Chocolate Dipped, Roast Almond Rolled, Ricotta Stuffed CANNOLI. 4

Last week, out of the blue, I craved Cannoli.

Crisp and crunchy on the outside, creamy and delicious on the inside. I had to have them.

And I didn’t have much time.

I’d promised to bring dessert to a friend’s house and I knew it had to be Cannoli, but how!? With minus 3 seconds to spare I headed to my local grocery store and this is what I bought…..

INGREDIENTS

18 x Ready made brandy snap tubes (You can buy actual “Cannoli shells” but this particular store didn’t have them…. and to be honest I preferred the end result after using the snaps!!!)

100g good quality dark chocolate (I use Lindt, 70%)

1 cup roasted almonds, crushed to itty bitty pieces

400 grams smooth ricotta

150 grams chunky ricotta

4 tablespoons icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/4 cup mixed peel

And then this is what I did with what I bought…..

METHOD

1) Crush your nuts – I bought slivered almonds, roasted them in the oven (about 180 degrees for about 5 minutes – but your oven and mine are not the same so keep a CLOSE EYE on them, you want them to go a dark gold brown…..the smell also is very strong once they are roasted!)

2) Melt the chocolate – I do this on the stove, chocolate in pot over low heat, constant stirring to ensure no burning/sticking to base of pot.

3) Dip brandy snap shells into chocolate to coat 1/2 or 1/3 length of the shell.

4) Using a teaspoon, cover chocolate in nuts. Place on non stick baking paper lined tray to set. No need to refrigerate.

5) In a large bowl whisk together the ricottas, sugar and essence, add peel and mix some more.

5) Transfer ingredients into a piping bag (can buy disposable ones at your local supermarket or homewares store) and pipe filling into shell.

6) Refrigerate immediately!

TIP: Have everything ready to go i.e. chic dipped/nut rolled shells and ricotta mixture, and pipe JUST before serving to prevent shells getting soggy. “JUST before” serving can be about 30-45 mins before.

ENJOY PHANS, ENJOY!