Say Sicily and think of cannoli. If we can't taste them on the island, here's how to try making them at home, from the choice of ricotta to the preparation of candied fruit
If we can't go in Sicily to eat cannoli with ricotta or we can't go buy them we can try to make them at home, choosing the ricotta cheese right and also trying to prepare candied fruit. After all, we don't lack time in this long time quarantine and the recipe, if followed step by step, can be very successful. The taste will not be the same as the master pastry chefs Sicilians but it will still be an excellent dessert to bring to the table.
Sicilian cannoli at home: from waffle to ricotta
If to prepare the real waffle cannoli you can follow ours recipe step by step, what perhaps not everyone knows is that the other secret of this dessert lies in the ricotta cheese to fill them. A ricotta that must be strictly of sheep, with the right dose of sugar to give it a sweet but not cloying taste.
The doses for one kg of cream to fill the cannoli these must be: 670 g of ricotta and 330 g of fine granulated sugar. One of the tricks for a good cream result is to start work it from the day before, putting it in a sieve and covering it well with the transparent film. The ricotta, in fact, must be perfectly dry before being blended together with the sugar: both ingredients must be mixed and the cream must be silky and very smooth. Once ready, before using it to fill the cannoli, it must be kept in fridge (covered by plastic wrap or directly in the pastry bag) for at least eight hours.
It is fundamental to know, finally, that cannoli go filled at the moment, just before consuming them. In fact, the wafer tends to moisten and lose fragrance and it is not a good idea to fill it with the cream long before eating the cannoli.
Making candied fruit for cannoli at home
In a true Sicilian cannolo certainly can not miss candied. Although the preparation is a bit long (about two weeks) it may be interesting to prepare them at home with pieces of fruit. Here's how to do it.
The first step is to choose the ripe and intact fruit, wash it well and boil it for a few minutes.
The second step is divide the fruit by type: on the one hand the small whole one, on the other the large one in pieces, on the other the one with the hard skin, to be pierced with a fork.
As for him syrup for candying the doses must be these: for 500 g of raw weighed fruit 200 g of sugar and 400 ml of water will be needed. The syrup is boiled for about 3 minutes and then poured on fruit. The mixture should then be left to rest for 24 hours. The next day the fruit should be separated from the syrup and added to it other sugar (about 60 g), it must be boiled and then poured on the fruit and left to rest again.
This operation goes repeated for 7 daysthen, starting from the eighth, the dose of sugar should be slightly increased (80 g instead of 60) and the syrup redone, to be added again to the fruit. The tenth dayFinally, the same operation must be repeated with 80 g of sugar and the fruit should be left to rest for another 4 days.
The candied fruit will therefore have to dry well, covered under a towel, before finally being ready to season the cannoli.
Alternatively try ours candied orange peel!
