Cannoli alla siciliana
Serves 6
For the dough:
300g flour
10g caster sugar
125ml marsala
Pinch of salt
Touch of water if required
For the filling:
500g ricotta
250g icing sugar
100g mixed candied citrus peel
100g milk or dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 tsp vanilla
1 pinch of cinnamon
A little milk to thin down if required
Firstly you will need to make the dough. Place all the dough ingredients in a bowl and mix, adding a touch of water if the dough is too dry. Knead the dough and let it rest. After about half an hour, use a pasta machine to roll the dough out to about 2mm thick. If you don’t have a pasta machine, this can be done using a rolling pin. Heat oil in a deep fryer or deep pot to 180°C. Once the dough is rolled out to the correct thickness, cut it into 5cm by 5cm squares. Roll these pastry squares around an aluminum tube and deep fry them as you go until golden. Carefully remove these using a slotted spoon to drain the excess oil. Lay them on a flat board or tray and allow to cool.
To make the filling, mix the ricotta, icing sugar, peel, vanilla and cinnamon in a bowl. Gently fold in the chocolate so that the ricotta does not become dark. If the mixture appears too thick, add a small amount of milk. Spoon the mixture into the pre-prepared pastry cases and serve.