Wow, here it is. My first blog post. The most decadent, delicious, chocolate cannoli. I cannot begin to describe how excited I am to start this blogging journey. I want to start with cannoli because I think they symbolize a turning point in my baking… just like how this blog is a turning point for how I will be sharing my greatest joy with the world!
Taking a turn from the traditional sweetened ricotta filling, these cannoli are piped full of the richest, most divine chocolate filling I have ever had the joy of tasting. I mean SERIOUSLY, creamy chocolate and crispy fried shells?! What more could you ask for?!
But.. what exactly are Cannoli?
If you are unfamiliar with this Italian delicacy, do not fret. Quite simply, cannoli are shells of fried dough with a creamy ricotta filling. The classic filling is a vanilla ricotta, and it often has mini chocolate chips dotted throughout the filling. If you have ever been afraid of frying, let me put those fears to rest, it’s really not that bad, I PROMISE! The hardest part is the clean up and the residual smell that will loom in your house for a couple hours. But believe me when I tell you, it’s absolutely worth it, especially for these decadent chocolate cannoli. The dough itself is fairly simple, and can be used as a vessel for any cannoli filling you desire. To add some flair, sometimes I will dip the ends of my shells in chocolate and roll them in nonpareils or Oreo cookie dust; the possibilities are ENDLESS.
Frying tips..
Something I find helpful when frying is keeping a thermometer in the oil at all times, so that you’re never guessing on the temperature. I am reluctant to admit, but currently I am actually using my mom’s candy thermometer to monitor my oil. And, unfortunately, I’ll have to keep using it until I upgrade to a better one. For cannoli specifically, since the dough is so thin, you will want to monitor the color more so than the time they are frying in order to determine their done-ness. Be careful though, the dough can go from the perfect golden to an ugly burn so quickly, so you should be careful about monitoring them!
What you need to make decadent chocolate cannoli…
LARD*
CANNOLI MOLDS**
3-inch circle Cookie Cutter
Lard is super important for this recipe. It is solid at room temperature, so it makes clean up super duper easy, and it is also the classic fat for frying cannoli. Cannoli molds are absolutely necessary. They are what allow the cannoli to have the hollow shell, and there is no substitute for them. I’m sorry, but you have to buy them if you want to make your own shells. Lastly, you need a 3-4 inch circular cookie cutter, and it will really help you cut even cannoli!
*I get a 4 lb container of Armor lard from Walmart
**I got mine from my local kitchen store, but Amazon also sells them!
Decadent Chocolate Cannoli
Ingredients
For the Shells:
- 1½ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter (chilled)
- ½ cup Marsala (can be any dry white wine)
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk+1 egg white (separated)
For the Filling:
- 8 ounces Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
- 3 tablespoons Cocoa Powder (dutch-processed or natural works fine)
- ⅓ cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
For the Shells:
- In a large bowl, add the flour and sugar, whisk to combine.
- Cut in the cold butter with your hands. This means that you rub the butter between your fingers in the flour mixture until it breaks down into pea sized bits. The flour will look sandy at this stage.
- Now, make a well in the flour mixture. Pour the marsala, egg, and egg yolk into the well. Save the extra egg white, we will use it later.
- Beat the liquid ingredients in the middle with a fork, gradually allowing more and more of the flour around it to be incorporated in it, like making a pasta dough.When most of the flour is incorporated, begin to knead it for about 10 minutes, or until it becomes smooth and not sticky.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.Once the dough has rested in the fridge, it is time to roll it out. It should be smooth and supple at this stage.
- Before rolling out your dough, put 2 lbs of lard into a heavy bottomed pot and allow it to heat until it reaches 350ºF. While the oil is heating, divide the dough in half and roll into a large slab to about 1/16" thickness, we want the dough to be REALLY thin!Use the cookie cutter to cut out the dough into circles. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
- Wrap the dough circles around the cannoli molds, and brush one end with the reserved egg white from earlier and place the other end over the egg white. This will create a seal along the seam of the shell so that it holds its shape when frying.
- Place cannoli in the heated oil, don't overcrowd your pot! When I make these, I will not exceed frying more than five at a time. Fry for 2-3 minutes per side before rotating and allowing the other side to fry for 2-3 more minutes. The shells should be a bright golden brown.
- Remove from oil and let cool on a rack for at least 5 minutes before removing the cannoli molds. Be CAREFUL! The cannoli molds will be incredibly hot.
- Repeat frying until all shells have been made
For the Filling:
- Combine the ricotta, cocoa powder, powdered sugar and vanilla together with a hand mixer, whisk, or stand mixer.
- Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
- Fill the cannoli using the piping bag and dust the tops with a bit of powdered sugar. Enjoy!
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