Thursday, April 16, 2009

Easy Cannoli



One of the desserts (along with birthday cake and fresh fruit) we had this past Easter was this cannoli. It's super easy to make, the hardest part being where to find the cannoli shells. After checking out local Italian bakeries, I actually found them at our local supermarket in the bulk food section. I used the small size for this recipe.

I adapted this recipe from Michael Chiarello's recipe for Chocolate Cannoli. The recipe originally called for pistachios but since they have been pulled from the shelves due to a salmonella scare, I substituted almonds.

1 c slivered almonds
1 c heavy cream
2 T sugar
1 c semi-sweet chocolate bits
1 c whole milk ricotta
16 cannoli shells

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Toast the almonds for approx 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven, cool and chop.

Whip the cream with the sugar until soft peaks form. Add 1/3 of the chopped nuts, 1/3 of the chocolate and then fold the cream mixture into the ricotta.

Spoon the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a fat round tip that is approximately the size of the cannoli or use a zip lock bag and cut off one corner to the size of the opening of the cannoli shell. Fill the cannoli from each end.

Combine the remaining nuts and chocolate on a plate and dip each end of the cannoli into the mixture.

The recipe suggests that the cannoli should be filled no more than 1 hour before serving but I found that it will keep nicely for hours. It still looked presentable the next morning and the leftovers make a sweet breakfast, I'm just saying for those of you who like something sweet in the morning!

4 comments:

~michelle pendergrass said...

Oh I love cannoli!!! And cannelloni, do you have a recipe for that?

I had to come see your Blue Heron!! I read my blogs in Google Reader so I don't often visit the actual blog. :) Beautiful header!!

grammy said...

Well...they look and sound devine....but if I made them I would EAT them... I am trying to get back to my goal weight on weight watchers (o: You always have the best recipes. How do you do it? We had cannolis when we were with our friends on Long Island. There is a wonderful pastry shop on every corner it seems!

Anonymous said...

mmmm, great photo that brings back great memories. I never like canolis but these were the perfect sweetness and texture. Scrumptious - I can't wait to make them.

Courtney said...

those look so good. and I am totally going to the italian market tomorrow to pick some up! oh no -- just (literally) remember they are closed on mondays...

anyway they look yummy