Week 6: Italian - Cannoli

Preview of what we made.

Made with /u/mittimer

Ingredients
Shells
All-purpose Flour - 2 Cups
Granulated Sugar - 1 Tbsp
Kosher Salt - 1/4 tsp
Unsalted Butter - 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp
Egg Yolk 1
Dry White Wine - 1/2 Cup

Filling
Ricotta Cheese - 2 Cups
Powdered Sugar - 3/4 Cup
Ground Cinnamon - 1 tsp
All-spice - 1/4 tsp
Heavy Cream - 1/4 Cup
Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips - 1/4 Cup
Lemon - 1
Egg (Lightly beaten) Egg Wash
Powdered Sugar - For Dusting

Begin the dough by mixing the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor.

Pulse to evenly blend.

Add the cubed butter

Lastly add the egg and wine. Blend until the dough begins to form.

This is how the dough should look.

Turn the dough out and kneed it with your hands until it becomes a single dough ball.

Wrap the dough in plastic and rest in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.

While your dough is resting, move your ricotta to a strainer over a large bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

This will allow the excess moisture to drain.

This is how much excess moisture was left.

Add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and all-spice.

Mix to blend.

In a second bowl, whisk the heavy cream until it reaches medium peaks.

Fold the whipped cream into the Ricotta mix.

Mix the lemon zest and mini chocolate chips into the mix.

Once fully mixed, move the filling into a piping bag.

After the dough is rested, roll the dough out into a thin sheet

Cut the dough into 3 inch rounds

Wrap the dough around a 5/8" dowel to form the shell.

Be sure to flair the edges of the dough out before frying.

Fry the dough for 2-3 minutes. The shells can be held under the oil with tongs which help them stay closed during the frying process.

Pull them out when they've reached a golden brown color. Grip the dowel with one hand and gently spin the shell with the other and pull carefully. It should come off cleanly.

Allow shell to drain and cool slightly on paper towel before filling. At this point you can store your shells in an airtight container for a couple of days. Reheat in a mild oven for 4 or 5 minutes to re-crisp before serving if stored.

Lastly, pipe the filling into both sides of the shells to completely fill.
For decorations, dip each end in extra mini chocolate chips and drizzle with ganache.

Once filled and decorated, eat immediately.

The cannoli turned out amazing. The outer shell was crispy and paired really well with the sweet and citrus-y filling. Plus the mixed in chocolate bits added the proper amount of bitter needed to make the flavors perfectly balanced.

We felt the need to make these after going to several restaurants and receiving whipped cream filled, pre-made shells, with Hersey's chocolate on top.