The phyllo cannoli with pistachio cream filling are a perfect dessert: quick to make, pleasant to see and delicious to eat! Find this and many more recipes with pictures on the Giallozafferano App (in English) http://itunes.apple.com/app/giallozafferano-recipes/id384387249?mt=8
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Start with the cannoli filling: I’m using sheep’s milk ricotta, as in the traditional cannoli recipe; if you don’t like it, you can use cow’s or buffalo’s milk ricotta cheese, even though the latter is bolder in taste. Set a strainer over a bowl and let it sit overnight, covered, to drain the excess milk. Now break it up with a fork, add the powdered sugar and the pistachio paste. It’s an unsweetened paste made from ground pistachio nuts, used as a flavouring in baking; it can be purchased in pastry shops or in natural food stores. All right, now cover with cling film and place in the fridge to rest for about half an hour. Leaving it in the fridge overnight allows the flavours to meld better. Make sure the cling film is in contact with the cream, or it will form a skin on top.
You can find the recipe for the classic cannoli shells on the Yellowsaffron channel; today I’ll be using phyllo dough. It’s very popular in the Middle East where it’s used to make traditional sweets, such as baklava, baked or fried. It consists of layered thin sheets of dough, made from flour, water and oil. Making it at home requires great patience and skill, so it’s more convenient to use ready-made phyllo dough, it is sold fresh or frozen. When it’s time to use it, take one sheet at a time, brush with melted butter and stack on top of each other; but be careful, this type of dough dries out easily, so you should work quickly and perhaps cover the remaining sheets with cling film, to avoid drying out.
That’s it, all the layers have been brushed with butter, including the top layer. Take a baking tray, line with parchment paper, and cut the dough into squares, about 2-2 ⅓ inches (5-6 cm) on a side… like this one. Here’s how to do: a square of dough, a cannoli mould, the egg white, beat it lightly, then bring two opposite corners together, in this way, and seal with the egg white. Be careful not to brush the tube, or it will stick to the dough and you won’t be able to remove it. Here’s the first cannolo, repeat for the others! Bake in a preheated static oven at 390°F (200°C) for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown.
Take the ricotta mixture and strain twice through a very fine sieve, like this one. In this way, you’ll get a smooth and silky cream. After straining the cream, add the chocolate chips. If you want to make the cream in large advance, add the chocolate chips just before filling the cannoli. And now transfer to a pastry bag with plain tip, at least ½ inch (1 cm) in diameter.
Allow the cannoli shells to cool, before removing the tubes. The width of my mould is adjustable as you can see, I can press it lightly so it comes out easily without breaking. Now fill with the pistachio cream. As a finishing touch, dip one end in the chopped pistachio nuts, in this way. And while I’m filling all the cannoli, let’s see together the ingredients needed for this recipe.
Ingredients for about 35 phyllo cannoli with pistachio cream filling
Ingredients for about 35 cannoli
– 8,5 oz (240 g) of phyllo dough
– 3 cups (750 g) of sheep’s milk ricotta
– 3 cups (350 g) of powdered sugar
– 5 tbsp (100 g) of pistachio paste
– ½ cup (80 g) of chocolate chips
For brushing and sealing
– ⅓ cup (70 g) of melted butter
– 1 egg white
For garnishing
– chopped pistachio nuts, to taste
– chocolate chips