This recipe does not need any introduction. It is perhaps the most iconic sweet from Sicily.
I followed the Palermo tradition. This means that the wafer is darker than usual as its dough includes some cocoa powder, cinnamon and Marsala wine. Moreover, the wafer is brushed with dark chocolate prior to being filled with the ricotta. The latter must be rigorously from sheep’s milk!
Ingredients
For the wafer
- 400 gwhite flour type 0
- 70 glard (from organic farming)
- 40 glight muscovado brown sugar
- 40 mlmarsala wine
- 40 mlvinegar
- 15 gunsweetened cocoa powder
- 2eggs
- 1 egg white (to seal the wafer edges)
- 1 pinchtable salt
- 1/2 teaspoonground cinnamon
- q.s.oil to fry
For the filling
- 1 kgSicilian sheep ricotta (or Sicilian cow ricotta)
- 200 gicing sugar
- 200 gdark chocolate
- 200 gcrushed pistachio
- 10orange candy peel
- q.s.icing sugar (to dust the cannoli)
Preparation
– sift the flour, cocoa powder and the ground cinnamon onto a large bowl;
– beat the eggs separately with the sugar and the pinch of salt, then pour everything onto the flour;
– mix everything well;
– add the lard and start kneading the dough;
– pour the Marsala and the vinegar;
– knead well till you get a smooth dough;
– wrap it in some cling film and put it the fridge for 1 hour;
– meanwhile prepare the filling by sifting the ricotta onto a large bowl;
– add the icing sugar and whip everything together till you get a smooth cream;
– dust the working surface with flour and put the dough onto it;
– flatten the dough very very thin by using a rolling pin;
– form 10 circles, each with a diameter of about 15 cm;
– wrap the circles around the tubes, brush the edges with some egg white and stick them together;
– fry the wafer in abundant hot oil for about 1 minute;
– allow the wafers to cool down completely, then brush the inside of each wafer with the melted dark chocolate;
– store the wafers thus obtained in an air-tight container;
– only when you will be about to serve the cannoli, you can fill the wafers with the ricotta;
– dust them with some icing sugar and decorate with crushed pistachio and orange candy peel
