Back in time @ Daring Bakers..

The first ever time I had Cannoli was at Boston's North End, the Italian world within the city...We had inadvertently landed there on a week-long stay and how fortunate ! Those hot cuppa espressos which we would drink just standing , those intimidating Italian restaurant owners , the fresh baked breads and ohh, those small bakeries with amazing array of sweets all inviting us in....Daring Bakers took me back there with this amazing Daring Challenge -

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

Cannolli !! Thats what we made around the DB world this month and what a great challenge it was..

First the ingredients:

I didn't have the foresight to order for the cannoli forms in advance but fellow DBs came to help and I used Cannelloni shells and it turned out pretty great with it.

Marsala wine - 6.99 and 12.99 ...guess which one I picked :) .. last month I spent $20+ for sushi ingredients..neways

It is pretty simple to make once you have all the ingredients..

For Cannoli shells:

2 cup AP flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp white wine vinegar

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup + marsala wine

Mix all the dry ingredients and add the oil, vinegar and wine till a moist dough is formed. Cover and rest in freezer for couple of hours or more.

Roll into small round balls and wrap around the cannelloni shell and dab water where the ends meet. Deep-fry and let dry.

Cannoli filling:

1 can of ricotta cheese strained overnite

Confectionars sugar as required

Vanilla as required

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Whip everything up and fill in a ziploc bag with one end cut off. Squeeze into both sides of cannolo. Top with nuts or chocolates and enjoy....