Need cannoli filling recipie

[gweixel]

looking for simple but delicious cannoli filling recipies that taste close to new york bakery style!

thanks!!

[nightscotsman]

I've never had a cannoli from a New York bakery - perhaps you could give us a few more details on what you're looking for? Does the filling contain dried or candied fruit, or citrus peel? Chocolate in some form? Is it fairly dense and cheesey, light and fluffy, or smooth and creamy?

[RETREVR]

I used to make it with ricotta, any assorted dry fruits, chocolate chips(tiny), powdered sugar, and galliano. Engredients are mixed to quantities that suit your tast. The Galliano is a distinct flavor that most people can't put their finger on when they tast it .

....trying to remeber if I used any form of egg.....I forget.

A quantity of marscapone could be used. You could always fold in beaten egg whites or whipped cream to lighten it up.

Might have used a little vannilla also.

Edited December 21, 2004 by RETREVR (log)

[Moopheus]

There's at least one or two previous threads about cannoli filling.

[gweixel]

the previous threads are mainly variations on the ricottta & sugar combination which has a different flavor to me than the cannolis i am used to. i have not yet tried mascarpone so i will try that instead and see if it makes the difference. the new york style cannolis that i am used to are pretty dense and cheesy filling without dried fruit - just a little splattering of chocolate chips mixed in.

I was actually in italy recently and i was so excited about trying an "authentic italian" cannoli since its one of my favorite desserts. surprisingly the cannolis that i had their were terrible in my opinion and no where near as good as the ones you get in the states. they didn't taste as cheesy to me and they also were completely packed with dried fruit.

[Wendy DeBord]

Welcome Gweixel! I also have never had a cannoli from NY, but we have a couple decent Italian Deli's in Chicago.

I firmly believe the quality of your filling depends upon the quality of your ricotta. You can not get fresh dense top quality ricotta at your local grocery store. You might be able to find it in an Italian deli or a very gourmet grocery store. If you can't get great ricotta you must drain yours overnight in a sieve.

If you can't get great ricotta mix your drained ricotta with some marscarpone or cream cheese, they will thicken you ricotta.

To make your filling whip the cheese with xxxsugar to taste. Orange zest, candied fruit, chocolate chips are all optional as is a splash of grand marnier or a little orange oil. I dip my ends in chopped pistachios.

[bripastryguy]

Cannoli filling, NY style

10 lbs. Impastata (ricotta cheese that is drained and slightly drier than the store bought, mainly produced for cannoli filling)

4.5 lbs. granulated sugar

Vanilla to taste ( iuse a vanilla bean paste)

Orange zest to taste ( I use orange peel paste, only available commercially)

Chocolate chips to your liking

[chefcyn]

Or, you can start with homemade ricotta!

http://www.recipesource.com/side-dishes/ch...e-ricotta1.html

If you can find sheeps'milk somewhere it will taste one way, cows' milk another, but the technique is the same and it looks pretty easy to do. The above method doesn't mention the "re-cooking" which is what ricotta means, and this recipe: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Cottage...oft/ricotta.htm looks completely different.

Anyone have better info about making ricotta?

Edited January 4, 2005 by chefcyn (log)

[bakerboy]

I don't make ricotta much anymore because i live close to Fieros in wilm. De. and they sell the regular and the dry curd...which is what i use for cannoli. When i did make ricotta, i simply took a gal. of whole milk heated to 180F and held it there. added 3Tbsp of an acid(i used lemon juice and found that it did not give a "lemony" flavor, thank god) and waited for the curds to rise up. skimmed them off and drained them in a cheesecloth lined colander overnite. It seemed like to me(and this could be wrong) that the longer i held the curds in the pot at 180F, the less water i found in my bowl the next day. It seemed to give a "drier"curd.

[takomabaker]

A macabre New York cannoli story:

My father-in-law passed away just two weeks before Christmas. My partner and I live in DC, and she went to NY about every week to check on him. She stopped at our favorite Italian bakery on the way to his house, and called me to get a cannoli order. Since we were going to a Christmas party that evening when she returned I asked her to pick up two dozen for the party and a dozen for us, and she picked up a dozen for her father.

An hour later she called me, obviously very upset, because she had found her father in a bad way. Of course, I dropped my holiday baking, called my boss, and aimed the Honda up I-95. We unfortunately lost her father, and with the usual chaos that ensues from such an event we didn't stop for many meals, and as a typical New Yorker my partner doesn't believe in keeping anything but baking soda and tonic water in a refrigerator. But we did have cannolis. Four dozen of them.

I love New York cannolis, but I don't think I'll be eating another one for a very long time.

But they do have a distinct filling that is different than any cannoli I've had anywhere else. My partner's family thinks that Vaccaro's in Baltimore's Little Italy comes close, and I have to agree (although my Southern vote hardly counts to them). But it is a little sweeter there.