Homemade Chocolate Cannoli
By America's Test KitchenPublished on February 4, 2021
Time
25 minutes, plus 2 hours chilling and 1 hour firming
Yield
Makes 10 cannoli
Ingredients
Before You Begin
You can find cannoli shells at most markets in either the international foods aisle, the gourmet cheese section, or the bakery. Make sure to use a high-quality whole-milk ricotta; our favorite is BelGioioso Ricotta con Latte Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese. This recipe yields enough tempered chocolate to easily dip all the cannoli shells; leftover chocolate can be transferred to a small airtight container and stored at room temperature for another use.
Instructions
- Line colander with triple layer of cheesecloth and place in sink. Place ricotta in prepared colander, pull edges of cheesecloth together to form pouch, and twist to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Place taut, twisted cheese pouch in pie plate and set heavy plate on top. Weight plate with 2 large heavy cans and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Discard drained ricotta liquid and transfer dry ricotta to bowl. Stir in mascarpone, 2 ounces (57 grams) finely grated chocolate, sugar, vanilla, and salt until well combined. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- Meanwhile, line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Microwave finely chopped chocolate in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring often, until about two-thirds melted, 2 to 4 minutes. (Melted chocolate should not be much warmer than body temperature; check by holding bowl in palm of your hand.) Add remaining 2 ounces (57 grams) finely grated chocolate and stir until smooth, returning to microwave for no more than 5 seconds at a time to finish melting if necessary. Dip ends of cannoli shells in chocolate, allowing excess to drip off, and transfer to prepared sheet. Let shells sit until chocolate is firm, about 1 hour. (Coated shells can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.)
- Transfer chilled cheese mixture into pastry bag or large zipper-lock bag. (If using zipper-lock bag, cut ¾ inch off one bottom corner.) Pipe filling evenly into cannoli shells from both ends, working outward from center. Serve.
Time
25 minutes, plus 2 hours chilling and 1 hour firmingYield
Makes 10 cannoliIngredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We rarely find chocolate optional and made sure to include it in two places in our homemade version of chocolate cannoli: in the filling and as coating for the shells. Instead of draining the ricotta for our filling overnight, we placed the ricotta in cheesecloth and then weighted it with heavy cans to remove maximum moisture in minimal time, resulting in a desirably dense filling in only an hour. Then we stirred in some mascarpone, sugar, vanilla, salt, and, of course, grated chocolate. The fine shards didn't disrupt the texture of the filling like mini chips could and made every creamy bit chocolaty. We dipped each end of the shells in chocolate for an extra touch that was also elegant-looking. We tempered the chocolate for our coating so the chocolate would have shine and snap against the crunchy shells. And to keep the crunch in our shells, we filled them just before serving—prefilled cannoli are always soggy.
Before You Begin
You can find cannoli shells at most markets in either the international foods aisle, the gourmet cheese section, or the bakery. Make sure to use a high-quality whole-milk ricotta; our favorite is BelGioioso Ricotta con Latte Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese. This recipe yields enough tempered chocolate to easily dip all the cannoli shells; leftover chocolate can be transferred to a small airtight container and stored at room temperature for another use.
Instructions
- Line colander with triple layer of cheesecloth and place in sink. Place ricotta in prepared colander, pull edges of cheesecloth together to form pouch, and twist to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Place taut, twisted cheese pouch in pie plate and set heavy plate on top. Weight plate with 2 large heavy cans and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Discard drained ricotta liquid and transfer dry ricotta to bowl. Stir in mascarpone, 2 ounces (57 grams) finely grated chocolate, sugar, vanilla, and salt until well combined. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- Meanwhile, line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Microwave finely chopped chocolate in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring often, until about two-thirds melted, 2 to 4 minutes. (Melted chocolate should not be much warmer than body temperature; check by holding bowl in palm of your hand.) Add remaining 2 ounces (57 grams) finely grated chocolate and stir until smooth, returning to microwave for no more than 5 seconds at a time to finish melting if necessary. Dip ends of cannoli shells in chocolate, allowing excess to drip off, and transfer to prepared sheet. Let shells sit until chocolate is firm, about 1 hour. (Coated shells can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.)
- Transfer chilled cheese mixture into pastry bag or large zipper-lock bag. (If using zipper-lock bag, cut ¾ inch off one bottom corner.) Pipe filling evenly into cannoli shells from both ends, working outward from center. Serve.
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