Teenie Cakes™

| food, photography, edible gardening & more!

Homemade Cannoli

Cannoli from TeenieCakes.com

Cannoli are known as Italian-American pastries, although the origin of cannoli dates back to Sicily, specifically Palermo, where it was prepared during Carnevale season, and according to lore, as a symbol of fertility.

Cannoli forms are very inexpensive. I started looking on Amazon.com for the forms but held off until checking Bed, Bath and Beyond.  Bingo!  Found a pack of four cannoli forms for a mere $2.99. Reading through some of the experiences of other fellow Daring Bakers, I decided to use white wine instead of red (even though I LUV red wine) to ensure a lighter color to the pastry’s dough.   As our hostess warned, the dough was very stubborn. After working it, it did become more manageable especially when rolling out the circles into ovals. I used olive oil in the dough and it had a delicious smell while I was rolling which really got me anxious to complete and taste it.    I did get some blistering on the shells, but probably should have waited for the oil to be hotter for that extra desired blistering effect.   A very light homemade whipped cream was used for the filling.  Using chocolate ganache and chopped pistachios as the end garnish in combination with the light cream…delicious!

Thank you Lisa Michele for a great November challenge!

 print
Cannoli Shells
Ingredients

2 cups (250 grams/8.82 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder
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 wine vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand

1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)

1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts for garnish
Confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine 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 (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.


3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) 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 deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer’s directions. 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.

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.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shree says

    your cannolis look so beautiful! Mine didn’t look anything like that :)) I also don’t like deep frying things, so on this challenge, I baked em’ but the color is nowhere close this this beautiful!

  4. Allison says

    Hi Teenie Cakes! I just found your blog and I LOVE it! I love the layout and the photography is stunning. What type of camera do you use? I’m can’t wait to look around some more.
    Anywho, congrats on completing the challenge! I’m with you on not usually fying things. Our apartment smelled like oil for a few days. But the outcome was well worth it!

  7. Chad says

    Yum! I’ve never made cannolis, but there’s this little Italian deli down the road that makes ’em and they’re really good. I might just have to try making these sometime.

  14. Mathea says

    I’m playing with the idea of joining Daring Bakers… I just signed up for Daring Cooks and am in the “waiting period”. I look forward to following your progress – the cannoli look great!

  17. Lisa says

    Teenie, I love your new layout..it’s gorgeous, as are your cannoli and the photos of it! I’m so glad you took this challenge and ran with it even though you hate deep frying. It certainly paid off. Amazing job, and thanks for deep frying with me!

[instagram-feed]