Daring Bakers Challenge --- Cannoli

This month's challenge is Cannoli...And I thought I was able to handle this in time...looks like it's even worst than other months.... I hope to have the post up by tomorrow, so please check back later. In the mean time, check out our hostess, Lisa Michele's blog for more yummy cannoli.

........

Ok, finally...I've made my Cannoli!!! It's bad enough that I've always been a procrastinator, this month I gotten even worst! I'm two days late!!! Gosh, I hope Santa's not gonna drop be a bag of coal instead! ;P Nonetheless, I did what I can, and I was glad it didn't require using an oven, cos' I have not gotten a new oven YET! --- Wonder how long THAT is gonna take??!! Lisa Michele from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and line Drives was our lovely November hostess. There was A LOT of leniency allowed this time! Thanks Lisa!

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.



Here's the recipe with my notes in RED

Lidisano’s Cannoli as noted by Lisa, the name Lidisano is a combination of Lidia, Lisa and Saprano!!! :)

Makes 22-24 4-inch cannoli
Prep time:
Dough – 2 hours and 10-20 minutes, including resting time, and depending on whether you do it by hand or machine.
Filling – 5-10 minutes plus chilling time (about 2 hours or more)
Frying – 1-2 minutes per cannoli
Assemble – 20–30 minutes

RECIPE NOTE: THE EQUIVALENTS FROM THIS RECIPE WERE PREPARED USING THIS CONVERSION SITE: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/index.asp.

CANNOLI SHELLS
2 cups (250 grams/8.82 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder (I opt out the cocoa powder and replaced it with all purpose)
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar ( I didn't have it, so I used e cider vinegar I had instead)
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)
1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish
Confectioners' sugar

Note - If you want a chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) and a little more wine until you have a workable dough (Thanks to Audax)

DIRECTIONS FOR SHELLS:
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.

2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.

3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little. (I tried letting the egg white seal dry a little, but found that my dough loves to shrink a lot. So while it was drying, the dough just kept pulling back that by the time I drop 'em in the oil, the dough aren't sticking together anymore. So instead, once I seal the dough up, I immediately drop them in the hot oil seam side down)

4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer's directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

8. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

Once again, I needed the help from the step stool. I'm just too short to roll our doughs on my counter!! In fact, I found out the other day when I was at my physician office that I am NOT 5' 2", I'm ONLY 5' 1.75" --- and that was with my sneakers on!!! SOOO SAD!

No deep fryer for me... just the typical wok and the handy extra long chop sticks!

Letting the sealed dough dry a little as suggested...

but it didn't work for me...the ones that got dried out most opened up immediately, as my dough was like an elastic band!! They would stretched when you roll it, but the moment you leave them alone....pop, they'd spring back!!!

These were the bits and pieces of dough. I fried them up, sprinkle with some powdered sugar and cinnamon ~ yummy! :)

I filled my cannoli with marscapone flavored with mango puree and chopped mango pieces.. tasted very refreshing...however, the "dessert king" in the house, a.k.a. Lucas --- DID NOT like it!!! :/ Wonder why? He took 2 bites and ran away from it??!!! Wonder if he was just too full from dinner?? Will try it on him again tomorrow and see if we get the same reaction! Cos' it's just NOT like him to not like a dessert! He DID like bits and pieces ones though. Other that HIM, all of us liked it! :)

For the full page on this challenge, just click HERE. Thanks again Lisa for this great challenge!! :)