If you love ordering a cannoli in your favorite Italian restaurants, you may want to try and make them at home. This pastry goes back all the way to the early 19th century in Sicily, where it was chiefly made during carnival celebrations. It didn’t really gain widespread popularity until the 1940s, when people throughout Europe began to discover it. Shortly thereafter, it became popular in the United States and a staple in Italian restaurants throughout the nation.
Making cannoli takes a little bit of preparation, but you’ll probably find that the work is worth it once you have a taste of the finished product. First, you’ll need three cups of flour, four tablespoons of sugar, and a quarter-cup of soft butter. You’ll also need two tablespoons each of vinegar and ice water, some aluminum cannoli tubes, frying oil, three cups of ricotta cheese (or whatever your preferred filling may be), and one-and-a-half cups of white sugar.
Take the sugar, butter, vinegar, and ice water and put all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer fitted with a dough attachment and set it to medium speed for about 10 minutes. You’ll need to occasionally stop and scrape the bowl to make sure the dough is smooth.
Next, put some flour on a flat surface and turn out the dough. Let it sit for about 10 minutes and then roll it into a large rectangle. You’ll want to fold it and then cover it with plastic wrap. Leave the dough in your refrigerator for at least two hours before you form your cannoli. Actually, the longer you leave it in the refrigerator, the better. You might even want to wait 24 hours until you take it out.
Once you take out the dough, you’ll then want to heat your frying oil at 365 degrees. Use either a deep fryer or a deep skillet. Put some flour on a surface and then gently roll the dough in circles around the cannoli tubes. Fry the tubes until the dough is flaky and golden. Take them out and let them cool on a rack for a few minutes. Then, gently twist and coax the tubes to remove them.
If you are using ricotta cheese for your filling, drain it first so it won’t be runny. Put it into a bowl and mix it until all of the lumps are gone. Add your sugar and mix some more. Use a spoon to fill your cannoli, or use a pastry bag with a long tube. Sprinkle with cocoa and remove from the fryer. Sprinkle with nuts and use a toothpick to top it off.
If you are using venison or other fresh meats, mix your filling with it before you put in the cannoli. Make sure everything is mixed thoroughly and it doesn’t look like porridge. Allow the stuffing to cool and set.
It’s time to eat. Find a nice, clean spot to place the cannoli while you wait for your guests to arrive. Then, carefully put each individual cannoli on the table. Top each cannoli with a crushed up piece of the topping and then put the mouth portion of the cannoli on top of the stuffing. Use the remaining toothpick to hold the cannoli.
When your guests leave, you can glaze the remainder of the cannoli with the remaining topping and sprinkle with cocoa. Then, you can put the cannoli in the dish and garnish it with the remaining toothpick.
Venison Cone
This is a fun and delicious dish. This is ideal for practicality as well as entertaining. The dish is first prepared similar to other cannoli recipes. Then, the cannoli is split in half and filled with two soufflés of veal. The moment soufflé is added, the Cannoli is then quickly frozen. From the freezer, the Cannoli is then crushed and the ice-cream is prepared. Using a spoon, inject the filling into the cannoli and top it with the ice-cream. Use toothpicks to decorate the dish.
A king cake is baked similar to other cannoli recipes and then dusted with a little sugar. Using a saucepan, heat a little oil and fry the cake until it turns golden brown. Serve while it is still hot for dipping.
This recipe is fun and easy to make.
