cups sugar (250 g)Anna Piazza, Montallegro, Agrigento
While studying Italian at the Scuola di Italiano per stranieri in Lecce, we took cooking classes at a restaurant called Il ristoro dei Templari with Gianni Dell’Anna, the chef and owner. I told him I was Sicilian and my mother use to make Sicilian cannolis but I never could make them quite like her. He told me that his mother was Sicilian and that he would show me how his mother made them. He didn’t just show me: his cooking classes were always “hands on.” I made them and then took them home to my husband to try out. He loved them and so did I. Below is that recipe. Thank you Gianni!
2¾ cups pastry flour (250 g)
2 teaspoon each, cacao powder, vanilla,
powdered coffee, cinnamon (5 g)
2½ tablespoons powdered sugar (20 g)
3 tablespoons lard, melted (40 g)
½ cup Marsala wine, more if necessary for consistency (100 ml)
1 small egg
4 cups sunflower or vegetable oil (1 litre)
Note: You will need a set of canoli tube tools to make shells.
FILLING:
1 pound fresh ricotta (454 g)
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon vanilla (15 ml)
2 teaspoons cinnamon (5 g)
1 cups sugar (250 g)
1 or 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry liquor
(15 or 30 ml)
1 cup grated dark chocolate (100 g)
½ cup finely chopped pistachio nuts (50 g)
icing sugar for dusting
To make the shells:
1.Mix flour, cacao powder, vanilla, powdered coffee, cinnamon and sugar in bowl. Add melted lard and re-mix. Slowly add Marsala wine until it comes together (like bread), adding more Marsala as necessary.
2.Knead dough like bread, into an even consistency (not too soft, but not hard either).
3.Roll out into log and cut into 2 pieces, forming each one into ball. Let sit covered in plastic wrap at room temperature for 1½ hrs.
4.On floured surface, roll into ⅛-inch thickness and cut into square pieces for either the mini size or large size cannoli tubes and thin out one more time.
5.Beat egg in small bowl and set aside.
6.Place cannoli tube in middle of one of the dough squares, fold piece loosely around cannoli tube and brush end with egg mixture to seal. Continue until all the rolls are ready.
7.Heat oil to 160°C or 340°F in deep pot. Add few cannoli rolls at a time and make sure they are immersed in oil until golden brown (not burned).
8.Remove with spider and place shells on paper towels, allowing them to cool completely.
If you do not use canoli shells immediately, keep in a vacuum sealed box until ready to use. They will keep for months. Never store in the fridge as they tend to get soft and lose their crispness.
To make the filling:
1.Drain ricotta in colander in fridge overnight.
2.Using electric mixer, whip drained ricotta, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar and cherry liqueur until smooth and fluffy. Fold in the grated chocolate and return to fridge until ready to use.
3.Using a pastry bag with a ½-inch hole, fill each cannoli shell with filling, dipping each end into the pistachio nuts. Dust with icing sugar.
Serve immediately.
