Cute as Buttons - Cannoli Made in Cups

I saw a photo and got an idea. Cannoli Cups. 

I really hate deep frying anything. And so have never made cannoli. I have nothing against them in concept, though I am not totally sure I have ever eaten any. But if they could be made in tiny mini muffin tins, then they could be baked. Aha!

Cannoli Cups

Sill waffling, I looked at recipes, seeing what constitutes cannoli dough. And then, wondering if  the dough was made and set it into mini muffin tins, would it shrink? So finally I got down to creating a recipe. As usual, I read countless recipes online. I looked for what constituted true cannoli dough. Ideas, ideas and more ideas. Once I created a recipe plan that sounded good, I made the dough one evening just before dinner. It went into the fridge to chill while we ate dinner, and after dinner I got it out and set about testing. 

My first piece of dough was rolled out as thinly as I could get it, and believe me, it tends to spring back, so it needs to be thin. I cut out circles with a three-inch biscuit cutter and set two little discs of dough into two wells (sprayed with nonstick spray, just in case) of my mini muffin tin. I baked them, primarily to see how they would fare. Maybe if they shrunk too much I would have to turn the mini muffin tin upside down and lay the little disc of dough over the upturned well, rather than set it inside. But actually, they came out just fine, without too much shrinkage. So, I proceeded with the remainder of the dough.

Let me just say that these little cups, even before filling them with the ricotta cream, were just delightful. They had amazing flavors. I am tempted to make the dough and use it for crisp cookies!

One thing I had concern over was that the cups be strong enough to stand up to the wet, creamy filling. Granted, these cannot be filled too far in advance and still expect the cups to be crisp. But for a reasonable amount of time, I hoped they would hold up. And they did.

What Makes Cannoli Dough?

When looking through recipes, it appeared there were a few "constants" in making cannoli dough.

1. All the recipes used cinnamon.
2. Most of the recipes used unsweetened cocoa powder.
3. All recipes (that were true to the spirit of things) called for Marsala wine.
4. Most recipes called for vinegar in addition to the wine. 
5. All the recipes I read used egg in the dough.
6. Most recipes called for butter.
7. One recipe said no true Sicilian grandmother would use butter, but instead would use lard both in the dough and for frying the cannoli. 

Cannoli Cups

Okay, so some of these "constants" sounded good. Others, not as much.

Marsala Wine and Substitutes

One of my first stumbling blocks was the use of Marsala wine. I love wine. But the only time I tasted Marsala was a very long time ago, and to me it tasted like medicine. Granted, it may have been a cheap version of Marsala, but I have a hard time thinking of going out to buy a bottle just to use 2 tablespoons worth in cannoli dough. Instead, I went Googling to see what would be a good substitute for Marsala. There were many suggestions:

• Use Sherry. Though Sherry has its own unique flavor profile, and is not like Marsala at all, it can be used.
• Use a red wine such as Pinot Noir.
• Combine white grape juice with a tablespoon of brandy.
• Use Madeira, which has a very similar flavor profile to Marsala. 

Hurray! I had Madeira in the fridge!  

I opted to use cocoa and cinnamon, plus the addition of a little coffee powder. I like Starbuck's "Via" instant coffee, both for flavor and ease of dissolving. I used Madeira wine and white wine vinegar and the obligatory egg. And I used lard. 

What Next? Embellishments

The Dough      -      Before Baking, fitting in mini muffin tins      -      Baked and Rimmed

Okay, I had a recipe. And I also had other ideas. Seeing photos of cannoli online, some had ends dipped in chocolate. Some had ends dipped in chocolate and chopped nuts. Some had no chocolate dipped ends, but had little mini chocolate chips sprinkled onto the filling.

I decided that to make my little cannoli cups attractive, I would melt some chocolate and dip the rims in the melted chocolate. I also decided to chop some unsalted pistachios and dip half of the chocolate dipped rims into the nuts. 

And the Final Touch: the Filling

Every recipe I read online said that the filling was ricotta. Some mixed Mascarpone cheese with the ricotta. Most said that the ricotta had to be drained, preferably 3 to 5 hours, if not more, or else the filling would be too runny. I bought Sargento brand full fat ricotta. I set it into a strainer, as I would do for yogurt. It went into the fridge overnight. In the morning I had just about a whole teaspoon of liquid that had seeped out. 

I cannot believe that one teaspoon of liquid would make the filling too runny. Maybe other brands are more moist, but my container of Sargento was pretty good, as is.

I did use a bit more mascarpone to ricotta ratio than called for in any recipe I read. I love mascarpone. The ricotta and mascarpone mixed together with a little confectioners' sugar was absolutely perfect and made the best little cannoli cups imaginable. 

Cannoli Cups

Cannoli Cups

Makes about 50 to 60 cups

DOUGH:
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon coffee powder
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons lard
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) white vinegar
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) Marsala, Madeira or Pinot Noir wine
1 large egg, whisked to mix

TO ADORN:
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
⅓ cup chopped unsweetened pistachios

FILLING:
16 ounces full fat ricotta cheese, drained at least 3 - 5 hours
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
¾ cup confectioners' sugar

MAKE THE DOUGH: In a mixing bowl, combine the first six dry ingredients and stir to combine. Cut in the lard, and once combined, lift the mixture and slide it between the palms, making flaky looking bits in the bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg with the vinegar and wine of choice. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and toss to combine, as for pie dough. Once it begins to hold together, form a ball, flatted, wrap tightly and chill for at least an hour or up to overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray the wells of mini muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray. Using about half the dough at a time, on a floured surface, roll the dough as thinly as possible. Using a 3-inch cutter, cut little rounds of dough and set them into the wells of the prepared mini muffin tin, pressing down into the edges. Bake the cups for about 10 to 12 minutes, until crisp.

TO ADORN: While the cups bake, set the chocolate chips in a wide bowl and microwave on a few short bursts of 20 to 25 seconds, until they melt. Set the chopped nuts in another wide bowl. Once baked, remove the cannoli cups from the pan and cool them only until of a temperature to handle, one to two minutes. Invert one cup into the melted chocolate, set upright on a rack to finish cooling. Repeat with the remainder. For some of these, after dipping the rims in chocolate, dip also in the nuts. Set them aside to cool and harden.

MAKE AND FILL: Set the ricotta and mascarpone cheeses on the counter for an hour to make them easier to mix. Spoon both cheeses into a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Beating is not necessary. Once the cheese are combined, add the confectioners' sugar and stir thoroughly.

The cups can be filled with small spoons. Sprinkle on mini chocolate chips or more chopped nuts, if desired. If you have piping bags and tips, I used #823 open star tip from Ateco. Fill the piping bag and pipe like ice cream in cone. 

NOTE: Depending on how many cups you manage from the recipe, and how much you fill the cups, you may need a slightly larger amount of the filling.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Peaches and Mascarpone Spelled Dessert

Last week I had planned to make a cake and ice it with (what I thought was) a recipe using mascarpone cheese. I bought two containers of mascarpone just for this. Until I went to the recipe to see what else was in it - only to find it had no mascarpone at all. What?!?

Totally confused, I searched the magazine and found zero uses for mascarpone cheese in an icing. How I misled myself into this belief is beyond me, but hey, I am chalking it up to fate. It is a great excuse to use mascarpone in other applications. Yesterday was the first one, and I came up with an idea for a tart. 

Peach Mascarpone Tart with Tarragon Shortbread Crust

On Mascarpone

Peach Mascarpone Tart
with Tarragon Shortbread Crust

If anyone in the blogging world does not yet know what mascarpone cheese is, the simple explanation is that it is an Italian version of cream cheese. While I have absolutely nothing against good old Philly cream cheese, mascarpone just has a better flavor, a different flavor, a better feel, just more depth of character. If Philly is your everyday face, then mascarpone is your totally dressed-up face. This is my own feeling on the matter. Still, maybe you get the picture.

Unlike Philly, one thing to caution about mascarpone: it is best not to over beat it, as it becomes grainy very easily. That said, mascarpone can strengthen and stabilize whipped cream so that it will stand up to refrigeration for days without weeping or losing its shape and texture. This makes any pie with a whipped cream topping (Key Lime, anyone) a total breeze to make slightly in advance rather than having to do things last minute. Pipe rosettes of this stable whipped cream onto a cheesecake for decoration. Use it between cake layers. It has been the most wonderful discovery I've made in years. To make this wonderful stable whipped cream, here is what I do:

Mascarpone Whipped Cream

 

Mascarpone Whipped Cream

Mascarpone Whipped Cream is shown atop a Cherry Custard Tart in the photo at right.

Makes about 3 cups

1 cup heavy whipping cream
6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

With a mixer, beat the one cup of whipping cream until it holds very soft peaks. Add in the confectioners' sugar and beat until it holds stiff peaks. Stop the mixer and add in the mascarpone cream. Beat again just until combined. Beating too long will cause the mascarpone to look curdled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, I so totally lost my train of thought there, but my goal is to tell you about the wonderful dessert tart I came up with yesterday. It was one of those experiments that went totally right. While rich, it was not terribly sweet, and totally full of flavor. I called it Peach Mascarpone Tart with Tarragon Shortbread Crust. A mouthful to say, but wait till you taste it. 

I used a 9-inch tart pan with a removable rim, so I could set the finished tart onto a fancy plate for serving. The only aspect of this dessert that I would do any differently is to ensure that the crust is pressed all the way up the sides of the tart pan's rim. The reason for this is that when I filled the shell with the mascarpone filling, it reached higher than the crust. The filling is just the slightest bit runny, and with the peaches set on after the filling, it reached much higher. It did not overflow or leak when baking, however I did have to go all around the pan, loosening the filling and crust from the fluted rim of the tart pan. Not horrible, but it was a bit time consuming. Some of the crust still stuck a bit, which you can see on the photo at top of page. Made absolutely no difference to the flavor though!

If you use a tart pan that does not have a removable rim, also be sure to press the crust mixture high, which ensures the slices can be cut and removed for serving with ease. The tart is not terribly thick / deep, so the portions are easy to handle, even after a large meal.  

For the St. Germain liqueur, if not using, sprinkle a little water into the crust, if needed, and for the filling just substitute a teaspoon of vanilla and a little water, if needed.

Peach Mascarpone Tart with Tarragon Shortbread Crust

Peach Mascarpone Tart
with Tarragon Shortbread Crust

Makes one 9 or 10-inch tart

CRUST:
⅔ cup all-purpose flour
⅓ cup cornstarch
1½ teaspoons finely minced fresh tarragon
5½ tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
⅓ cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon St. Germain elderflower liqueur, optional

FILLING:
1 cup (8-ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
2 egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons St. Germain elderflower liqueur, optional
-----
1½ cups sliced peaches, fresh or frozen

Make crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Have ready a tart pan.

Whisk together the flour, cornstarch and tarragon in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, Cream together the butter and confectioners' sugar. Stir in the flour mixture and mix lightly to combine. Add in the elderflower liqueur and toss lightly. Pour into the tart pan and using fingers, press into bottom and sides. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the crust is lightly golden. Remove from oven and cool.

While crust cools, make the filling: In a smaller mixing bowl combine the mascarpone, egg yolks, sugar. Mix together with a fork, or extremely briefly with a hand mixer, to just combine. Add in the liqueur, if using. If not, just add a little vanilla.

If using fresh peaches, peel and slice the peach(es) into thin wedges, as the filling is not deep. Have them ready.
Pour the filling mixture into the cooled crust and set the peach wedges on top. The peaches might be substituted with berries, if preferred. Bake the tart until the filling is just set, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely before serving. 

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Quick and Easy Peach Parfait

My son and his wife were visiting last week, and whenever they come to visit they come with tales of wonderful foods they've eaten or created themselves. We are all foodies of the highest order and we all cook, except my husband who leaves that aspect to me in general. He is still willing to try most of my experiments!

Peach Tarragon Parfaits with Mascarpone Cream

My son, Kenneth, is good at seeing a recipe somewhere and then winging it afterwards, using his own little twists. I had never seen this before, but on the off chance he did find this somewhere online - which obviously he did - I went online to search and found a Sandra Lee recipe. Hers is slightly different from what Kenneth did at my house last week, and plus, with me in the kitchen there were even more changes involved. 

The dessert Ken made was presented parfait style, with layers of peaches, biscotti, and mascarpone whipped cream. Ken said he had made this once before, and when we went to the grocery to pick up the needed items, he was going to go for canned peaches. Since it is summer and there are peaches available in every grocery in town, I suggested using fresh peaches. While it might be good with canned or frozen peaches, fresh are always better, in my book. When he started to prepare the dessert, he asked if I had tarragon. As it happens, my tarragon plant this year is growing lushly, so I had plenty.

Tarragon is an herb that I like to have available, but rarely use, so having something new to use it in was exciting. Tarragon has a slightly anise-like flavor, and is good in various applications, but I had never, ever thought to use it in a dessert before, so I was curious. 

Ken was reluctant to use fresh peaches at first, but as it turned out, the peaches we got were perfect. Perfectly ripe and juicy, he sliced the peaches into wedges, and left them slightly thick. This turned out to make eating difficult, as one of the larger wedges was far from bite-sized. The desserts he created were extremely large portions - really way too much for one, and possibly more than enough for even two people. Still, most of them went; a testament to the great flavors.

Tarragon Herb and Macerating Peaches

The peaches were macerated in a goodly bit of Gran Marnier Liqueur (Ken did not measure), and while I am sure this could be made with some other flavoring agent (fruit nectar was suggested on the Sandra Lee video), I think possibly some orange juice would also do the job. Since Grand Marnier is very sweet and almost the only sweetener going into this dessert, making a simple syrup, flavored with orange peel and tarragon would also be an excellent substitute. When I asked Ken how much tarragon to chop for the mixture, he just said "lots!" I chopped at least 3 tablespoons worth (after chopping = 3 tablespoons) and threw that all in with the peaches and Grand Marnier. 

Peach Tarragon Parfaits with Mascarpone Cream

The cookie layer he used was biscotti. The only kind available here in town were lemon flavored and he was uncertain, but I felt that lemon flavor would add dimension. The Grand Marnier is orange flavor and would play nice with the lemon biscotti. Plus, grating a fine bit of lemon zest over the top would look great and just tie everything together. The biscotti we found here were mid sized, at about 6 or 7-inches long. I have seen little 4-inch biscotti and I have seen far larger ones at about 9 or more inches. If the biscotti you find are longer or shorter, you may have to play with the amounts as desired. These 7-inch ones were just the perfect amount per serving.

Peach Tarragon Parfaits with Mascarpone Cream

Peach Tarragon Parfaits with Mascarpone Cream

Makes 2 servings (multiply as needed for more portions) 

1 large, ripe peach
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, minced
¼ cup Grand Marnier liqueur 
2 plain or anise biscotti, about 7-inches apiece or equivalent amount
4 ounces (¼ cup) cold whipping cream
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
4 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

GARNISH:
fine shreds of lemon zest
tarragon sprigs or whole leaves for decoration

At least 1 to 2 hours before assembling the desserts, cut the peach into thin wedges and place in a bowl with a tight fitting lid (a zip-top bag will also work). Top with the minced tarragon and the Grand Marnier liqueur and seal the bowl. Shake to distribute the herbs and liqueur and allow the mixture to macerate for at least one hour, or two if possible. Shake the bowl often to make sure all the fruit is evenly flavored.

If using the 7-inch size biscotti, and they are individually wrapped (mine were), just use a meat tenderizer mallet with a flat side and whack the biscotti gently to break into crumbs. This does not have to be tiny crumbs, as the cookie will soften when mixed with the juicy fruit and the whipped mascarpone. Place ½ of one biscotti in the bottom of each of two bowls or parfait glasses.

In a small mixing bowl, whip the cold whipping cream until it just begins to hold shape. Add the confectioners' sugar and continue to beat until it will hold shape well. Do not over beat. Now add the 4 ounces of mascarpone cheese all at once, and beat very briefly, only just until the mascarpone is incorporated. If you are not yet ready to assemble the dessert, cover and refrigerate this whipped mixture until needed. 

When ready to assemble, drop about ¼ of the whipped mascarpone cream into each bowl or glass, atop the crumbled biscotti. Top with ¼ of the peach mixture per glass, including juices. Repeat with another ½ crumbled biscotti over top, then the remaining peaches and juices and then top with the remaining whipped mascarpone cream. 

The cream can be piped into the bowl or glass, for a fancier presentation if desired. Top with fine shreds of lemon zest and a sprig of tarragon for garnish.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.