Cannoli Puffs
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I have slashed my cable bill and now only get basic cable and HBO. Since I can’t seem to find enough network shows to engage me I decided that I would watch the Soprano’s starting with season one. I was totally into the Soprano’s when they were on and I was curious to see if it still seemed as good to me as it did when it first aired. It does. Of course it triggers in me the same thing that the Godfather or Moonstruck triggers in me, an intense craving for Italian food.
In the first season of the Soprano’s there are many trips to the bakery for cannoli and other Italian pastries. So naturally I became obsessed with having a cannoli. Unfortunately there are no more Italian bakeries in Oakland, and my obsession wasn’t strong enough to want to deal with parking in North Beach (SF). Whole Foods sells cannoli, so when I was doing my weekly shop I stopped at their bakery case and bough one, but maron! they fill their cannoli with whipped cream, not ricotta!
I was left with no choice, I had to make some. God knows where my cannoli forms are stored, so I started ruminating on alternatives for the cannoli shell. Back in the old days, you used to be able to buy cannoli shells from any good Italian market or deli. But those days are gone so I decide a cream puff shell would make a good vessel. If I let them stay in the oven a long time, over cooking them a little to make them crispy to offset the creaminess of the ricotta filling. I also sprinkled some slivered almonds and sugar over the cream puff’s before I baked them so they’d toasty sweet. I love a simple filling of ricotta, chocolate and orange zest. I don’t like a sweet cannoli filling, since I had some rosemary honey I used that to sweeten the filling. They were perfect and much easier to make and eat than eating a traditional cannoli. They won’t replace a true cannoli, but they are an excellent substitute.
Puff Shells
1/2 C water
2 T butter
1 T sugar
pinch salt
1/2 C flour
2 eggs
2 T slivered almonds
1 T sugar
Heat oven to 375
In a small pot combine water, butter, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil, once the butter has completely melted, add the flour all at once. Stir until the mixture forms into a ball. Remove from the heat and beat the eggs in one at a time. With the addition of each egg the dough will look curdled but keep beating it and it will become smooth and shiny.
Place a piece of parchment on a cookie sheet. Using a one-ounce scoop, scoop the dough onto the parchment sheet leaving plenty of space in between each puff shell since they will expand while baking.
Gently press slivered almonds on top of each puff and sprinkle with sugar.
Place in the oven and bake 15 minutes. Rotate the pan so that they brown evenly and bake an additional 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and cool completely.
For the Filling
1-15oz. container whole milk ricotta
1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
zest from one orange
2 T honey
1/2 t vanilla
powdered sugar for garnish
Combine the ricotta, chocolate, orange zest, honey, and vanilla and mix well. Set aside.
When ready to serve, cut each puff shell in half. Divide the cannoli filling amongst the puff shells. Arrange on a serving platter and dust with powdered sugar and serve.
Makes 12 small puffs
Tips: It’s best to assemble them shortly before serving since the shells become soggy quickly. The filling can be made several hours ahead or overnight. Store covered in the fridge. The puff shells can be made hours ahead and stored at room temperature before serving. If it’s a humid day, the puff’s may become soggy, you can crisp them again by placing them in a hot oven for about 3 minutes to dry them out.
