Cannoli Siciliani

Originally the cannoli were prepared only in the period of carnival, but then over time they became so famous all over the world, they are now prepared for any special occasion. It looks like a hard dessert to make but actually it’s very simple to make at home. 

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Serves: 3-4

Ingredients
For the dough

• 250g 00 flour
• 1 tbsp of cinnamon
• 1 tbsp of cacao
• Pinch of salt
• 30g of caster sugar
• 30g of lard or butter (chopped in small cubes and kept at room temperature)
• 1 egg 
• 40ml marsala wine
• 20ml white wine vinegar
• 1.5L of vegetable oil 

For the filling

• 700g of ricotta
• 100g of icing sugar + extra 
• Orange zest and lemon zest
• Vanilla extract

For the decoration

• Your preference of Icing sugar, candied cherry and orange, dark chocolate, chopped pistachio or a mix! 

Specific equipment

• Cannoli tubes

Method

1. In a bowl, add all your dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, cacao, salt and sugar) and mix. Now add the lard and mix until there are no more lumps.
2. Add the egg white (keep the yolk for later), marsala and white wine vinegar to the mix and stir it all in.
3. Transfer the dough to the table and knead for 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and soft. Cover it and let the dough rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. This helps to hydrate the flour and strengthen the gluten.
4. Remove from the fridge and roll the dough until it is 0.3 cm in thickness using either a rolling pin or your pasta machine. Add more flour if your dough becomes too sticky.
5. Cut the dough with a round cutter with a 10 cm diameter. Brush 2 opposite sides with the yolk and wind the dough around the cannoli tube so that the two sides stick together.
6. Heat the oil in a saucepan until it reaches 180°C. Gently drop in batches the cannoli dough into the oil with the seal facing down. Fry until golden brown all around and with a slotted spoon remove the cannoli from the oil and place it on greaseproof paper or kitchen paper to drain the excess oil. Leave them to cool.
7. For the filling start by sieve the ricotta into a bowl so that it is nice and smooth. Add the sugar, the orange zest, the lemon zest and the vanilla extract and beat the mixture with a whisk for 2 minutes.
8. Now that you have the cannoli and the filling ready,  fill the cannoli only when you are about to serve them, if not your dough will become wet and it will loose the crunchiness. Decorate the ends according to your preferences, with icing sugar, candied cherry and orange, dark chocolate or chopped pistachio. Enjoy!

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