A recipe for cannoli, a pastry from Sicily, Italy, made with crispy fried dough filled with smooth ricotta cream
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- Recipe Videos
- What is Cannolo
- Ricotta cream, an essential ingredient in cannoli
- Difference between cannoli and cannoli
- History of Cannolo
- Cannoli is also featured in the movie "The Godfather"
- material
- way of making
- Storage and shelf life of cannoli
- Tools to be used
- Recipes for traditional Italian pastries
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Recipe Videos
What is Cannolo
Cannolo is a traditional pastry of Sicily, Italy It is a pastry made of flour dough, deep-fried into a tube shape, and filled with ricotta cheese cream
Cannolo is famous among Italian sweets, along with tiramisu and baba, and is sold throughout Italy, except in Sicily
The crispy outer layer of fried dough contrasts perfectly with the rich ricotta cream inside, creating an addictive texture once you try it
Ricotta cream, an essential ingredient in cannoli
Ricotta cream is often used in pastries in Sicily and other parts of southern Italy Many families in southern Italy make tiramisu with ricotta instead of high-fat mascarpone
This cream is not used very often in Japan, but when the well-drained ricotta cream is combined with sugar, it becomes a thicker cream that is hard to believe that it is a light ricotta
Moreover, the ricotta eaten in Sicily is especially rich in Italy, and of course the ricotta cream stuffed inside the cannoli is also very rich
This is because sheep's milk ricotta is mainly used in Sicily Sheep's milk is richer in milk fat and minerals than cow's milk, which makes the cream richer
I know sheep's milk ricotta is hard to find, but I have previously provided a recipe for homemade ricotta, and if you mix milk with cream, you can make a ricotta that is thicker than commercial milk ricotta Please refer to it
Difference between cannoli and cannoli
Both words are the same, but in Italian, the ending changes to indicate the plural form, so the singular form is Cannolo and the plural form is Cannoli
For example, the Italian spaghetti spaghetti is also plural, and if you eat only one spaghetti, it is spaghetto However, people here rarely eat just one spaghetti, so you will rarely hear the word "spaghetti"
In the case of cannoli, you may eat just one or make several, so you will often hear both names, cannoli or cannoli
In the US, the plural form cannoli is used (without being recognized as plural) instead of the singular form cannolo, so they add the English plural -s to it and call it cannolis cannolis, apparently
As a side note, Japanese sushi has become famous in Italy in recent years, but many Italians consider sushi Sushi to be plural, and when referring to sushi, many call it i Sushi with the plural definite article
History of Cannolo
The earliest known prototype of the cannolo is said to be from the Roman period in BC, when Cicero's writings describe his fascination with "a flour tube filled with soft milk cream
Of course, it was very different from the cannoli of today, and it is believed that the cream mixed with ricotta cheese and sugar, which is similar to the current form, was introduced from the Arabs
This ricotta cheese and sugar mixture is also used in the Sicilian pastry cassata, a cream recipe frequently used in Sicilian confectionery
Other theories include that a nun in the Sicilian city of Caltanissetta reworked an ancient recipe, that it was born at the Convent of Santa Maria di Monte Oliveto in Palermo, or that it was born at Carnival, among many others
Anyway, there seems to be no doubt that the pastry was made in Sicily, Italy, under Arab influence, probably in its present form during the Arab rule of Sicily
(From Le Cannoleria Siciliana)
Cannoli is also featured in the movie "The Godfather"
Cannolo appears twice in the movie The Godfather
The first was "The Godfather," released in 1972
When Clemenza is ordered to kill Paulie, who is believed to be a traitor to the family, and is leaving the house in the morning to carry it out, his wife asks him to buy a cannoli for her After shooting and killing Paulie, Clementza says to his companions as they are leaving the scene, "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to do it
Leave the gun Bring the cannoli (Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.)"
The next appearance of Cannoli was in the 1990 film The Godfather Part III
This is not only a dialogue, but a real cannoli This is the scene where he grabs a cannoli by the hand and chews it deliciously, but to my surprise, this is the scene where Connie tries to poison Don Altobello with the cannoli
material
Cannoli Fabrics
- weak flour
- granulated sugar
- salt (ie sodium chloride)
- Lard (or unsalted butter) - As in the sfogliatella recipe I mentioned earlier, southern Italian recipes often use lard instead of butter It tends to be crispier than butter, but if you don't have a small amount, substitute butter
- egg
- Wine (either white or red wine, or fortified wine such as Marsala) The addition of wine helps the dough to spread easily and to expand during baking Wine is often added to the dough in Italian recipes, but this may be because it is difficult to obtain safe water, especially for traditional recipes, and wine is less likely to be contaminated
Other times cocoa powder is added to the dough Add to your taste
ricotta cream
- Ricotta cheese - can be store-bought or homemade (recipe here)
- Powdered sugar - granulated sugar is sometimes used, but granulated sugar tends to draw out more moisture and will result in a watery cream if the ricotta is not well drained Powdered sugar is recommended as it is less likely to fail
I added chocolate chips to the ricotta cream, but you can decorate it at the end as a topping
way of making
ricotta cream
The secret to making a smooth, thick ricotta cream is first to drain it well Then, the ricotta and sugar must be well mixed
I once learned how to make this ricotta cream from a Sicilian chef The ricotta was drained well with a heavy stone and then mixed continuously with the whipper of a stand mixer at high speed for about 30 minutes
In this case, I used a hand mixer since it was a small amount You can also use a food processor to achieve the same smoothness
Drain ricotta cheese before using Line a colander with kitchen paper, place the ricotta on top and place in the refrigerator Leave overnight if possible If you don't have time, you can change the kitchen paper frequently to drain the cheese faster Drain well until no water seeps out when lightly pressed
Place drained ricotta and powdered sugar in a bowl Blend well with an electric mixer or food processor until smooth (When mixing with an electric mixer, mix on high speed from the beginning to avoid splattering of powdered sugar)
Add chocolate chips to taste Place ricotta cream in a large round-mouthed squeeze bag and refrigerate until ready to use
Cannoli Fabrics
In a bowl, briefly mix flour, granulated sugar, salt, and lard
Add beaten eggs and wine and mix until combined If the mixture is too powdery, add more wine
Remove the dough onto a table and knead until a smooth dough forms
Wrap in plastic wrap and let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours
Cannoli preparation & frying
Remove the dough onto a floured platform and 1.Roll out the dough to a thickness of 5 mm (The dough is much thinner than tart dough (The dough should be much thinner than tart dough, as it will puff up when fried, and if it is too thick, it will be hard to the palate)
Hollow out a circle 10 cm in diameter
Wrap the dough around the mold Apply water to the closure in place of glue
Heat oil to 170 degrees Celsius and deep fry the molds The temperature should be slightly lower because the dough tends to burn easily Deep fry the dough, rotating it, for about 5 minutes, until it turns a nice brown color
The large bubbles that appear when the dough is placed in the oil will become finer and fewer as the dough is fried to the middle When the bubbles disappear, it is a sign that the dough is cooked all the way through
Drain the oil and place on kitchen paper When removing the dough from the oil, be sure to cut it thoroughly before taking it out because there is a lot of oil in the tube
Remove the dough from the mold when it is cool enough to handle (It will be difficult to remove the dough from the mold as it cools, so remove the dough from the mold while it is still warm)
Fill with ricotta cream
Fill the chilled cannoli with ricotta cream from both sides
Garnish with chopped pistachios or orange peel and sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired
Tear the leftover dough into pieces, deep fry, and serve sprinkled with powdered sugar
In Italy, there is a pastry called "chiacchiere" that is eaten during the Carnival season, made of flour, butter, sugar, and eggs, cut into appropriate sizes, deep-fried, and dusted with powdered sugar This pastry is just like that
In Japan, it is a repurposed snack that looks like a deep-fried bread ear covered with sugar
Storage and shelf life of cannoli
Cannoli hull
Store in a storage container or other container out of direct sunlight It will keep for 4 to 5 days
ricotta cream
It can be stored in a zipper bag or disposable squeezy bag in the refrigerator It will last about 3-4 days, which is longer than custard cream made with eggs, but it depends on the amount of sugar and the temperature of the refrigerator, so be sure to taste it after the third day to check its condition before using
cannoli
If you fill the outer rind of the cannoli with cream, store it in the refrigerator However, the ricotta cream moisture will cause the crust to blister, and the crunchy texture of the crust will be lost over time As much as possible, please serve immediately after filling with cream
If it has been some time since the cream filling was applied, you can apply chocolate to the inside of the cannoli rind, let it dry, and then fill with cream to prevent the rind from blistering
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