Let's Make Cannoli's

canolis.

If you've never had a cannoli before, you really don't know what you're missing. It's a great taste sensation, some different textures and flavors, and around Philly it's pretty commonplace. So whatever part of the country you're in, if you have Italian markets, you're liable to find some good cannolis there. But I'm going to teach you how to make your own tonight. And there's a couple things you need to make cannolis. It's really a pretty simple dish, and it's going to go really fast, and you're going to be surprised and how well they come out. And when you make them for your friends, they're going to really marvel at what you made for them, and they're not going to realize how simple it is. But to make cannolis, a lot of people make them with just ricotta cheese, and that's good. If you want to do that, that's fine. But I like to mix some mascarpone in with my ricotta cheese. It really brings it to a little creamier level. It doesn't do a lot for the flavor, but it does make it a little richer. So I like using mascarpone, and you can use any kind of proportion you like. Depending on how much I have on hand, how many I'm making, I might use a 50/50 mix, I might use a 2-to-1 mix. So it's just going in there to help cut down the ricotta a little bit, add some more creaminess to it, and give you just a better, smoother cannoli filling. One thing about store-bought fillings is you can taste them right away. They have this gummy— texture to it. It's just, it's so easy to make it that you're going to want to do it as soon as you see how to do it. So one important thing about ricotta is you want to get a very dry ricotta. If you open up the can and it's really, really wet, if it's moist, you're going to have to put it in cheesecloth and let it sit overnight to really get it dry. Your other option is making your own ricotta, and it's really not difficult to make your own ricotta cheese. It's something that you can do in about an hour, and it's pretty much waiting and watching the milk curdle, is what it is. But if you can get a nice dry ricotta cheese, that works really well. So I'm actually doubling my recipe because I know my neighbors are waiting for cannolis as we speak. So I use that. And this is Marscapone. And Marscapone, like I said, you can find at any Italian grocer. And a lot of the supermarkets are carrying it, like Whole Foods. We have a Wegmans in our area that carries it. A lot of the higher-end supermarkets, you can now find mascarpone. And it is, it's basically Italian cream cheese, but it just doesn't have any of the zip that Philly has, Philly cream cheese has. So those are the two cheeses that I'm putting in. Before I do anything else, I just want to mix them together a little bit. And I'm going to get them blended. And a little creamy. Okay, so we're just going to turn the mixer on, just a little bit. Hello! We don't want to overmix this, but we want to mix it enough so that it does blend together well. All right, so that's it, that's it, just a little bit. Get the cheese off. I've got your mascarpone, got your ricotta. Scrape down the bowl a little bit. And then what I have here is I have superfine sugar, and superfine sugar is also referred to as bar sugar. You can usually find it in this size. If you can't find superfine sugar, you can take regular sugar and put it in your food processor and pulse it a few times, and just pulse it till it starts to look a real finer grain, like you've cut the grain down. And that'll be the sugar you want to use. Most recipes you're going to find are going to tell you to use 10X sugar. And that's the biggest mistake you can make while making cannolis. Because if you've ever made cannolis, you had a cannoli and the filling was really loose and watery, it's because you used 10X sugar. I remember a dialogue when I was younger and I was starting out to be a chef and I was making cannolis. And one of my friends' Italian grandmother He was asking her how to make them and telling her how I made them. The only word I really understood at that point was stupido, because I was using the wrong sugar. So she taught me to use the right sugar, and that is the superfine. So we're going to put the sugar in, depending upon the sweetness you like. I'm not going to add it all in right now because a cannoli really isn't supposed to be real sweet. It's not like an American dessert where we really oversweeten everything. So I want to taste it before I actually put all the sugar in. Need a spoon. That's actually right about right. That's plenty of sugar. Like I said, start with half the amount of sugar that it calls for, taste it, and see where it goes from there. Now I have some lime zest. I'm going to put lime zest. If you don't have lime, orange is great. Lemon works. Any citrus zest at all. It gives it a little perks up the flavor a little bit. And you want to make sure that it is pretty fine and don't overdo the zest because then it'll be like crunchy and it's not a good thing with cannolis. And I do like to put a little bit of the juice in as well just to add a little bit more flavor to it. Okay, so just about the juice of a half here.

Alright.

And last we'll put it into is a little vanilla. And you have to be careful not to overdo the vanilla because the cannoli mix will get a little dark on you. So you want to keep it light as possible. That is the vanilla. Okay. See how nice and tight that is? It's really, really held up really well. And the mascarpone does help do that too. But if your ricotta is really, really loose, there's nothing in the world that's going to save it. I mean, you really need to get some cheesecloth and either strain it or, you know, make your own. The last ingredient, and then we're home free, is chocolate. Some people will put some candied fruits in it, some little pieces, but I never like them at all. Around Philly, they really don't use them very much. We use pretty much just chocolate. You can either chop up chocolate very fine, or if you can get the mini chips, the mini chips work great, too. Not going to affect the flavor, and it's easier to do. And if it's a dessert you're just throwing together, there's no sense taking a few— you can take a few steps to make life easier for you. All right, so we're going to put some chips in here. And we don't want to overdo it with the chips, but we want to have a pretty good amount of them running through the cannoli. Looks pretty good. Kind of like chocolate chip ice cream, about that ratio. Looks good. Nice cheese. Okay, so now we have the mix. The mix is all made. Got a nice, real nice texture to it, nice and thick. You know, you notice I did not overbeat it at all, and I want to caution against that because sometimes that will loosen it up a little bit too. So here I'm just finishing mixing in the chocolate, smoothing it out, making sure everything's good. Looks pretty good for me. Now if you have a real pastry bag at home with a tip in it and you have a nice big star tip, you can pipe them in and they'll be really pretty in the ends and decorative. If not, the grocery stores sell packs of these plastic bags. There's about 25 of them in a pack. They're fairly inexpensive. Nice thing is you use them, you throw them away. So it's a one-shot deal here. You don't have to wash those waxy pastry bags out, let them dry, and they never quite seem clean when you do that. So we're just going to fill a pastry bag. I don't have a tip in it. I'm just going to pipe it in. Now you can also use a spoon, do it the old-fashioned way. But again, if you're filling any number of these, when I make them at school, if I'm making 100 of them, filling them by hand with a spoon takes quite a while. The girls do like cannolis. All right, I'm just going to squeeze it down. And again, this tip is a little bit small, so I'm just going to trim that a little. Depending on what you're making, to make life again a little easier, sometimes a little bit bigger opening is a good thing. All right, now you can make your own cannoli shells if you want. It's again a matter of preference. I don't. It's a time thing. There's only so much time in a day. I can get some really good shells around here. If you have an Italian bakery close by, check with them. They're liable to sell you shells that they make. If not, there's some pretty good varieties in the grocery stores. You just have to look for them. Ferrara makes a really nice one. Bellini, I think. There's a bunch of different Italian imports that you can get for a shell. The one thing about a shell that you do want to look for is it should have some bubbles. You should see some bubbles in it, and that's from the dough getting some effervescence in it. A lot of the recipes will call for either a sparkling wine or sparkling water put into the dough, and that is what helps create some of the bubbles that are in the shell. So you get a shell, and it's a little bit— there's a little bit of cinnamon smell to it. It's a nice tasty— it's a crispy shell. When you bite it, that's what it's supposed to do. It's not going to be stale. It's not going to be mushy. This is a good shell to use. Like I said, they're store-bought, and these aren't bad at all. One thing about them when you fill them is you can try to fill them all from one end, which I don't do. You can just turn it, but you just want to make sure you get all the way in the center with the cheese. That's pretty much all you're going to do, and you're done. Now, when you're doing cannolis, you can do them up ahead of time. I wouldn't do them— depending on when your dinner was or when your party was, I wouldn't fill them more than about an hour ahead of time. They'll hold. They'll stay overnight. But they'll start to get a little bit of moisture from the filling into the shell, and you'll be able to tell that it's getting a little wet. I like to fill them close to time to serve them. That's all there is to it. So once you fill them, now if you want to get a little more inventive with your shells, you want to do a little something with them, you can always dip the ends in chocolate. When I say dip the ends, I don't really mean dip it in because what will happen is all these pieces will break off. You're liable to lose part of the shell. So I tend to find this works better. It's just this chocolate has cooled off a little bit, so it's not quite as thin as it could be.

Do you put wax in that, or is it just chocolate?

This is just chocolate. This is just chocolate. I mean, if you wanted to shine a little bit, you could add a little oil to it, but this is a good semi-sweet chocolate, and that's all it is, melted down. If I was making a ganache with it, I'd put some cream in it or something, but this is just melted chocolate because I want it to get more solid as it cools. So now I would not fill it. Like it is right here, but I would place it on something and then put it in the refrigerator for a while. So then when the chocolate is, is formed back into chocolate again, then you can solve. All right, so now you just changed game up a little bit by adding just a little chocolate to it. I was going to show you rolling in pistachios, and I forgot I used all my pistachios on some biscotti last week. I didn't replace them. But while the chocolate's wet a little bit, you can roll it in some nuts if you like. Pistachios are good because they're colorful. Whenever I'm doing something, I like to try and add some color to it too. So you could always, once you've dipped it, you could always roll it in a little bit of— or take a spoon again and sprinkle some of the nuts on it, and then, you know, set it back down on some parchment gently. And that'll make a different end on the cannoli. It'll look a little different. It's always nice for appearances. Now the only other step, the thing that I do when I go to serve, is I like to take a little powdered sugar and just hit them up a little bit with that. You could do a little cocoa on them if you like. You could do a little bit of cinnamon on them if you like. Whatever you really like the flavors of. But this dresses them up a little bit more. And when you want to serve them, it's got a nice plate. Okay, we're gonna make a little bit better presentation. All right, so like going to a restaurant, Except you're going to pay about, what, $4 or $5 for one? Or if you go— we have a place called Termini's in Philly, and I hate to say it, but I actually don't like their cannolis. But they're really famous for them, and you're going to pay $4 for one easy, maybe more. I haven't been in so long, I really don't know. But if you go out to a restaurant, this is a typical dessert. And you can make these at home. You can make a dozen of them. For a fraction of the cost that you would pay at a restaurant or at a bakery for them. You have a party, and it's really something that your friends are going to look at and go, "Wow." The ones that know what they are. The ones that don't know what they are are really going to be impressed because they've never had them before. If you're at a bakery, you can ask them if they have the mini shells, too. They're really cool. They're about this big, and they're really small cannoli shells. And they're really great for parties too, because then you can— people can eat one to try it, and they don't have to take a big one to start. But most of the people around here know they love them, so the mini ones, they'd be taking half a dozen of them. So the full size are good for us. So that's about it for cannolis. I'm trying to think if there's anything else I can tell you about. Again, you know, the secret, superfine sugar. That'll keep your mix firm. And it should stay firm like this. For a couple days really. It should hold up. It's going to start to weep. If it does weep a little, you can pour some of the fluid off. That's good. Don't mix it in. But this is a nice texture, a nice consistency, and it makes for a really good eating cannoli.

Chef, I'm sorry, this is Carol. Do you have— how are you? Do you have a substitution for the sugar if I wanted to make it more diabetic friendly?

Well, Cara, I've never made it with anything else. I would try one of the new sugar substitutes that's more granular. The problem that I find with using 10X sugar is that it makes it weak. Now, I would test it on a small amount just to see. What happens is, and I remember the first time I did it, I put in the 10X sugar., and it started to get loose, so I'm thinking that more is going to make it thicker. It doesn't work that way. More 10X only makes it thinner and makes it more runny. Then you get to a point where there's nothing you can do to it except make cheesecake.

That's basically the secret to keeping it stiff enough to be able to pipe it.

But you know, some of these new sugars look like sugar.

Yeah.

I don't know what they do when they dissolve, and that is my only question of when they do dissolve, what will happen to it? What does it break down into? We won't know until you try. That would be something nice to try. You could cut down on the sugar. You could definitely cut back the sugar. Like I said, it isn't a sweet dessert to begin with, so it might work. Give it a try and see.

I will do that.

One of the new sweeteners, and it might be a good way to come up with a diabetic-friendly cannoli. The chocolate chips can stay out, or if you have some dietetic or diabetic, or carob, or something that's more friendly, you can use that. Nothing's etched in stone in these. You can make them your own. Like I said, traditionally, in Italy, you might find them with some candied fruit in them. I just don't like that at all, so I leave it out. But you can also add some other flavorings to it. Like, I put vanilla in. You might want to add a liqueur into it. You could add cocoa powder into it and make a chocolate cannoli filling. I mean, so there are some options with this. You can take it in different directions. But the nice thing is, like I said, you come up with a really different dessert for a party or just for friends and family, to amaze them and show them, you know, what you can do, whether it's something they hadn't seen or hadn't thought of. You know, they go, "Oh, you got to go to a really good Italian restaurant to get a cannoli, you got to go to the Italian market to get a cannoli." Right. Excuse me a minute, I have a 120-pound Bernese Mountain Dog. He's going to be going—

He's so cute.

He's a good boy.

He likes cannoli too. He must be Italian.

Let me tell you, he likes everything. He likes everything. When we first got him, he was a rescue, and he would walk through the kitchen like, "I'm just passing through, just passing through." Wouldn't stop. Now he comes whenever I'm cooking and he sits right by this counter and just waits because he knows he's going to get something. He loves tiramisu. I'll tell you that much. He's got very discriminating taste buds. But you know, the cannolis are really, really nice. I enjoy them. You know, it's not something that you might eat all year round, but especially around this time of year or on a holiday. I do some other things with it too. I love— anyone that knows me knows I love zucchini blossoms, and I use them for all kinds of things. Well, I also stuff zucchini blossoms with cannoli filling, and I dip them in chocolate. That's my variation for the summer. I love those. They're nice and light. If somebody wants a different dessert, my neighbor loves them, so I've always got some cannoli shells in the closet. They hold up really, really well, so buying them store-bought and keeping them in there, if the mood strikes you, you whip up a small batch of cannolis. Just like going back to Italy for a while or something. Anybody have any questions on anything? No? Time is it? Well, that was a quick one.

Well, I was born and raised in Philadelphia, so what part of Philadelphia are you from?

Well, actually, I'm from the state of Texas.

Oh, okay.

But I was transplanted here at an early age, and I've lived right outside of Philadelphia. In Collinswood.

Oh, okay.

So we're across the bridge, but I work outside of Philadelphia on the Pennsylvania side every day at the school I work at.

Oh, okay.

We just had these for dessert a couple days ago. At a high school? At a high school. My wife just came in and said, "Tell him it's a high school." I teach culinary at the high school too. My wife just came in and said, "Tell him it's a high school." Hey David, how you doing? But yeah, you know, we, the girls know them. They're from Philly, so you know, see, I can always, if they come through and they don't know what they are, you know, they haven't lived in this area very long.

Yeah.

You'll find cannolis everywhere. Kind of a tradition in Philadelphia. It's a good one. So, you know, that was, that's my presentation for tonight. Let's make cannolis. You saw how fast it was.

Yes.

So you mean I missed everything, right?

You missed it, Dave. We got the cannolis here.

I was frantically trying to get on. I even tried to find a hat because I had bad hair today.

Well, you can check out— it was a pretty simple recipe. I used mascarpone and ricotta for even amounts. But I said you can go in either direction. I probably wouldn't use more mascarpone. I'd use less of it if I didn't have enough. You know, when I used the big 48-ounce cans at school, I think I used 2 of those— 2? Yeah, 2 of the smaller ones. So it's not quite half and half at that point. It's 32 ounces to 48 ounces. But it does smooth it out. It gives it a nicer texture, a nicer consistency, and makes it a little creamier and not quite as grainy sometimes as ricotta can be. And it's a great way— like, if you make cheesecakes, you make ricotta cheesecakes. It's really great in a cheesecake too. In fact, I had some really not good ricotta at school the first day I was going to make them. And as I'm looking at it and it's starting to thin out too much, I says, "Well, we're making cheesecakes today instead." So, you know, just can't lose product. You turn it around and make a cheesecake out of it.

And then Dennis, did you dip in chocolate one of the cannoli shells?

Yes, I did.

I did. Okay.

And I actually didn't dip it. I was showing them. That rather than— this chocolate has cooled off a little bit too much. It is not quite as responsive as it would be. And normally I would have this in a double boiler bowl over the stove, staying nice and hot. Let's get this where you can see it. But what I do do with this is instead of just dipping it in, because what happens is the pieces will break off into the chocolate and will start to really make the chocolate a little funky. So I just spoon it, and like I said, this is not as thin and workable as it was earlier, but you can paint it on too.

Got it.

And you know, you can also double dip them. You could go partway up, or you could use this technique. You really don't even have to double dip them. You could add a layer of white chocolate on it also. And then like I said, after you're done, you know, go in the refrigerator for a little while. Let the chocolate solidify. If you have pieces, you can always break off the excess or take a knife and cut them off. But then it'll be hard enough to dip it. I also mentioned about rolling it in some nuts if you like. I was going to use pistachios tonight, but I ran out of those and found out a little too late. But a nice, not fine ground, but a nice fine chop. Perhaps, so that the nuts are very easy to eat, but then sprinkle some nuts on the chocolate while it's still a little wet. I wouldn't do the bottom part, but just around the sides and the top, just to add some decoration to it. Can the filling be frozen? I think if you freeze it, it's going to loosen up. I know I buy manufactured frozen. I haven't bought it in a long time because it's not very good. It's got it's got a gummy texture to it. But I don't really know. I've never frozen it. I've never had it around long enough to really try that with it.

Okay.

But I have a feeling that if you did freeze it, when it defrosted, that the milk might separate a little bit and it might become a little runny.

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Okay, thank you. I probably wouldn't do that with it. Again, you don't have to make as much. Like, I made a double batch today. Because I've got neighbors who love cannolis, and it's a good excuse to give them some cannolis too around Christmas time. So I'll fill these with this and take them around. They'll be happy to see me. But you can make a small batch, you know, you can make— if you have mascarpone, it'll hold up, you can use it for other things too. I love it in cakes, and you want to make tiramisu, you know, it's That's just an incredible dessert. But you can make half a batch and fill, you know, fill 4 cannolis or whatever you're going to eat for the day, you know, for a meal. You don't have to make a large batch of them. The recipe is for a smaller batch. And I did cut back the sugar some, so if you're using that recipe, make sure you cut back the sugar. Don't put it all in. Taste it. See how it is. See if it's sweet enough for you before you add it all in. Because you really don't want the filling to be too sweet. You want it to be a little sweet to take the edge off, but Italian desserts are never really real sweet. Okay? Anything else? Any questions or comments or—

You did a great job from what I can see.

Thank you. Well, that's it. I'm going to end the broadcast, and I thank you very much for coming tonight.

Thank you for the invite. This was really very good.