Cannoli is probably my favourite Italian pastry but can be hard to find if you don’t have a local Italian café. They usually come in two sizes, one small enough to pop in your mouth and it’s bigger brother which takes a few more strategic bites to devour. Traditionally they are filled with a sweet ricotta cream and finished with candied orange peel but there are many variations out there.
This recipe takes the pain of making your own dough and using Chinese dumpling wrappers that, when deep fried, will puff up nicely. The ricotta cream is laced with maple syrup and casing is sprinkled with cinnamon sugar making it a perfect, yet different, Christmas canapé.
What You'll Need:
- 20 fresh Chinese dumpling wrappers
- 1/4 cup of white wine for brushing
- Canola oil for frying
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- Powdered sugar to dust
- Maple ricotta filling:
- 1 1/2 cup (375 grams) thick whole milk ricotta cheese
- 6 tbsp (118 grams) maple syrup
- 1/8 tsp of ground allspice
Instructions
- Frying the Cannoli Shell: Lightly dust both sides of the dumpling wrapper with flour to prevent sticking. Rub a little bit of white wine on one edge of the wrapper, then pinch 2 edges together to form a tube. Set aside and repeat with the rest.
- Add enough canola oil to a frying pot until it reaches 2" deep (the smaller the pot, the less oil you need), then set over medium heat until the oil reaches 325F/165C, and keep it there (if you don't have heat thermometer, the oil is ready when bubbles slowly forms around the edge of a wooden chopstick). Insert the end of a large wooden spoon in one of the wrapper-tube, brush the outside with white wine, then lower into the frying oil. Keep the wooden spoon inserted until the shell has puffed and is set in shape. Then remove the wooden spoon, and fry the shell until golden browned on all side. Once the wooden spoon is removed, you can use it to fry the next shell as long as it doesn't crowd the pot.
- Let the shells drain and cool on a cooling-rack. Mix 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and 1 tsp of ground cinnamon, then roll the shells in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Set aside.
- Making the Ricotta Filling: Make sure you are using ricotta that is thick in texture (drained of any excess whey). In a food-processor, blend whole milk ricotta cheese, maple syrup and ground allspice until smooth and silky.
- Don't fill the cannoli if it won't be eaten within 2 hours. Transfer the filling to a pastry bag and fill each cannoli shells from both ends. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.
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