Reeds stuffed with Ricotta cheese (Cannoli siciliani)

Cannoli , plural of the Italian word cannolo , which means small tube, are one of the most typical sweets of the Sicilian region in Italy. These cannoli siciliani consist of canes made with a fried dough flavored with Marsala wine, filled with a cream of ricotta cheese with candied fruits. Although originally they were sweets that were prepared only at carnival, today and thanks to the great love for this dessert that exists, not only in Sicily but throughout Italy, they are consumed throughout the year. The possible fillings all start from the same base, a ricotta and sugar cream that can be flavored or not and that is accompanied by frosted fruit or chocolate chips.

In the blog you can find another similar sweet although filled with pastry cream, the fried canes do Carballiño , so you can see that in each area the sweets vary but maintain a variable, in this case the fried dough. As a sample of the importance of this sweet for Sicilians and how deep-rooted its consumption is, I tell you a couple of curiosities. There are two filmographic samples in which the Italian world, specifically the Sicilian is the protagonist, one of them is El Padrino and the other Los Soprano, in both cases we can see how one of its protagonists mentions this sweet, or is going to buy it at some pastry before or after a murder, or they are simply a homemade dessert that they demand or that one of their women prepares. The truth is that it is a very tasty dessert, the ricotta cream is, with its delicacy and sweetness, the perfect combination for the crispness of the dough flavored with Marsala wine. I hope you like it and you dare to add an Italian touch to your carnival.

Preparation of the silicone cannoli

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, vinegar, wine, ground sugar, cinnamon, salt, cocoa, egg and lard at room temperature. Initially we are integrating the ingredients with a fork and then with our hands, kneading until we can form a manageable and not sticky dough. We form a ball and wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for 1 hour in the fridge.
2. If we use fresh ricotta cheese we must let it drain for several hours so that it eliminates all its whey. We put it in a bowl over a strainer in the fridge, and let it release all the liquid. If you use cottage cheese like me, this step would not be necessary.
3. Mix the cheese with the sugar and beat until a cream is formed. We put the mixture in a strainer and with the help of a spoon press until all the cream passes through the strainer, so we will have the mixture much finer and smoother.
4. Cut the candied orange into small pieces and add it to the ricotta cream. If we want to add chocolate pearls to it this would be the moment. We keep the cream in the fridge until the moment of using it.
5. On a previously floured surface we spread the dough with a rolling pin. We have to extend it until it is as thin as possible, such as 2 or 3 mm. With a mold or cutter of about 12 cm. in diameter we cut the different portions of the dough. We remove the clippings, knead again and repeat the operation.
6. We wrap the molds of reeds or cones with the portions of dough and use a beaten egg as a glue to close the reeds.
7. In a large deep frying pan, heat plenty of oil to fry. We are adding the cannoli in batches, frying them on both sides. The only difficulty of this sweet is in the temperature of the oil, since if it is not very hot the dough stays raw, not crispy at all. However, if the oil is very hot, they will brown very quickly and will be raw inside. The first batch will serve us to try and that the following ones will come out delicious. We cast into the pan a few at a time. When they are golden, remove the cannoli to an absorbent paper to remove the excess oil and reserve in a source.
8. It is recommended that we wait for the cannoli to be warm to remove the metal mold, if we removed it too soon they could break. When we have all the fried and cold cannoli, we start with the filling. We introduce the cream in a pastry bag with a large round nozzle and we are filling the canes on both sides. If we do not have a pastry bag we can use a plastic bag to which we will open a hole in one of its corners.

We can decorate the cannoli siciliani with a frosty fruit on each side and sprinkle with icing sugar, we will have a nice and very tasty dessert, a recipe for yummy.

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You can see all the photos of the step by step in the next album.