Cannoli Tubes

Cannoli is an authentic Italian dessert which belongs to Sicily. It is a delectable dessert with crispy fried cannoli tubes, that are filled with sweetened ricotta cheese and succade, a fruit extract which is encrusted with sugar crystals. In America, cannoli tubes are generally known as Italian pastries, while in Italy, they are known as 'cannoli Siciliani'. Historically, cannoli tubes were made as a special treat on the occasion of carnivals, but today they are made throughout the year.

How to Make Cannoli Tubes

People yearn a lot for the perfect cannoli tube recipe. The best way is to buy the Italian cannoli tube kit, which is easily available in the market. It is really helpful for making large as well as mini cannoli tubes. These metal tubes come in numerous variants like the traditional cream horns, lady locks and cream roll molds. You can bring home any of these molds and experiment with the authentic Italian cuisine.

Cannoli Tube Recipe

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour, 2 cups
• Ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon
• Granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons
• Shortening or melted butter, 2 tablespoons
• Sweet Marsala, ¾ cup
• Egg white, 1 large
• Oil, for frying
• A pinch of salt

Procedure
Mix flour, ground cinnamon, sugar, salt and shortening together in a bowl. Now add marsala in it and knead it neat into a hard yet smooth dough. Form a ball of the dough and refrigerate it for a few hours, wrapped in a plastic bag. For preparing the cannoli tubes, pour some oil into a sauté pan and dip the tubes in that cold oil. Now place them aside in order to get drained. Now, heat the oil to moderate temperatures (350 degrees), avoid too hot or too cold temperatures.

Divide the cannoli dough into four pieces and roll out each one on a floured surface. You can do this by a pasta machine or hands. Once you transform the dough into a smooth sheet, cut it into circles of about four inch diameter, with help of a regular plastic container. Now gently wrap these circles around the previously oiled cannoli tubes. Now with a brush, apply a little bit of egg white on each wrap, just to seal its edges. Afterwards, fry the cannoli tubes until they turn golden brown, which will take about 2 minutes. Now remove these cannoli shells from the oil and let them get cooled for a minute, before you put the cannoli filling in it.

Cannoli Filling Recipe
Make sure you prepare this cannoli filling recipe beforehand frying the cannoli tubes. It would be ideal to start preparing for the filling, once you put the cannoli dough in refrigerator.

Ingredients

• Ricotta cheese, ¾ cup
• Mascarpone cheese, ¾ cup
• Powdered sugar ¼ cup
• Ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon
• Grand Marnier, ½ teaspoon
• Chocolate chips, ½ cup
• Candied orange peel, ¼ cup
• Chopped pistachios, ¼ cup

Procedure
Sift all the dry ingredients and combine them with ricotta cheese. Now add Gran Marnier and orange peel in the mixture and combine well. Now chill the mixture for about 2 hours. Then, fill this mixture into the partially cold cannoli tubes and sprinkle generous amount of confectioner's sugar on them. Refrigerate these cannoli shell, until you serve them. You can also decorate them with more chocolate chips and some fresh fruits. Once you get to know the basic method of making the cannoli tubes, then you can alter the cannoli filling recipe with almost anything and everything.

Many people are inquisitive about one thing - 'What is the substitute for a cannoli tube?'. Well, in my opinion, the metal tubes are easily available in general stores, so there shouldn't be any problem for you finding them. Otherwise, you can use the wooden duvets as a substitute.