Classic Cannoncini Recipes

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.

Steps:

• To make the dough, melt the butter in a bain-marie or double boiler and leave to cool. Measure out the water and add the salt. Place the flour in a bowl and pour in the water. Add the vinegar and melted butter. Work the ingredients with your hands to bring them together into a dough, then shape into a block. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• To make the butter paste, sift the flour into a mound on a clean surface and make a well in the middle. Place the butter in the well. Rub the flour and butter together using your fingertips or a dough scraper, until you obtain a very soft paste.
• Place the butter paste between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out with a rolling pin to form a rectangular block. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Using a rolling pin, roll the chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface to form a rectangle. ¼ inch thick with the short side of the rectangle facing towards you. Flatten the butter paste into a rectangle the same width as the rolled-out dough but a third of its length. Place the butter on top of the dough in the center.
• Take the short side of the dough closest to you and fold it up and over the butter paste. Fold the other short side of the dough up and towards you to cover the first fold of dough. Turn the dough through 90° so the folds no longer face you and roll the dough out again, to form a rectangle just under ½ inch thick.
• Take the short side of the dough closest to you and fold it up and over into the middle of the rectangle, then do the same with the other side, folding the dough up and over so the short sides meet in the center of the rectangle. Fold the rectangle in half again, wrap it in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
• Position the dough with the short side closest to you and roll it into a rectangle ½ inch thick. Fold the lower third of the dough up and away from you, then fold the upper third up and towards you to cover the first fold of dough. Wrap the block in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Repeat this stage a further 4 times, to make a total of 6 stages, and always leave the dough to rest in the refrigerator between each stage.
• Pour the cream into a bowl. Using an electric whisk, whip the cream to soft peaks.
• Add one-third of the whipped cream to the cooled custard and fold it in gently, using a silicone spatula.
• Add the remaining cream and fold it in again until you obtain a soft, even mixture.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F and line the baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Place ¼ cup (50 g) of the sugar in a small saucepan, add the water and bring to boiling point over medium heat to make a syrup. Continue to cook until all the sugar has dissolved then set aside to cool.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry dough into a 13 x 9-inch rectangle, that is ⅛ inch. Using a pastry wheel, cut the rolled-out dough into 16 strips, each measuring ¾ inch wide.
• Pour the remaining sugar into a bowl. Hold a metal cannoncini tube in one hand and, starting at one end, wrap it with a strip of pastry, overlapping each wrap slightly, so as not to leave any gaps. Brush each pastry with the sugar syrup and roll it in the remaining sugar, making sure it is completely covered. Place on the lined baking sheets and continue preparing the rest. Depending on how many metal tubes you have, make, and bake the cannoncini in batches.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed, golden, and starting to release from the cannoncini tubes. Leave to cool for 15 minutes, then slide the pastries off the cannoncini tubes and let cool completely on a cooling rack.
• To serve, fill a pastry (piping) bag fitted with a star piping tip (nozzle) with the chantilly cream and fill each cannoncini. To ensure the pastry remains crisp, fill the cannoncini immediately before serving.