thermometer had been my mom’s cherished one that belonged to her grandmother. Wrong. It was my dad’s mother’s and my mom had no attachment to it. Oh well.

I need to get myself a new thermometer that doesn’t contain mercury, and then I may try frying again. But the house smelled sickenly like oil for 3 days, so I’m don’t think frying will become my specialty.

It was also later that evening that I looked up “broken mercury thermometer” on google and realized the danger I put myself in. But seeing as how after 4 hours I wasn’t hallucinating yet, I felt I was pretty safe. The trash got taken immediately to the dumpster after that though, it had still been inside the house.

Grade: B-

Cannoli (Daring Bakers Challenge November 2009)

squeaky mouse — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:29:40 +0000

My first experience with cannoli took place in Sardinia earlier on this year. I was drawn by their appearance but wasn’t too impressed by the taste, although to be fair I don’t think the 35C heat helped; the ricotta cheese filling was warm and sickly.

I had mixed feelings when I found out that cannoli was this months DB challenge. I’m not a bit fan of deep fried food, but I thought I’d push myself out of my comfort zone. To my surprise I really enjoyed making these. I experimented on making a tricolour style cannoli (like the stripy pasta you get from posh delis). However, the dough turned dark when fried so you couldn’t really see the different colours (brown from carob & green from matcha). I didn’t have any tubes to hand so stamped out heart shaped cookies and rolled them which formed mini bite-sized cannoli.

stacked cannoli

I made gluten-free cannoli using the recipe from Annmarie’s Great-grandmother Martino’s Cannoli, GF Style which worked well. I’d never used alcohol in cookie dough and was surprised how the port wine added a lovely subtle flavour & aroma to the cannoli. I flavoured my filling with rose & violet infused cream cheese, and for my lazier attempt – nutella and peanut butter with pistachio.

Rose & Violet ricotta cheese filled Cannoli

Nutella & peanut butter Cannoli

Equipment:
Cannoli forms/tubes – optional, but recommended if making traditional shaped cannoli.
Deep, heavy saucepan, enough to hold at least 2-3-inches of oil or deep fryer
Deep fat frying thermometer. although the bread cube or bit of dough test will work fine.
Metal tongs
Brass or wire skimmer OR large slotted spoon
Pastry bag with large star or plain tip, but a snipped ziplock bag, butter knife or teaspoon will work fine.
Cooling rack
Paper bags or paper towels
Pastry Brush
Cheesecloth
Sieve or fine wire mesh strainer
Electric Mixer, stand or hand, optional, as mixing the filling with a spoon is fine.
Food Processor or Stand Mixer – also optional, since you can make the dough by hand, although it takes more time.
Rolling pin and/or Pasta roller/machine
Pastry or cutting board
Round cutters – The dough can also be cut into squares and rolled around the cannoli tube prior to frying. If making a stacked cannoli, any shaped cutter is fine, as well as a sharp knife.
Mixing bowl and wooden spoon if mixing filling by hand
Plastic Wrap/Clingfilm
Tea towels or just cloth towels

RECIPE NOTE: THE EQUIVALENTS FROM THIS RECIPE WERE PREPARED USING THIS CONVERSION SITE: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/index.asp.

CANNOLI SHELLS
2 cups (250 grams/16 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)
1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish
Confectioners’ sugar

Note – If you want chocolate ricotta filling, add a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder to the above recipe, and thin it out with a few drops of warm water if too thick to pipe.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.
For stacked cannoli:
1. Heat 2-inches of oil in a saucepan or deep sauté pan, to 350-375°F (176 – 190 °C).

TIPS AND NOTES:
- Dough must be stiff and well kneaded

- Oil should be at least 3 inches deep and hot – 360°F-375°F, or you’ll end up with greasy shells. I prefer 350°F – 360°F because I felt the shells darkened too quickly at 375°F.

- When adding the confectioner’s sugar to the filling..TASTE. You may like it sweeter than what the recipe calls for, or less sweet, so add in increments.

- Fill cannoli right before serving! If you fill them an hour or so prior, you’ll end up with soggy cannoli shells.

- If you want to prepare the shells ahead of time, store them in an airtight container, then re-crisp in a 350°F (176 °C) oven for a few minutes, before filling.

Annmarie’s Great-grandmother Martino’s Cannoli, GF Style
makes about 24-35 shells, depending on size

2 cups fine-ground brown rice flour (we used Bob’s Red Mill, which is still a bit gritty but you couldn’t tell in the final product)

2/3 cup potato starch flour

1/3 cup tapioca flour

1/2 tsp xanthum gum

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

3 tbsp shortening

1/2 cup port wine

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp water

1 egg yolk, beaten

metal cannoli tubes

1-2 liters oil suitable for deep frying (we used canola oil and needed 1 liter for my little fryer

Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
Add shortening, and add the liquid in 1/4 cup increments, mixing with a fork until dough starts to come together–it will look a lot like wet sand. We alternated liquids–for example 1/4 cup wine, then 1/4 water, then wine, etc. You may not have to add all the liquid.
Dump the wet sand-like dough onto a clean counter and knead for 15 minutes or until it comes together as a nice smooth ball of dough. It shouldn’t be too sticky, but a little springy and a bit like fresh Play-Doh. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.You will want your oil at 350°F by the time you have a few shells shaped, so plan accordingly.
Shape approx 1.5 inch balls of dough; keep maybe six out at a time and leave the rest wrapped up in the refrigerator until needed. You don’t want the dough to dry out. We even kept the few on the counter between plastic wrap too.
Between two small sheets of plastic wrap, roll out a ball of dough until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Cut off the sides to form roughly a 2 inch square, give or take 1/2 inch. Turn the square so that it looks like a diamond, with the point closest to you the bottom corner.
Your goal is to wrap the dough around the tube so that the top and bottom corners meet at the top of the tube. Here’s how to do it: peel off the top layer of plastic wrap and lay the cannoli tube across the bottom corner. Using the bottom layer of plastic wrap, roll the dough up and around the tube until the corner is at the top of the tube and the tube is laying from side corner to side corner. Peel back the bottom layer of plastic wrap; the dough should still be up on the tube. using the plastic wrap under the top corner, lift it up onto the tube and press the two corners of dough together. Dab a little beaten egg yolk on the seam to hold it together.
Fry dough on the tubes until crisp, golden brown, and blistered. Drain on paper towel until cool; remove tubes and re-use. Do NOT rinse tubes in water until you are completely finished frying shells.
Fill with cannoli filling and serve immediately, or wrap double airtight and let sit at room temperature for no more than 24 hours before using.

Daring Bakers November- Cannoli!

kristineleuze — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:22:13 +0000

Cannoli. When I read we were going to be frying for Daring Bakers I had mixed feelings. But the day I decided to make them, my son and I had a lot of fun. I call these “carnival cannoli” in honor of my son, the boy who loves everything covered in sprinkles.

Compared to last month’s macaron challenge they were easy. And luckily for me not addictive! After eating a hundred pounds of macarons last month my body probably needed the break. Yes, these were fried, but I only ate one. The cannoli were good but not that good. If I’m going to make something that takes all day, I’m going to make macarons again! Sorry, but I love those things. Okay, now onto the cannoli!

The dough itself is very forgiving and easy to make. The consistency of it is like nothing I have ever baked before- it was great for my kid to play with since it wasn’t sticky and did not have eggs or anything in it that he couldn’t touch raw. This is a rare occurrence since most everything we bake has eggs in it and I am always telling him not to touch. With this dough I could tell him to roll it out, touch, do whatever. Here’s what the dough looks like:

The ricotta cheese has to be drained of excess liquid. I did mine in a cheesecloth lined strainer overnight in the fridge:

The filling can be whipped up in a snap:

At this point I was thinking this was going to be the easiest challenge ever. Then it got a little trickier. We went over to my parents’ house to use their pasta machine:

Andrew was more than happy to help me work this contraption.

Thanks to Andrew, I discovered that the more you put the dough through the machine the better the dough gets and after several times through you finally get something you can work with. Andrew could have done this all day but I finally convinced him to make the cut-out circles so we could dip them in chocolate and eat them! Here is my stack of circle cut-outs:

We drove back home to do the frying. While I heated the oil we prepared some melted chocolate and sprinkles.

When I fried them up I was panicking. The oil temp was rising super fast and I had a hard time controlling it. Then I forgot to seal the dough with egg white on the metal tube and the first one came apart in the oil. The second one I did, I put the egg white on but I could not get the thing off the tube after it was fried! Finally I figured out to twist them off much like you would open a bottle of soda or something. I got into my groove, with a perfect system down and correct oil temp just as I dropped my last shell into the oil. It usually goes that way for me . . . Oh well!

I dipped both ends in chocolate and sprinkles and I piped them with a large star tip. Here they are all lined up:

When my husband came back in from walking our daughter around the block he was pleasantly surprised to find these. All day he thought I was making some kind of pasta. I didn’t know that he had no idea what cannoli were! I wish I had a cigar box to display them in. I think that would be kind of cool. Here are my best three:

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

"LEAVE THE GUN, TAKE THE CANNOLI"

lisamichele — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:48:51 +0000

Who doesn’t love this line from The Godfather? Classic.

As I typed the title to this entry, one thought entered my brain – how many others are going to use the above title or ‘Holy Cannoli’? OK, that’s not really relevant here…what’s relevant is, I am the host of this month’s Daring Bakers Challenge – WEEEE! When Lis asked me last April if I wanted to host, it took me about half a nano second to shriek “Hell Yeah!” I had so many ideas, and so many visions of super daring, albeit amazing, cakes, cookies, breads et al. SO, what did I end up choosing? Something not baked, although it can be. I was excited, thinking “WOW, this is perfect, how many people have actually made cannoli from scratch..shells and all?”. Yep..this could be the epitome of the word DARING., especially for those who were not interested in making cannoli from scratch, but did so anyway..and are now practically cannoli pro’s, not to mention connoisseurs. Some who participated never liked cannoli, but are now certified cannoli converts. I LOVE that this challenge did that for them!

Commercial cannoli forms (tubes) in various sizes

The night before I posted my challenge at the Daring Kitchen, I suddenly had doubts..”This isn’t baking” – “A lot of people do NOT like to deep fry anything”..”Shoot, some have never even heard of cannoli!”. Well, after all the research and testing I did with different recipes, and time spent carefully writing out every detail of this challenge, I knew I had no choice, as there was not enough time to bake something new and write out another detailed challenge post. Naturally, there was a lot of trepidation by many at first, but now I’m glad I chose the cannoli as the Novemeber Daring Bakers challenge. What I’ve seen from these Daring Bakers, diving in head first and finding ways to make cannoli forms (traditional and unique) if they didn’t want to purchase or couldn’t find them..has completely blown me away. I am so proud to be a member of such a group of talented and creative people..I could just run around the block butt naked. Wait, I can’t really run yet :p

Growing up, one of my fondest memories was going to Chinatown wih my parents and their friends, about once a month, usually to one of the hidden Hunan Houses, which were simple, unadorned doors down a few stairs off the street, that not many knew about. We would be there for hours, ordering course after course after course – some of the best Chinese food I ever had. For dessert, it was always over to Little Italy, a short walk away. Cannoli was at the top of the list, and when creating this challenge, I was trying to get as close to some of that cannoli as I could, especially the ones from Ferrara’s. This is why I ended up with a combo of two recipes, plus a few personal tweaks. Let’s just say, for two weeks, all I did was fry cannoli shells!

Blistering makes for a light and crispy shell. The telltale sign of a good cannoli.

Before I continue..lookie lookie..I have my OWN blog checking lines for the big brother bot! Thing is, do I need to post one since this is MY challenge? Should I change ‘Lisa’ to ‘ME’, and Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives to ‘HERE’ or third person speak (which I hate)? I suppose I’ll just post it as if it was someone’s else’s challenge, as I don’t need the bot skipping over me due to the words not being exactly as written. Damn perfectionist!

Guess what? If you click the link – you end up HERE, over and over! I won’t let you leave my humble abode ! ;D

Pumpkin cheese filled cannoli dipped in caramel and pecans with spun sugar - the shell dough rolled around the form using square, rather than circular or oval, cut-outs.

All kidding aside, as mentioned above..I was astounded by all the Macguyver’s in this challenge. Since traditonal cannoli forms are not something most have lying around their kitchen..they would have to purchase them, OR, make their own cannoli forms. It was amazing what some came up, from the super traditional Sicilian forms..which is SAWING a broomstick, dowel or cane into 6 to 8 inch lengths, sanding them down and oiling them! Would you believe a ton of Daring Bakers actually did this? Now if that isn’t the true spirit of a Daring Baker, I don’t what is! Other forms used were oiled cannelloni or manicotti pasta tubes, aluminum foil pans cut and rolled, wooden spoons, butter knives, a tinfoil contraption by an engineer (John), tomato paste cans, a frozen ball of butter for cannoli bowls, copper pipes, a sawed up wooden hanger, and even a can opener..AND the list goes on! Tell me Daring Bakers aren’t some of the most creative and crafty people around, and I’ll laugh in your face! Stacked cannoli aka Cannolipoleons, with mini chocolate chip – orange mascarpone filling and raspberries.

On that note – I also gave the DB’ers a choice of simply cutting out shapes likea rolled cookie dough, frying them, and stacking them like Napoleons aka Cannolipoleons, with the filling of their choice. What amazed me was, most chose to make the traditional tube shaped cannoli, whether or not they had metal cannoli tubes, hence all the creative materials used to roll the dough around..more than most resulting in absolute success! Some even managed to make cannoli bowls and ice cream cones! I’ll say it again – I’m truly in awe of my fellow Daring Bakers

When choosing this challenge, I had to take into consideration that the month of November was going to be a tough time for many Daring Bakers in the USA, due to Thanksgiving preparation. This is another reason why I chose cannoli over some more challenging ideas..such as a layered dacqouise and sponge cake with a deep caramelized sugar-coffee (or any flavor one wanted to use) syrup, called a Cardinal Slice – OR, another amazing Italian pastry called Sfogiatelle (Isn’t it beautiful? BUT it’s very involved!), I knew many would be focusing on their Thanksgiving meals, so daring, but not too involved, was what I aimed for. I offered up a Pumpkin cannoli filling for those who wanted to add these to their Thanksgiving dessert table..although any cannoli and filling would make a wonderful Thanksgiving dessert or savory addition to the meal, if desired. Some took that ’savory’ route..from bacon and egg, to Mexican, to even turkey and vegemite! You really must check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll for this challenge, because cannoli has been taken to so many different shapes, fillings and levels in general, it’s utterly amazing!

I gave the traditional ricotta filling a whir in the food processor, which resulted in an uber creamy filling..not conducive to a pretty piping, but silk on the palate.

For those of you out there who are not members of the Daring Bakers, I’m going to post the challenge as I did at the Daring Kitchen, verbatim. Who knows, you just may want to take a daring stab at these rich, lovely Italian pastries. Enjoy!

Sorry all, we’re not baking this month (this line fooled some, which was the initial intention, I just hope nobody avoided opening the entry to read the rest! lol)……so put away your baking pans and get out the deep fry thermometer and oil! Hi everyone, thanks for baking, err, deep frying with me this month! We’re making Cannoli! This is/was my first time making cannoli from scratch, but it’s well worth it, and a great new experience/dessert to add to your repertoire. I hope you all enjoy, and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s take on this sweet (or savory, if desired) Italian favorite.

Posting Date – November 27, 2009

Bonus option: Make your own ricotta and/or mascarpone cheese! http://lisamichele.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/eating-my-curds-and-ditching…
http://www.bakingobsession.com/2009/05/02/homemade-mascarpone-cheese/

Technically, I know, this is not baking, and if you prefer to steer clear of the deep fry, you can bake the shell. You won’t get the snappy, blistery texture and appearance that make cannoli so special, but I’m sure it’ll taste good nonetheless. Here’s a link where the cook bakes some of his cannoli shells: http://www.ifood.tv/network/cannoli/recipes

Lidisano’s Cannoli
Makes approximately 22-24 4-inch cannoli
Prep time:
Dough – 2 hours and 10-20 minutes, including resting time, and depending on whether you do it by hand or machine.
Filling – 5-10 minutes plus chilling time (about 2 hours or more)
Frying – 1-2 minutes per cannoli
Assemble – 20–30 minutes

UPDATE: I learned that the addition of a little freshly ground or instant coffee to the shell dough is traditional in Sicilian style cannoli and gives the shells more flavor. I suppose you can add it along with the cocoa or in lieu of it.

Note – If you want chocolate ricotta filling, add a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder to the above recipe, and thin it out with a few drops of warm water if too thick to pipe.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

3, Roll, cut out and fry the cannoli shells as according to the directions above.

For stacked cannoli:
1. Heat 2-inches of oil in a saucepan or deep sauté pan, to 350-375°F (176 – 190 °C).

PUMPKIN FILLING
1/2 cup (123 grams/4.34 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained
1/2 cup (113 grams/4.04 ounces) mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup (122.5 grams/4.32 ounces) canned pumpkin, drained like ricotta
3/4 cup (75 grams/2.65 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
**1/2 to 1 teaspoon (approx. 1.7 grams/approx. 0.06 ounces) pumpkin pie spice (taste)
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 2 grams/approx. 0.08 ounces) pure vanilla extract
6-8 cannoli shells

2. Fill the shells as directed above. I dipped the ends of the shells in caramelized sugar and rolled them in toasted, chopped pecans.

** If you don’t have or can’t find pumpkin pie spice..make your own.
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
1/8 cup ground ginger
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon ground cloves
Mix all of the above together and store covered in a dry place

TIPS AND NOTES:
- Dough must be stiff and well kneaded

- Initially, this dough is VERY stubborn, but keep rolling, covering, resting, rolling, covering, resting.. repeat, it eventually gives in. Before cutting the shapes, let the dough rest a bit, covered, as it tends to spring back into a smaller shapes once cut. Then again, you can also roll circles larger after they’re cut, and/or into ovals, which gives you more space for filling.

- Oil should be at least 3 inches deep and hot – 360°F-375°F, or you’ll end up with greasy shells. I prefer 350°F – 360°F because I felt the shells darkened too quickly at 375°F.

- When adding the confectioner’s sugar to the filling..TASTE. You may like it sweeter than what the recipe calls for, or less sweet, so add in increments.

- Fill cannoli right before serving! If you fill them an hour or so prior, you’ll end up with soggy cannoli shells.

- If you want to prepare the shells ahead of time, store them in an airtight container, then re-crisp in a 350°F (176 °C) oven for a few minutes, before filling.

Links:

Alternative:
Gluten free cannoli recipe that looks great –
http://evilcakelady.blogspot.com/2009/02/annmaries-gf-birthday-cannoli.h…
Vegan cannoli –
http://www.godairyfree.org/Alisa-s-Blog/Alisa-s-Milk-Free-Blog/Vegan-Can…
http://community.livejournal.com/vegancooking/2307428.html#cutid1

Online resources:
http://www.pastrysampler.com/Questions_and_Answers/cannoli.htm
http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2009/01/hey-jerzeeeeeee-i-want-to-make-c…

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cannoli&search_type=&aq=f – scroll through, loads of videos on the making of the shells. filling, etc. Mario Batali’s are particularly good.

Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=cannoli&m=text – Loads of beautiful and unique cannoli photos along with the traditional. Great way to get some ideas for fillings and décor.

Online retailers for cannoli forms
http://www.fantes.com/cannoli.html#small
https://www.pastrychef.com/CANNOLI-TUBES_p_36-1202.html – If you want to buy a lot of them for one set price.
http://www.consiglios.ca/ProductCart/pc/viewCat_h.aspidCategory=408&gcli…
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=…

Before I end this entry, remember where I said you can fill your cannoli shell with anything you want? Well, Zorra from 1x umrühren bitte created a delicious wood filled cannoli that’ll knock your socks..err..teeth out OK, truth is, she used fig branches for cannoli forms, and couldn’t remove them after frying those beautiful shells. She hates cannoli, but went above and beyond to take part in this challenge. I absolutely LOVE this photo. and with her permission, had to post it. I just want to hug her after reading her entry. Go check it out, but again, those are some beautifully blistered shells so it’s too bad the fig branches didn’t want to budge! Boycott Fig Newtons!

Also..one other favorite photo that doesn’t need any explaining. This brought a huge smile to my face..love it! If this doesn’t scream “I did it!”, I don’t know what does! Thank you Jenny from Purple House Dirt for letting me share your enthusiasm!!

Finally, the ‘Best Blisters’ award goes to Marcellina from Marcellina in Cucina. WOW, what amazing shells!

Thanks to all who participated in this challenge with me and a HUGE thanks to Lis and Ivonne for the hosting gig and their encouragment and patience. Also, again to Ivonne for doing the metric conversions for me, since I’m metrically stunted and my scale sucks. The ounces to grams switch is permanently stuck or just broken, and since when does one cup of flour weigh 16 oz? I don’t want to calibrate it..not worth it. I’ll be getting a new one ASAP, so I can actually make some of the thousand metric bookmarked blog recipes without estimating and ending up with sunken, lumpy, lopsided baking soda flavored whatever.

{db} holy cannoli

Wendy — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:37:00 +0000

Not only was this the first time I made cannoli, it was the first time I’ve tasted them. I baked rather than fried, which is the traditional way to make cannoli. I didn’t have enough oil in the house to fry and didn’t feel like going out and buying a jug of it. I really liked the taste of it, a crispy sweet treat. I can see how frying it would make it even more tasty.

(Today I am in Vava’u, Tonga)

Daring Bakers 25th Challenge: Cannoli

pixeltheatre — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:02:00 +0000

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the ItalianPastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book. After recovering from the mild heart attack after reading Lisa Michele’s tag line in the DB forum : “Sorry all, we’re not baking this month…”, I was glad to see we were heading to Italy this month.

Deep frying is something I have rarely done, not because I don’t like fried food, but because I never liked the lingering smell in my apartment afterwards. With Hun, though, it is something I’ve had more of a chance to explore. Hun has a backyard. And that’s where we setup the Coleman stove and fry our hearts (or at least, dinners (hum…. turkey…) appies and desserts (hum… deep fried oreo wontons…) out. In moderation, natch. :)

This challenge also brought some bittersweet memories back. The only time I had done some fried Italian pastries was in the early 80’s, following the death of my stepfather, who was Italian. I still remember being in the kitchen of one of his sisters, with the rest of the women of the extended family, frying something called, I think, bugis (sp?) (liar, in italian), a fried strip of dough, with powdered sugar sprinkled on top. These were served at the memorial the following day. I can’t remember how many of those we made that afternoon, but looking back on it, I find it interesting that food not only brings us together in times of celebration, but also in times of mourning.

I didn’t have any cannoli tubes but following Lisa’s suggestion, I fried my cannoli as sheets instead of tubes, and stacked them with the ricotta filling in between. I made a lemon/limoncello sauce to go with it. This dessert closed an evening of Daring challenges, with sushi as the main course. It was a busy weekend!

Note – If you want chocolate ricotta filling, add a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder to the above recipe, and thin it out with a few drops of warm water if too thick to pipe.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

Cannoli shell preparation, cutting out the dough circles, sealing the dough around the form, frying the shells, finished shells ready to fill

3, Roll, cut out and fry the cannoli shells as according to the directions above.

For stacked cannoli:
1. Heat 2-inches of oil in a saucepan or deep sauté pan, to 350-375°F (176 – 190 °C).

pumpkin-pecan and turkish delight cannoli (daring bakers)

mlle noëlle — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:01:03 +0000

I actually made my Daring Bakers challenge early this month, woot! Marvin informed me that we were g

Daring Bakers Challenge: Cannoli

trissalicious — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:31:17 +0000

There are many great quotes referring to the delicious cannoli. The two below are my favourites.

“Leave the gun, take the cannoli”… Clemenza from The Godfather.

“I’ve never had cannoli before. But if they are supposed to taste this good, I should have had them much sooner.” - My husband’s exact words when he tried the cannoli I made for this month’s Daring Bakers Challenge…

Leave the gun... take the cannoli - Clemenza from The Godfather

Lisa has also been kind enough to put in PDF the Cannoli recipe. The only change I made was to increase the amount of marsala wine (I added another 1/4 cup) and an egg until the dough was wet enough to knead. Unfortunately my first batch was too dry so I had to start over – but it was worth it!

As for the filling, I used a combination of candied oranges and dark chocolate.

Daring Bakers Challenge: Cannoli

Grazie Lisa for a great challenge! Your detailed instructions made a world of difference – it gave me so much confidence to tackle the challenge.

Italian Desserts to Live and Die For

elayne002 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:17:05 +0000

http://hubpages.com/hub/Italian-Desserts-to-Live-and-Die-For

You may think you already know all about Italian food. Almost daily you make spaghetti, lasagna and pizza for your family. You may also cook most everything in olive oil and use plenty of garlic. However, you have not really lived until you have tasted these scrumptious Italian desserts.

De peliculas, bordados y estaciones

blocita — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:28:00 +0000

Surfeando por Amazon (me encanta irme a ”bobear” ahi), me encontré con estas monadas:

El libro/revista para hacerlas se llama Sew Pretty Homestyle y lo pueden encontrar ahi mismo, a mi se me hace agua la boca ^^.

Pasando a otro tema; Max y yo hemos estado viendo un film ”viejito” cada dia, de los últimos que hemos visto y que me han gustado son:

Come see the Paradise Tv Local. No tengo la menor idea de como es que me perdí este hermoso film. Max ya lo había visto, pero igual se lo sorbió conmigo.
The Notebook Un amigo nos prestó el DvD. Muy cursi, pero ideal para verlo en una tarde fría con tu amorcito al lado y una taza de chocolate caliente.
Monster aún tengo los ojos como plato O_O
Tu la conosci Claudia? Lo pasaban en la tv local. A Max le gusta mucho ver ese trío y la verdad el film es divertido.
Downfall La tv de Fastweb lo tiene en su programación y se nos hizo una buena idea verlo, la verdad es que es larguísiiiimo y a veces un poquito aburrido, pero igual no está mal.
Defiance no tan viejito pero nos lo perdimos en el cine y visto que Fastweb lo tenía en su programación, aprovechamos. La verdad me gustó mucho.

La verdad es que en Italia es caro ir al cine, entre el boleto de la entrada, palomitas y refresco se van facilmente 30 euros, por lo que la ida al cine se limita una o dos veces por mes, no como en México que a veces iba hasta cinco veces por semana, incluso a ver los churros más horrorosos jamás producidos.

El tiempo sigue igual, no tan frío, pero la verdad nada de media estación, esto ya comienza a oler a invierno, pero una cosa buena tiene, y es de que al menos me salvé de una cansada inútil, ya que toda la ropa de mitad estación se ha quedado empaquetada en el closet porque hemos empezado a desempaquetar todo lo invernal.

Y me voy que mi maridín me lleva a comprar cannoli sicilianos a nuestra pastelería favorita, traigo un antojo de ellos desde hace como una semana, y pensar que no me gustaban…

Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.

lakageyama — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:50:06 +0000

My sister was in the city this weekend visiting from California. She was focused. First things first, get her a cannoli.

We went to an Italian restaurant just outside Little Italy and asked our very Italian waiter where to get a great cannoli. He recommended that we take a short walk to Ferrara on Grand. It had a large lit up sign that is undeniably similar to the one displaying “Ghiradelli” at Ghiradelli Square in San Francisco. I immediately brushed Ferrara off from the beginning as a tourist trap. I can’t really say that I was that far off. I ordered a trio of miniature desserts: Napoleon, daquoise, and cannoli. The Napoleon, while flaky, was soggy. The daquoise was mundane. I was really hoping that the hazelnut flavor would come through a little more. The cannoli was probably the best out of the trio. The shell was crunchy and the ricotta cream filling was decent too. I was surprised that it wasn’t soggy because they are displayed pre-filled which usually results in a limp mess…and nobody likes that. You know what I’m saying

The cannoli that is pictured is actually from Rocco’s in the West Village. Like Ferrara, they have both chocolate dipped and regular cannoli shells. Three things set these apart: the black and white cannoli shell, the option of pistachio or chocolate chip toppings, and they don’t come pre-filled. The shells are crispy and crumbly and the filling smooth and sweet. This is one fine cannoli if I have ever seen one. This is a great cannoli to take to someone’s home because you can bring the hollow shells and a tub of ricotta filling. Think of all the drunken fun you could have filling your own cannoli! Just keep in mind one thing. I was wearing a black cardigan. By the end of this delicious experience, I was wearing powdered sugar. A bib is required but completely worth the looks.

October 10

erichason — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:43:39 +0000

Dinner with Tina and the Slades.

Good Eats in Boston: Cannoli, Cupcakes and More

youngandfoolish — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:28:38 +0000

I recently took a trip to the Boston/Cambridge area, and in addition to witnessing some beautiful scenes of New England foliage, I also made the rounds around the food circuit.

1. L.A. Burdick Chocolate Cafe

Most of my time was spent in eating in the Cambridge area, especially around Harvard Square. If you’re feeling like a hot drink and you’re near Harvard Square, head on over to L.A. Burdick on Brattle Street. It’s a small, narrow shop, with a glass display of delectable chocolates at the front. In the back, you can order an array of drinks. Anna took me here on a particularly blustery day.

Delicious raspberry tart from L.A. Burdick, served with a side of whipped cream.

I ordered a dark hot chocolate, and Anna got a chai. The flavor was wonderful–not too sweet. Even the chai wasn’t that bitter, even though Anna steeped it for a while. L.A. Burdick also scores extra points for cute atmosphere and tasty tarts, though its tables are a bit small for proper coffee shop studying/working. A great place for a snack or afternoon coffee/tea.

Holy Cannoli! It's the Canovis!

benfrenchphoto — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:27:58 +0000

Tony and Katy Canovi make their grand entrance to the Huntington Hall Ballroom. Photo Ben French

Breaking Bread

Breads from Adinos Bakery.

with the Canovis is kind of a big deal. I mean, this family really knows how to have a good time and they truly value the sit-down family style dinner. I’ve photographed two of the Canovis’ weddings so far, and I have to say, they have both been quite the success. Tony Canovi and Katie Dick returned to Columbus to celebrate their unity with friends and family on Friday, October 9 at the Huntington Hall Ballroom at the Columbus YWCA. The couple chose hold their ceremony in Negril, Jamaica, on September 5, while hosting their reception party in downtown Columbus. Guests enjoyed catered Italian foods from Carfagna’s Kitchen as well as take-home breads from Adinos Bakery. I can’t forget to mention the towering supply of Cannolis for dessert either.

The Canovis share a moment under the Union Station Arch in the Arena District. Photo Ben french

Big City Downtown

The couple wore their wedding day wardrobe from their beautiful sunny day beach ceremony, but weather tips from NBC 4’s Ben Gelber weren’t promising. Gelber gave us 100% chance of rain for the reception day shoot. The couple decided to go with the flow and continue on with our plans. Nothing a few umbrellas can’t take care of. We chose to shoot at North Bank Park, which gives a great view of the city, and at the Union Station Arch in the Arena District.

Tony and Katie Canovi with wedding party at North Bank Park. Photo Ben French

The beautiful Katie Canovi. Photo Ben French

Guests enjoyed cocktails and conversation

at the reception while Tony’s associates from his DJ business, Capitol City Sound, kept the dance floor busy. Toasts were given by Best Man Eric Rechtin and Maid of Honor Heather Dick Graves. The party also had the chance to relive the ceremony in Jamaica with a photo slideshow. But the night had to eventually end, and in Canovi tradition it had to end with Black Sabbath’s Crazy Train. Congratulations to the bride and groom and from all of us here at First-Person Shooter we wish you the best.

Click Here to view and purchase photos

Conoscere Antonio Mancuso...

Roberta — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:59:46 +0000

Ciao a tutti, dopo il falso allarme di giovedì scorso ( a proposito adesso si apre il totocommesse s

My Castle Beats Your Castle

clistro — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:47:25 +0000

3 October, Saturday.

After waking up and breakfasting on toast and jam in the hostel, and saying goodbye to the Aussies, the Brit, and Giuseppe and Andrea, we headed out for the road. Genie and I took the Smart and the rest piled into the Yaris for an hour’s trip to Segeste. The roads ran along the edges of the cliffs over the sprawling ocean towns, perched on the edge of the Mediterranean, and then wound through the mountains up to the small hilly town, site of one of the most excellently preserved Greek temples in Sicily. Crafted in the Doric style, it still stands almost as it did when first built, its warm red stone rising into a full colonnade over a large base. Only the roof, never built, lacks. After marveling at this ancient wonder, we piled back into the cars. I took the Smart again, but this time Marcelo drove as we headed towards Erice, a mountain town. With the Smart in manual, we climbed up the mountain in jerks, at one point taking a wrong turn and almost venturing onto a steep dirt road which, seeing it later from the peaks, might have done us in.

But we made it safely to Erice, parking our car in the line on the edge of the mountain, overlooking the valley crashing into the sea below. We sought out food and ended up splitting up for lunch, since the selection was disappointingly touristy and none of us could agree. Marcelo, Genie, and I ate a small meal at a little café, just caprese salad and bread for the girls, and then filled up our stomachs at a local pasticceria, where the server gave us a slew of different samples so delicious that we ended up buying a dense honey-almond cake, marzipan, a little almond cookie, and a cannolo to split. So good! After lunch we trekked up the mountain to the peak, on which was perched an old stone castle, splayed across the cliffs and bridging the gap between them. Venturing into its outer courtyard, we investigated the rooms that started as an old temple to Astarte, then Roman baths to Venus, to finally a medieval lord’s castle. Made doubly beautiful by its long and apparent history, it was multiplied even more by the views from its crumbled outer walls. Over the edge, the whole of the surrounding lands were spread, from the wide clear salt flats to the crowded towns to the strips of sandy beach and their tiny crashing waves rising out of the cerulean span.

With our trip to Erice redeemed, we headed down the mountain to Trapani, a beautiful seaside town overrun by masses of tweens wearing purple. We met the guys, who had taken the Smart, at a beach bar right on the ocean, complete with cabanas and parrot-colored rentable beach chairs. We sat with drinks and just enjoyed the salty sea air. I was much reminded of Hilton Head, and was sad to leave when it was time to seek out a hostel. Which, in Trapani, is a rare sight. We finally, at the direction of a bartender, stumbled upon a sketchy bed and breakfast with a letter-sized sign with name and phone number bolted next to a wide wooden door in a narrow side street. Katie called the number and Salvatore told us he would be there in five minutes. We all took bets on what he would be, but were all wrong. Walking briskly up to us was a cheerful old Italian man with a fluffy gray moustache and a shirt stained from cooking pasta sauce in his nearby Trattoria. He lead us up yet another set of dark and dubious stairs to a quaint little apartment, decorated with mismatched wallpaper, the kind of porcelain figurines that Great Grandma used to hoard, and shiny bedspreads straight out of a Carol Wright catalogue. It was the perfect chintzy Italian apartment and we had it all to ourselves.

After naps, we went to Salvatore’s trattoria for an expensive but delicious dinner of spirally pasta in a local pesto sauce, bread, wine, and for me and Marcelo, cous cous pescatore. We walked to a gelato place after that, then grabbed drinks at a corner store and sat on the wharf, just talking and enjoying the sea air. After, we headed to a café for a small tasting of Trapaneze winds, delicious and made spicy from the burning-hot snacks they gave us, and cassata, a Sicilian cake with almond paste and fruit. At the bar after that was our first Pineapple (our code word for Mafia) sighting; for, Sicily is one of the only places still run by the Mob. There was a large, imposing looking man in a button down shirt standing behind the bar not doing work, and he didn’t seem to be able to answer any of our questions about the selections either. When Genie saw the waitress pass him a wad of cash and heard him say, “I need 200 more,” we knew we had our pineapple. The others had local wine too sugary for me and Genie and I had capiroskas, and we sat and sipped while playing the one word story game, which got a little ridiculous with the innuendos and had us laughing obnoxiously. We tried a chic place called Muna after that but we were too tired to wander much, and just walked around enjoying the modern quaintness of Trapani before heading to bed, cheered by news of an ND football victory. As always, when I’m not there to jinx it.

Sclafani's Bakery Cannoli $1.75

Joey — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:00:09 +0000

Sclafani’s has cannoli available every day and more pastry on Saturday.

Sclafani’s Bakery Cannoli $1.75, originally uploaded by captjoe06.

Sclafani Bakery Cannoli