Cannoli recipes??? I love them but can never get the filling right?

Question

When I tried a cannoli filling recipe, it came out to thin/liquidy and bland. What was I missing? Does anyone have a favorite cannoli recipe?

Answer 1

This is my favourite cannoli recipe. It is from a chef that has a show on Food Network Canada. If you're using your own shells, just use the filling but add some of the Marsala wine into the filling. That will give it a really nice flavour. If you're doing it that way, you don't need to use the full amount of Marsala wine indicated in the recipe for the shells. Enjoy.

Cannoli

Yield: 16
Ingredients:

Shells
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tbsp sugar
dash salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cool but not cold
2 eggs
1/2 cup Marsala wine
vegetable oil, for frying

Filling

1 cup dry ricotta
2/3 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp lemon zest
1 cup whipping cream
5 tbsp semisweet chocolate, grated

To Assemble
Combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in the butter until evenly blended. Whisk together egg and wine and blend into flour mixture until it forms dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead to bring together. Wrap and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Roll out dough as thinly as possible, about 1/8–inch thick. Dock with a fork and cut into 3-inch circles. Scrap dough can be re-rolled to cut more discs. Keep discs covered when not using.
Heat oil to 350° F (it should spit when a drop of water is added). Wrap disc around cannoli tube, and press where edges overlap. Immerse in oil and fry until golden brown. Place on a paper towel or cooling rack to drain for a moment, and before completely cooled, remove tube. Repeat with remaining discs, frying a few at a time. Cool completely before filling.

For filling, pulse ricotta with icing sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest in food processor until smooth. Whip cream to medium peak and fold into ricotta. Fold in 5 Tbsp of grated chocolate.
To assemble, fill a piping bag fitted with a star tip with cannoli filling. Pipe into shells, started at middle and working out to each end. Cannoli can be topped with a little cream for garnish.
Yield: 16 to 18 servings.

Answer 2

Cannoli Filling

2 lb Ricotta
1-1/2 cup Powdered sugar
4 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 cup Citron
1/2 cup Orange peel; candied
4 oz Chocolate; sweet

Yield: 25 Servings

Process ricotta, powdered sugar and vanilla in food processor until smooth. Add citron, peel, and broken up chocolate and process with short bursts just until chopped. Use to fill cannoli shells, garnishing ends with finely chopped almonds or other nuts.

Variations:
Fluffy Riccota Filling: Fold in 1 cup heavy cream, beaten until stiff.

Pistachio Filling: To either of the above fillings add a few drops of green food coloring to tint pale green. Garnish ends of filled shells with chopped pistachio nuts.

Answer 3

Filling

3 cups Ricotta cheese (use the full fat kind)
1 1/4 cups Confectionary Sugar (regular sugar makes it grainy)
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
1/2 cup Finely chopped candied fruit
Citron (optional)
1/4 cup Semi=sweet chocolate pieces


Pastry

3 cups Flour
1/4 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoons Shortening
2 Eggs -- well beaten
2 tablespoons White vinegar
2 tablespoons Cold water
2 ounces Pistachio nuts
1 Egg white -- slightly beaten

For filling:
Combine and beat until smooth (about 10 minutes with an electric mixer at medium-high speed). Stir in, mixing thoroughly, citron and chocolate pieces. Place mixture in refrigerator to chill.

For pastry shells:
Sift together first 4 ingredients into a bowl. Cut shortening in with a pastry blender until pieces are size of small peas. Stir in eggs. Blend in, a tablespoon at a time, the vinegar and cold water. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 to 8 minutes. Use a small amount of additional flour if necessary to get a smooth dough. Wrap in waxed paper and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Set out six aluminum cannoli tubes (6 inches long, about 3/4-inch diameter). Set out deep saucepan or automatic deep-fryer. Add vegetable oil (or half vegetable oil and half olive oil) and heat to 360 F. Cut an oval shaped pattern from cardboard (about 6 x 4 1/2 inches). Blanche pistachios in boiling water, then cool and finely chop pistachios. Roll chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut with a pastry cutter and using the oval pattern. Wrap dough loosely around tubes slightly overlapping opposite edges. Seal edges by brushing with egg white. press edges together to seal.
Fry only as many shells as will float uncrowded one layer deep in the hot oil. Fry about 8 minutes or until golden brown, turning occasionally in the oil. Drain over the pan before removing to paper toweling. Cool slightly and remove tubes, then cool completely. Continue forming and frying cannoli shells.
When ready to serve, fill with the chilled ricotta filling. Sprinkle ends with the chopped nuts and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Answer 4

Hey i find that if u use marscapone whipped cheese with ricotta you have the best canoli filling out there.. also i buy the pre made shells they are just as delicious and home made.. any recipe can be adjusted with 15 oz. of marscapone cheese replacing the same amount of ricotta.. mmmmmmmmm....then follow your recipe since they are mostly the same ingriedents..

Answer 5

YOU CAN'T USE RICOTTA FROM THE GROCERY STORE. EVEN IF YOU DRAIN IT OVERNIGHT IT WILL STILL MAKE YOUR FILLING TOO WET.

YOU NEED TO BUY WHAT IS CALLED "RIGATONE". IT IS A FORM OF RICOTTA BUT MUCH DRIER.

TAKE THE RIGATONE AND MIX WITH VANILLA, LEMON ZEST, SOME CONFECTIONERS SUGAR AND CHOCOLATE CHIPS.

YOU WILL HAVE THE BEST CANNOLI FILLING EVER.

Answer 6

Purchase Master Cook CD it has a lot of good recipes.