300 gm white couverture
chocolate, finely chopped
Pure icing sugar, for dusting
CANNOLI DOUGH
335 gm plain flour, plus extra
for dusting
80 gm softened butter
1 egg, plus 1 extra beaten
for eggwash
2 egg yolks
100 ml Marsala or grappa
Canola oil for deep-frying
RICOTTA MOUSSE
250 gm drained ricotta
100 ml pouring cream
50 ml milk
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
1 sprig rosemary, leaves only
15 gm honey
Scraped seeds of ½ vanilla
bean
1 titanium-strength gelatine
leaf, softened in cold water
for 5 minutes
1 For cannoli dough, rub flour,
butter and a pinch of salt
together in a bowl with your
fingers until fine crumbs form.
Transfer to an electric mixer
fitted with the dough hook. Add
egg, yolks and Marsala, and
knead to just bring together.
Wrap dough in plastic and
refrigerate to rest (overnight).
2 Divide dough in half. Dusting
with flour as you go and being
careful not to stretch dough,
roll each half through a pasta
machine, starting at the widest
setting, and continuing to roll,
reducing settings notch by
notch, until 1mm to 1.5mm thick.
Place sheets of dough on a tray
with baking paper between
each, cover with a tea towel
and refrigerate to firm up
(30 minutes).Roasted white chocolate and ricotta cannoli
MAKES ABOUT 30 // PREP TIME 1¼ HRS // COOK 1 HR(PLUS RESTING, COOLING)
“I often play around with cannoli and crostoli doughs,” says Koludrovic. “I love their
versatility, always producing a satisfyingly crisp, flaky finish when fried. Here, I’ve
given the traditional ricotta filling a caramel-lover’s twist and added roasted white
chocolate and rosemary. Choose a good Marsala or grappa for the dough – it’ll result
in a noticeably nicer finished product.” Start this recipe a day ahead to rest the dough.
3 Preheat oil in a deep-fryer
or large saucepan to 170°C.
Cut out about 30 cone-shaped
pieces of pastry with rounded
tops (use a 9cm cookie cutter
to imprint a rounded edge into
pastry, then a knife to cut a
triangle base below). Starting
from the rounded ends, wrap
each piece of pastry around
well-oiled cannoli moulds
leaving the pointed end loose.
Brush joining points with egg
and press to seal (it’s important
that no egg touches the cannoli
mould or it will stick). Fry cannoli
in batches until golden and
bubbled (1-2 minutes; be
careful, hot oil will spit).
Carefully drain, then holding
cannoli with a tea towel,
carefully twist them from the
cannoli tubes while warm.Keep on paper towels until
needed (see note).
4 Preheat oven to 120°C. Line
a baking tray with baking paper.
Spread chocolate over tray in
an even layer and roast, stirring
occasionally until melted,
golden and caramelised (25-35
minutes). Cool, then finely chop.
5 For ricotta mousse, bring
milk, rind, rosemary, honey
and vanilla to a simmer in
a saucepan over low heat.
Remove from heat, squeeze
excess moisture from gelatine,
add to pan and stir to dissolve.
Cool to room temperature
(10 minutes). Process ricotta in
a food processor or whisk it
until smooth, and whisk cream
to soft peaks in a bowl. When
milk mixture is cooled, strain
it over ricotta and pulse to
combine. Fold whipped cream
and 200gm roasted white
chocolate into ricotta mixture,
then transfer to a piping bag
fitted with a wide, plain nozzle.
6 Pipe mousse into both ends
of cannoli, sprinkle ends with
remaining roasted white
chocolate and dust with icing
sugar to serve. Filled cannoli
will keep refrigerated in an
airtight container for 2 days.
NoteThis recipe makes about
30 cannoli, but you could use
half the dough and freeze the
rest for up to three months.
If you’re only using half the
dough, simply halve the
quantities for the filling.
Cannoli shells can also be
frozen after frying; just heat
the empty shells in the oven
for a few minutes before using
to make them crisp again.➤