Kannoli with Fresh Strawberries, White Chocolate & Pistachio
From Ainsley’s Taste of Malta, ITV
Kannoli (or Cannoli in Italy) are a Sicilian treat of sweetened ricotta filled pastry rolls and they’re one of the most popular desserts in Malta. They’re sold in cafes and bakeries across the archipelago with a variety of fillings – including chocolate, nuts, candied peel and fresh fruit. I’ve taken the delicious fresh strawberries of the island (a fruit so popular it has its own festival – the Festa Frawli!) and paired them with white chocolate, pistachios and zesty lemon. I’ve also added mascarpone to the ricotta filling to add a little tang and richness to the cream, but you can stick with the more traditional ricotta if you prefer. While cannoli shells are best when fried you can bake the tubes in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Method
Put the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and the wine, mixing everything together using your hands until thoroughly combined and adding enough water to be able to hold together in a ball. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes until you get an elastic dough. Wrap the dough and leave to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes or chill for longer.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Put the drained ricotta, mascarpone and icing sugar in a bowl. Beat using an electric whisk or wooden spoon until well combined and smooth. Beat in the lemon zest and then gently fold in the chocolate chips and diced strawberries, cover and chill.
Heat the oil in a heavy based pan or deep-fat fryer to 170°-180C.
Unwrap the dough and knead for a further 4-5 minutes. On a floured surface and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough thinly to approx. 3mm thickness. Use a 10cm biscuit cutter to cut out circles. Lightly brush your cannoli tubes with oil and roll the dough circles around the tubes, using a little egg white to seal the edges together. Depending on how many tubes you have you may need to do cook them in batches.
Carefully lower the kannoli on their tubes into the hot oil, 3 or 4 at a time, and fry for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown and lightly blistered all over, carefully turning to allow for even cooking. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
Once cool enough to handle, carefully remove the tubes from the pastry and set the kannoli aside to cool on a wire rack. If needed, wipe the tubes and repeat until you have finished cooking all the pastry circles.
Just before serving, fill the kannoli tubes with the ricotta cream using a piping bag with a wide nozzle/opening. To make it easier – fill from the centre to one end, then repeat on the other side. Dip one end in the pistachios and top the other end with chopped strawberries. Dust with icing sugar to serve. Best eaten on the same day once filled.
Ingredients
- 300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 60g caster sugar
- good pinch of salt
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 30g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg, separated
- 100ml Marsala wine or a fruity white wine
- 50ml water
- sunflower/vegetable oil for deep frying
- 500g ricotta cheese, drained and patted dry with kitchen paper
- 250g mascarpone
- 30g icing sugar
- zest of 1 large lemon
- 150g small white chocolate chips or nibs
- 60g strawberries, finely diced, plus extra for decoration
- To Decorate
- icing sugar, for dusting
- 60g pistachios, pulsed in a food processor until finely chopped