Cannoli Recipe from The Arthur Avenue Cookbook

Ingredients:

• Cannoli Shell Ingredients:
• Oil for deep frying
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 ounces lard (1 stick or 8 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon rum
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 large egg plus egg wash (2 eggs whisked with 2 tablespoons water)
• Ricotta Filling:
• 1 pound dry ricotta (impastata), or buy good-quality ricotta,
• line a strainer with cheese cloth, place the cheese in it, and drain overnight or a full day
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon oil or ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Preparation:

• Heat a deep fryer to 320° F.
• In a mixer, combine all the cannoli shell ingredients except the egg wash, adding enough water (1 to 2 tablespoons cold water) until it reaches a doughlike consistency. The amount of water will vary according to the outside temperature/humidity. Roll the dough to the thickness of pasta (1/4 inch). Using a cannoli cutter (an oval-shaped cookie cutter), cut out the cannoli. Place the cannoli ovals in a row and place a cannoli rod down the center. Flip the cannoli up and over, sealing the opposite edges where they meet with egg wash and pressing down.
• Deep fry them for 3 minutes, until golden brown.
• Combine all the filling ingredients. Let the cannoli shells cool, then using a large-tip pastry bag, pipe the ricotta mixture into the cannoli.
• Serve, sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

The foregoing is excerpted from The Arthur Avenue Cookbook by Ann Volkwein. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission from HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022.