Pastries: Cannoli 06 by Recipe Cottage

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	Cannoli 06

		Cannoli 3 cups plain flour (15 oz) 3 egg yolks 1 egg 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind 3 tablespoons marsala 1 egg white oil for deep frying 1 kg (2 lbs) ricotta cheese 1 1/2 cups pure icing sugar 6 pieces of 2-inch cinnamon stick 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind 1/4 cup mixed peel icing sugar for coating 2 oz. dark chocolate, grated or chopped Sift 1 cup of the flour into the bowl, add egg yolks and rub in until mixture resmbles bread crumbs. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Add remaining sifted flour, lightly beaten egg, lemon rind and marsala; mix well. Turn mixture onto lightly floured surface and knead 10 - 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Cut pastry into four pieces. Roll out each piece to paper thinness. This is important; if the pastry is too thick, it will not be crisp, with the characteristic "bubbles" when it's deepfried. If you have a pasta machine, roll the pastry through three times, adjusting the machine to roll pastry thinner each time. Measure the length of the cannoli moulds (or you can use cannelloni pasta shells as moulds!) then cut the pastry into strips about 5 mm (1/4 inch) narrower than the shells. Put the shell at one end of the pastry, roll the pastry round, then cut so about 1 cm (1/2 inch) overlaps. Brush this cut end with egg white, press firmly into position. Do not get egg white on the mould, or it will stick to the pastry and be hard to remove. Once you've measured one piece of pastry, you can cut all the others. Place cannoli (about 4 at a go) into deep hot oil; fry until golden brown, approximately 1 minute. Remove cannoli from oil, place on absorbent paper. and let cool about 1 minute. Then (use a teatowl for this, as shells are very hot) carefully remove the mould (or pasta shell) from inside the pastry. Let pastry shells cool completely; they will become quite crisp. For the filling, place the cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer, add sifted icing sugar and beat on high speed for 5 minutes. Place cinnamon sticks in blender and blend on high speed for 60 seconds or until powdery. You will need a total of 2 Tablespoons of cinnamon. Add lemon rind, mixed peel an cinnamon to the cheese, beat further 3 minutes. Spoon filling into large piping bag fitted with a plain tube. Pipe into the cannoli shells, roll in sifted icing sugar, dip ends in finely chopped or grated chocolate.