Cannoli With Orange Ricotta Filling Recipes

Steps:

• For the chocolate:
• Melt chocolate over a double boiler and dip half of each cannoli shell in the chocolate. Allow any excess chocolate to drip off then lay shells out on a silpat or waxed paper-lined tray to set while you prepare the filling.
• For the filling:
• Line a colander with cheesecloth, add the ricotta and let drain until very dry. Squeeze out any excess moisture in cheesecloth. Place the ricotta into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high for 5 to 7 minutes until light and fluffy. Add sugar, orange zest, chopped citron and vanilla extract, then mix on medium until just combined. Place the filling into a piping bag and fill chocolate dipped cannoli with the mixture. Serve as soon as possible.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Blend in the shortening and egg white. Add the red wine one tablespoon at a time until the mixture forms a ball. Knead the dough enough to bring it together. Cover and let rest for half an hour.
• Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide dough into 2 parts. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 4 inch long ovals. Place a cannoli tube onto the oval lengthwise and roll up with edges overlapping; seal with a dab of egg white.
• Fry cannoli shells 2 or 3 at a time in the hot oil. When golden brown, remove from the oil to drain on paper towels. Remove tubes.
• To make the filling: In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese and confectioners' sugar. Fold in the vanilla, chocolate chips and candied orange peel. Chill for at least half an hour before filling shells. Drain off any excess liquid. Fill cooled shells and smooth off the filling at the edges. Keep refrigerated until serving.

Steps:

• 1. TO MAKE THE FILLING: Rub the ricotta through a coarse-meshed sieve into a medium bowl. Stir in the confectioners' sugar, liqueur, and orange zest. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. 2. TO MAKE THE DOUGH: In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt to mix. Add the 1/4 cup shortening and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pea-sized bits. In a glass measuring cup, mix the Marsala, vinegar, and egg. With the machine running, add the liquid through the feed tube and process until a ball forms on top of the blade. Process for 20 seconds to knead the dough. To make the dough by hand, stir the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the shortening and cut it in with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the wine mixture to form a soft dough. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead just until the dough is smooth and supple, about 5 minutes. Wrap the ball of dough with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. 3. Place a large wire cake rack over a jelly roll pan. In a deep Dutch oven, melt vegetable shortening over high heat to a depth of 2 to 3 inches and heat it to 365°F. 4. Working with one half of the dough at a time, roll it out on a lightly floured surface until Y16 inch thick. Using a saucer as a guide, cut out rounds that are slightly less wide than the length of the cannoli tubes (for example, just less than 4 inches wide for 4-inch-long tubes). Wrap a pastry round around each tube, overlapping the ends and securing the round closed with a dab of egg white. Do not get any egg white on the tube, or it will glue the pastry to the tube. 5. Deep-fry 2 tubes (it is hard to keep track of more than 2 at a time) until golden brown, about 1 minute. Using kitchen tongs, carefully transfer the tubes to the wire rack to drain. Let cool for about 2 minutes and, holding the tube with the kitchen tongs (the tube will be hot), slide the cannoli shell from the tube. Let the tubes cool (no need to wash them) while frying the other 2 tubes. Continue forming and frying the cannoli shells until all the dough is used. Let the fried shells cool completely. Do not reroll any scraps. If you wish, cut them into cookie-sized portions, deep-fry until golden, dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve as cookies. 6. To keep the cannoli shells from softening, fill them no more than 1 hour before serving. Put the filling in a pastry bag fitted with a No.5 plain tip (a 1/2-inch-wide opening). Pipe the filling into the pastry shells, filling first one side of the shell, and then the other. To garnish, grate chocolate over the exposed filling and sift confectioners' sugar over the cannoli.

Steps:

• Make the filling: Line a sieve with a layer of cheesecloth, and set over a bowl. Spoon ricotta into sieve. Cover, and let drain in the refrigerator overnight.
• With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat ricotta and confectioners' sugar until fluffy. Beat in chocolate chips, vanilla, zest, and lemon juice. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
• Make the shells: Combine flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add Marsala and oil, and beat on medium speed until dough comes together. Using your hands, knead dough on a lightly floured work surface until smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes. Wrap in plastic, and let rest 30 minutes.
• Divide dough into 4 pieces. Pass 1 piece of dough through the widest setting of a pasta machine (keep remaining pieces covered). Continue passing through narrower settings until it is the thickness of a dime. Lay on a floured work surface. Cut out rounds with a 3 1/4-inch cutter. Gather scraps and reroll.
• Pour enough oil into a large, heavy saucepan to come about 4 inches up sides. Heat over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 380 degrees.
• Wrap each round of dough around a 3 3/4-inch-long cannoli form, sealing with a dab of egg white. Working in batches of 3 or 4, fry until golden, about 1 minute. Using a wire skimmer or tongs, transfer to paper towels, and let cool 5 minutes. Carefully slide out forms, and let shells cool. Continue rolling, cutting, and frying the remaining dough.
• Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Dip one end of each cannoli shell into chocolate and then into pistachios. Let set 15 minutes on parchment paper.
• Transfer filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip (such as Ateco #826). Pipe filling into one end of a shell to the center, then into other end. Repeat with remaining shells and filling. Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve immediately.