Cannoli Siciliani 

Ingredients – Makes 10

For the Shell

• 250g of 00 flour
• 25g of lard
• 20g of sugar
• 50ml of Marsala wine or dry red wine
• 30ml of vinegar
• 5g of cocoa (optional)
• A pinch of salt
• Lard for frying

For the Stuffing

• 800g of sheep ricotta
• 350g of sugar
• 200g of chocolate chips
• 1 vanilla pod seeds

To Decorate

• 100g of candied orange peel
• 50g of powdered sugar

Method

For the ricotta cream

Drain the sheep ricotta in a colander and place it in the refrigerator until it has lost the whey, then sift it, and mix it well in a bowl together with the sugar, the vanilla pod seeds and the chocolate chips.

For the Shells

On a pastry board, mix the flour, sifted, with the sugar, cocoa, salt, vinegar and lard cut into small pieces, gradually adding a little Marsala until the dough is elastic, smooth and firm.

Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 60 minutes.

Roll out the dough until you get a thin sheet of less than 2 millimetres, then with the help of a pasta cutter, cut out discs with a diameter of 9-10 cm.

Wrap the shapes of dough around the metal cylinders, wetting the edges of the dough with water before welding them on each other.

Fry the cannoli rinds in the lard at 170 ° C until they are golden and solid. Then put the Sicilian cannoli peels on absorbent paper and let them cool before removing the metal cylinders.

Stuff the cannoli with the ricotta cream only shortly before consuming them, unless you like them with a little more softened rind. Finally, sprinkle with powdered sugar and garnish the ends with candied orange peel.