Cannolo siciliano filled with ricotta, candied fruits and chocolate

Among the typical recipes of the Sicilian confectionary tradition, we undoubtedly find the cannolo (crunchy tubes of deep-fried pastry filled with sweet ricotta). Filippino explains to you how to prepare it in the most classic version, with ricotta, candied fruits and drops of bitter chocolate.

Several companies produce the already ready fried dough to be filled, but the home-made one have the same irreplaceable fragrance of the fresh cannoli of pastry. Let see how to realise them step by step.

Ingredients for 4 people

For the dough:
100 g wheat
100 g lard
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon marsala superiore (wine) or 1 tablespoon red wine
A dash of salt
peanut oil or a lot of lard for the deep-frying of the dough

For the filling:

200 g sifted fresh ricotta (sheep milk cheese)
100 g powdered sugar
30 g diced candied fruits
30 g unsweetened chocolate (pieces or drops)
30 g sugared almonds
4 candied orange peels

Preparation for the dough

Melt the lard into the flour with a dash of salt, arranging it in fountain. Melt the sugar, the egg white, the Marsala (or wine) and knead until obtain a substantial ball. Put it in a cloth and let it rest for about 2 hours, then flatten it with the rolling pin to obtain a not too fine dough.
With a glass, make disks about 10 cm which will be rolled up on small tubes of metal (greased before with the lard) and then fried in the lard.
Use the egg yolk to grease both strips of the disk which will be superimposed in order to weld during the frying with a lot of lard (or peanut oil). The frying will be completed when the internal part of the small cylinder (cannolo) will have the same golden colour tanned of the outside crust.

Once cold and dry, cannoli are ready to be filled.

Preparation for the filling

After sieving the fresh ricotta, mix it with the powdered sugar, the diced candied fruits and the unsweetened chocolate. Fill the cannolo with this mixture and sprinkle with pieces of sugared almond. Garnish with orange peels and get ready to savour the final result.