Creamy Ricotta Cannoli Filling – Sicilian style

Sicily are known for their cannoli, and yes, they make amazing cannoli there and it’s worth the trip to Sicily – but we can make fantastic cannoli right at home. It’s all about the filling and here’s my version – not too sweet but full of flavor.

00:00 Intro to cannoli filling
00:35 Making the filling
03:14 Stuffing the cannoli
05:14 Taste test
06:26 Outro

Creamy Ricotta Cannoli filling
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: N.A.
Makes: 20 – 24 small Canolli

Ingredients:
• 24 cannoli shells
• 450 gm (1 lb.) ricotta cheese
• ¾ cup white powdered sugar (icing sugar) (more for dusting)
• 1 TSP vanilla
• 1 TSP Orange Extract
• ½ TSP cinnamon
• ¼ TSP salt
• 1/3 cup of pistachios, ground (or, 1 cup of mini chocolate chips)

Process:
• Let your ricotta sit in a strainer to remove any excess water
• Add the sugar, vanilla, orange extract, cinnamon and salt, mix well, until all ingredients are incorporated and you have a smooth, creamy filling
• Place the ricotta filling in a pastry bag (or use a Ziploc bag with the corner cut out)
• Squeeze the ricotta filing into each cannoli shell, and ensure some comes out of each end.
• Dip each end into the crushed pistachio
• Sift some white powdered sugar on top
• Enjoy

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Hello everyone. My name is Ivo and welcome to Cooking with the Coias. We are going to have some fun in the kitchen today. It’s all about cannolis. I’m going to share with you how I make my creamy ricotta filling for cannolis and in Sicily no doubt they make the best cannolis, and when I was there I had some fantastic cannolis but you know what? We can make some great cannolis right here in North America as well, mind you. You’ll never beat Sicily, but we can become a close second. Let’s get started right now. So the key to a fantastic creamy cannoli filling are good quality ingredients and basic ingredients. We’re going to keep it simple. I have here 450 grams of ricotta cheese, which is about one pound. And you’re going want to make sure it’s dry. So if you have to put your ricotta through a strainer, that’s fine. The ricotta I use come wrapped in paper from my local store, a little shuttle to Roman cheese, and it’s already relatively dry. And what you’re going to want to do is try to make it smooth, as smooth as you can. So I passed mine through a ricer, okay, and I have it here now. So 450 grams, one pound of ricotta, simple ingredients. Let’s start by adding some icing sugar. I have here three quarters of a cup. Icing sugar. Okay, that goes in. Next, vanilla. One teaspoon of vanilla. And then, another secret ingredient, one teaspoon of orange extract. Oops, don’t want to do that. Adds an amazing enhancement of flavor. OK, so one teaspoon of orange extract. I have here a half teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle that around, and then a pinch of salt, let’s call it a quarter teaspoon of salt, that gets added in. That folks, or those are the ingredients to the start of a beautiful, creamy, ricotta filling. So, now what you’re going to want to do is mix this all together and get all those flavors incorporated. The spatula works great. And I’m going to continue mixing until I have a nice, consistent, smooth, creamy filling. And that is looking really good. And you can see how dry it is. You want it nice and dry because you don’t want to have wet cannolis. Okay. So in lieu of a pastry bag, I’m going to use a plastic Ziploc bag. Cut one corner off and let’s put our ricotta in the bag. There we go. Our filling is ready to go and I am not making my shells. I did buy the shells also from Roman Cheese, but that’s the real deal folks. Made in Italy. OK, so again, we’re trying to get as close to Italy as we possibly can with our cannolis. Look at these beautiful shells. They sure know how to make them. OK, So let’s take one cannoli shell. And you’re just, these are small ones, so you know what, you can eat more than one. And just give it a little squeeze and fill it. I’m just going to fill them, make sure they’re really full. There we go. Isn’t that nice? And now what I went and did was I got about one third of a cup of pistachios and then I crushed them. Okay. And you could use crushed pistachio or if you prefer you could use the real small chocolate chips and just dip one end in the pistachia and dip the other end in the pistachial. Look at there folks. We have a beautiful cannoli. Right there. Okay, so let me fill a few more. Oh, yes, take a look at this. Oh my, there we go. Isn’t that nice? Okay, now for the final the finishing touch. Take a little bit of icing sugar. And just through a strainer. Let’s sprinkle some icing sugar on the top. And look at what we have. We have just recreated a Sicilian delight. And that, folks, looks pretty good right there. When you think you’ve added enough, add a little more. Okay, there we have it. You know what’s next, folks? The taste test, and I can’t wait. I mean, I sure do love my cannolis, I can tell you that. When I was in Sicily, one a day, minimum, minimum. But you know what? There’s no reason why you can’t enjoy a great cannoli right at home. And in fact, they’re hard to find. You go to your local bakery, sometimes it’s hit and miss, but this is always a hit. Like I said, can’t beat Sicily but we’re right up there with them. Good wholesome ingredients in the combination of the orange vanilla and the powdered sugar. I know there’s a debate powdered versus white sugar, cane sugar, but powdered sugar is one of the keys and that orange extract don’t eliminate it. It’s also very, very important. This. Is a tasty treat. A little bit of Sicily made right in your own home in the kitchen. And yes, it’s fun to make and it’s quick and easy. What’s a cannoli without an espresso? Those of you who know me know I love my cannolis and this right here, folks, you got to give it a try. A simple treat. Next time you offer to bring dessert to a dinner party, make some cannoli and treat your friends or family to a nice little dessert. I will be eating more. Thanks for tuning in. And as always, folks, until next time, Buon Appetito!