One of the most pleasant ways to grasp the wonders of an unknown place is by tasting its local gourmet cooking. This is especially true for Sicily that offers one of the richest sets of regional recipes of Italy. Italian cannoli, made of a crispy dough and a creamy ricotta cheese filling, are specifically Sicilian in origin and are among the most representative pastry desserts of the area. That is why they are best know as Sicilian cannoli to Italians. In this recipe, ingredients are for about 6 people when shells are middle size. However, the final number of cannoli may vary according to how big shells are.
How to Make the Dough for the Shells
In order to make shells you will need steel tubes to be wrapped by the dough for frying. If you are out of those you can either purchase them on Amazon at this link or buy ready-made shells here.
- 300g flour
- 10g granulated sugar
- ½ cup of Marsala wine
- salt
- powdered sugar
- frying oil
Spread flour in a circle and pour the Marsala wine into the center; add the granulated sugar and a pinch of salt. Incorporate until dough is compact. Make the dough into a ball. Wrap it up into a cloth and let it rest for a couple of hours. While waiting, you might consider making the filling as in next paragraph.
When time is up spread out the dough into a thin pastry (about 4 mm thick). Cut pastry into 10 cm squares (that depends on how big your tubes are), and wrap steel tubes with the pastry squares by laying one corner of each square upon its opposite. Dip the tubes wrapped in the dough into hot frying oil and, when brown, pull them out and let them cool down on a paper towel before removing the steel tube.
Cannoli Filling: a Ricotta Cream that will Make Your Dessert a Pleasure to the Palate
- 500g fresh ricotta cheese
- 200g powdered sugar
- 100g of patties
- 100g of dark chocolate
- 1 vanilla sachet
- cinnamon powder
- milk
Incorporate ricotta and powdered sugar. Add a little milk so as to make a soft and velvety cream. Then flavor with vanilla and the cinnamon powder. Finally, add patties and chocolate chips. Once you are done, keep the cream refrigerated until dessert time. When time comes fill the shells in with the cream, sprinkle with powdered sugar and decorate sides with pistachios and/or hazelnuts grains. Note that it is fundamental to fill in the cold shells last minute so as to keep shells crispy.
Wines that Best Match a Cannoli Dessert
Consider adding a sophisticated touch to your dining by matching a cannoli dessert with the proper wine. The intense sweetness of cannoli best matches with a wine that is as sweet. Moscato di Pantelleria and Albana amabile would be very good choices.
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