Crunchy-Creamy Cannoli with Low fat Ricotta Cocoa Filling

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast.And all ready for the shopping spree on the most busiest shopping day of the year.Good luck!
Today is also Eid-ul-Adha.My hearty Eid wishes to all my viewers celebration this festival of sacrifice.
And also today happens to be the day all Daring bakers post their courageous bake of the month.Surprisingly this month we skipped the baking and devoured the festive Italian Pastry,cannoli.Thanks for Michele I was given an option of baking the deep fried shells,that I'm afraid didn't yield anything but crisp cannolis.Following the more authentic method of making them resulted in the most crisp shells.I rolled the dough very thin,so if you treasure a pasta machine or a tortilla\roti press,then making this pastry can be so much easier.Its not necessary to buy a cannoli forms\tubes to make these,one can always use a wooden stick about 5-6 inches long.Go wild with the fillings , I played around with some fresh produce of the season,cranberries and sweet potatoes.The second filling is low fat ricotta whipped with cocoa and garnished with nuts.

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.


Recipe
Mario's video on forming the shells.
Lidisano’s Cannoli
For CANNOLI SHELLS
1 cup (125 grams/8 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup (125 grams/8 ounces) whole wheat flour(fine ground)
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) Fruit juice
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying


Note - For chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) .

DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING SHELLS:
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the juice to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.

2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles or squares.
Pasta Machine method:
*Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Starting at the middle setting, run one of the pieces of dough through the rollers of a pasta machine. Lightly dust the dough with flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Pass the dough through the machine repeatedly, until you reach the highest or second highest setting. The dough should be about 4 inches wide and thin enough to see your hand through.Continue rolling out the remaining dough. If you do not have enough cannoli tubes for all of the dough, lay the pieces of dough on sheets of plastic wrap and keep them covered until you are ready to use them.

3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes. Roll cut dough from the long side around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.

4. In a small deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

8. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

Fillings
Roasted Sweet Potato with fresh Cranberry sprinkles
Scrub and roasted a sweet potato in 375F oven for about 30-35 minutes until the caramelized sugars ooze out.Slightly cool and blend to a smooth paste.Blend in a tablespoon of honey or agave nectar for more sweetness.Use some chopped fresh or dried cranberries for sprinkling on top.
Low fat Chocolate Ricotta with toasted pistachios
Whip or blend together a cup of low fat ricotta with a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder and a tablespoon of sweetener(Honey or Agave nectar or Brown rice syrup).Use toasted pistachios for garnishing.


ASSEMBLE THE CANNOLI:
When ready to serve..fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain or star tip, or a ziploc bag, with the filling. If using a ziploc bag, cut about 1/2 inch off one corner. Insert the tip in the cannoli shell and squeeze gently until the shell is half filled. Turn the shell and fill the other side.

Comments

Shama Nagarajan said…
tempting recipe..nice one
Raks said…
This is very new to me,but looking so pleasing,sounds good!
Shabs.. said…
Eid mubarak Yasmeen!....wanted to make these canolli long back when i saw them on food network....But completely forgot about it..The fotoes are sharp and nice..
By the way, the other day i wanted to make yakhni Pulao (I remember seeing that in ur blog)....but when i searched for the recpe i cudn't find it...
Ayesha said…
Eid Mubarak dear Yasmeen.Lovely cannoli..like the colorful fillings.
mona said…
Eid Mubarak Yasmeen!
Thats looks amazing!
Sunny said…
Awesome blog!Do visit us in leisure.
Anonymous said…
Fantastic filling ideas.Cannoli is one my favorite delicacies.

Samantha,
NY
Ivy said…
Your cannoli look so crispy, yum. Love the filling you made.
Namitha said…
Very crisp and yummm...they look tempting with that colorful fillings :-)Eid Mubarak !!!!
Nila said…
Those are really thin and crispy and the stuffings look very pretty.
Your cannoli are so pretty! Very well done!

Cheers,

Rosa
Cool Lassi(e) said…
Yasmeen,
These look so perfect. Love the eye catching stuffing choices. Perfect for the holidays!Love it.
Humaira said…
Eid Mubarak to you and your family Yasmeen! Dish looks tempting
Anonymous said…
This looks so special and refined!
I'll come back to read about it,because now I'm so tired :).Anyway,I just wanted to send you an Eid kiss <3!I hope you had a nice time.
Arabic Bites said…
Wow...amazing looking cannoli.
I love the chocolate Ricotta with toasted pistachios filling yumm...
Can you pass me one :D
Eid Mubarak :)
Arabic Bites said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Astra Libris said…
I LOVE your colorful, healthful fillings!! Such a fantastic idea to mix cocoa with ricotta for a healthy chocolate mousse filling - YUM!!
Kerstin said…
Very pretty! And I love your unique sweet potato filling - yum!
s said…
BEAUTIFUL!!!its blistered so well...
Unknown said…
they look awesome..
Audax said…
Happy Eid-ul-Adha to you and these look PERFECT the warty and blisters are superb well done and the colours and the fillings are wonderful. Cheers from Audax in Australia.
Sharmila said…
They look so crisp! Wonderful recipe Yasmeen! :-)
Suzanne said…
I once had the most crunchy cannolis in a bakery in NY,this reminds me of that.
Your cannoli look perfect, blisters and all. The sweet potato fillings unusual.
Maggie said…
The sweet potato/cranberry idea is great! I wish I had attempted some fill just with fruit.
Joanne said…
So first of all, I am so impressed that you made cannolis. They are staple at every holiday in my house.

Second of all - those fillings are PERFECT. And SO inventive. I think I may try to take on cannolis for Christmas and I am definitely going to keep these ideas in mind!
Spice said…
Eid mubarak Yasmeen, those canolis's looks perfect
Anonymous said…
I would love these crispy cannoli! Love your fillings!
Sarah Naveen said…
A real new recipe to me..Sounds gr8 and looks fabulous...
notyet100 said…
ummm,...i am speechless,..;-)
sangeeta said…
great pics Yasmeen !!
tough work it is wrapping around the tube n frying ...seems worth toiling in the kitchen.
both the fillings i found very interesting...
CurryLeaf said…
Yummy Yummy Yummy .Love the innovative filling of sweetpotato and cranberries.Very intriguing
Gita Jaishankar said…
Gorgeous and tempting sweet Yasmeen :)
Erin said…
Can't imagine me making these at home...always buy from bakeries.Great job!
Jennifer said…
My grandma used to make the best cannoli,can't wait for the holidays to indulge again.
Unknown said…
wow! amazing looking fillings and cannolis!! Kudos!!
Shri said…
I am dying here to grab one of those...Just divine!

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