Cannoli (A Quest)

I LOVE Cannoli. Actually that statement really feels like an understatement. If I had to name my favorite desserts it would make it into the top three every single-time. Cheesecake (a good one, homemade or from a restaurant) and Ben and Jerry's Tonight Dough or Half-Baked are in the other favorite spots in case you were wondering. I first tried Cannoli when my husband and I were dating. There is a cute little Ma and Pa Italian Restaurant in downtown Provo called La Dolce Vita that we eat at whenever we go and they have very excellent Cannoli. Unfortunately for me the Cannoli is very popular with other guests as well so they sometimes run out. Cannoli that was even better could be found at an Italian Restaurant in Salt Lake named Biaggi's. My husband stumbled upon this discovery when he attended a work dinner there and brought me some Cannoli to go. It was heavenly! Biaggi's became the restaurant that I always wanted to go to when we were celebrating something because I could get my Cannoli fix. Of course there were a few unfortunate instances such as the time when we ordered our Cannoli to go after a meal and when the waiter boxed up our food and we mistook the bread box as the Cannoli. We got home and there was no Cannoli to be had and I was very sad, and very pregnant at the time. The other unfortunate instance is the fact that Biaggi's has since gone out of business and so I have no go-to place for Cannoli. I tried something about a year ago at a local bakery that they listed as "Cannoli." It was most definitely not Cannoli. It was good, but it was filled with whipped cream and not Ricotta! And the shell was made with crushed almonds. I realized at that point that I would have to make my own Cannoli until I can find another convenient source. I have made this recipe 4-5 times over the past year and while it is not perfect (you'll notice in the picture below that the Riccotta is a little bit runny) it is still delicious. Obviously I will be tweaking things as I continue my hunt for the perfect Cannoli, but in the meantime I still enjoy this. 

*I recently discovered that Whole Foods sells Cannoli shells. I will definitely be trying those the next time I go to Whole Foods.

Cannoli Shells Recipe

(Adapted from an old ward cookbook.)

2 egg whites

1/3 cup sugar

1 T canola oil

1 T melted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup flour

1. Grease two baking sheets and preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Whisk ingredients together until smooth and lump free.

3. Spacing each shell approximately 2 1/2 inches - 3 inches apart, use a Tablespoon to spoon batter onto the baking sheet.

4. Bake for 8 minutes (until the shells start to look crisp)

5. Immediately use a spatula to remove from the pan and shape into tubes. (They will be hot so be careful.) 

Cannoli Filling

(Adapted from an old ward cookbook.)

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 cups Ricotta 

3/4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips

1. Beat heavy cream and powdered sugar until it starts to firm up.

2. Mix in 2 cups Ricotta and 1/2 tsp Vanilla.

3. Chill in fridge until you are ready to eat.

When you are ready to eat, fill each Cannoli shell with the filling and sprinkle chocolate chips on each end. Drizzle the Cannoli with chocolate and a sprinkle of powdered sugar if you feel so inclined. 

Number of times I used the word Cannoli was mentioned in this post, 22.