It would be best if you had cannoli tubes for making these. You will find them at a specialty kitchen shop. Have all the dough rolled before you start the cooking process. Cannoli are so delicious, keeping for two or three days in the fridge, so are well worth the effort. Rubbing the butter into the flour the old-fashioned way is very therapeutic.
CHOCOLATE AND PISTACHIO CANNOLI RECIPE
Makes 24
2 ½ cups flour, sifted
¼ cup cocoa, sifted
1 tsp cinnamon
50g butter, cubed
1 egg
1 egg yolk, save the white
½ cup sweet wine
1 Tbsp white vinegar
120g dark chocolate
½ cup finely chopped pistachios
Filling
500g ricotta, strained for 15 minutes
250g mascarpone
Zest of 1 lemon
½ tsp vanilla
- Combine in a large bowl the flour, cocoa and cinnamon. Add the butter and rub together using your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- In a jug mix the egg, yolk, wine and vinegar. Pour into the centre of the flour and mix to form the dough. Knead it to combine, wrap and place into the fridge for 1 hour.
- Roll the dough to 3mm, using a pasta machine or by hand. Cut circles 15cm in diameter using a disc or small bowl. Get all the dough cut out before starting to cook.
- Heat a fryer or pot filled with 3cm oil to 180C. Wrap the dough around lightly oiled cannoli tubes, and seal with a brush of the reserved egg white. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove and carefully slip the cannoli off the tube. Repeat until they are all cooked.
- Melt the chocolate over a pot of simmering water until smooth. Dip each end of the cannoli into it, then sprinkle over some pistachios and place it on a tray to cool. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.
- For the filling, beat together the ricotta, mascarpone, vanilla and lemon. Pipe into each end of the cannoli and return to your tray.
- To serve, drizzle with any leftover chocolate and dust with icing sugar.
