Cannoli recipe

Cannoli filling recipe: Want to indulge in a delicious Italia dessert that is Americanized? Try Cannoli pastries. These little Italian pastries are famous and available at all New York bakeries. The right filling is very important to make a Cannoli recipe a success. A perfect Cannoli pastry filling is given below:

Filling:
- Ricotta cheese (the full fat variety is preferred)
- Powdered confectionary sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Finely chopped candied fruits
- Citron (optional)
- Semi sweet chocolate pieces

Method of preparation: Combine all the ingredients mentioned in a bowl and beat them until smooth. If you are using an electric mixer, it should take around 10 minutes at a medium-high speed to get the perfect filling mixture. Now add the citron and the chocolate pieces and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate the mixture. Take out the chilled mixture and fill the Cannoli shells.

Cannoli-a famous Italian dessert: Cannoli pastries originated in Sicily, Italy and are an essential display at all Italian and Sicilian bakeries. Cannoli is especially popular in the Italian American cuisine. The word Cannoli comes from the Latin word ‘Cannolo’, which means ‘little tube’. Cannoli is called so because unlike other pastries, the icing is filled inside a fried pasta shell tube. You could access a really good Cannoli recipe on the Internet, where along with Cannoli pastry you can also access other delicious cake and pie recipes.

The filling or icing is the most important part of this sweet delicacy. Cannoli tubes are filled with a sweet, creamy filling called ‘Cannoli cream’. This creamy filling is made from sweetened Ricotta cheese or mascarpone and is flavored with vanilla, chocolate, pistachio, Marsala wine or rose water. Now a days, chopped candied fruits are also added to the filling, to make it more delicious.

The Cannoli recipe in America varies somewhat from the original Italian version, due to unavailability of many ingredients. The American Cannoli recipe usually replaces Ricotta with mascarpone or milk custard, sugar and cornstarch. Candied fruit filling is also rarely seen in American Cannolis. Instead, the filling is sprinkled with chocolate chips and candied cherries are only used to dot the open ends of the pastry.

Cannoli recipe and shells: Although the filling receives more attention than the shell, the cannoli shell is equally important and baking the shell is more difficult than making the filling. The ready Cannoli shells are available in nearly all bakeries and anyone interested in making Cannoli can simply buy the readymade shells. Readymade Cannoli shells reduce the preparation time.

Cannoli shells are available in a variety of sizes, from finger long shells to fist-sized shells, a specialty of southern Palermo, Sicily. Irrespective of the size, the filling should be completed just before serving, to avoid the shell becoming soggy. The crunchy shells are a total contrast to the soft filling and this is where the success of the great Cannoli lies.

Cannoli Cream recipe: Cannoli Cream goes extremely well with Omlettes, Crespelli or fresh fruit. Cannoli Cream is also very easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 cup Ricotta cheese
1/8 cup toasted, peeled and chopped almonds
1tablespoon sugar
Half an orange, finely chopped

Preparation:
- Soak the almonds in boiling water.
- Take them out and remove skins.
- Put the almonds in an oven, pre-heated at 325 degrees, till light brown.
- Blend the Ricotta cheese until smooth.
- Pour everything into a bowl, mix and refrigerate.
- Serve chilled.