What Happens When You Bake Cannoli as Mini Pies?

August 12, 2015 Jessie Moore

A cannolo (did you know that's the singular, and cannoli is plural? That's fairly new info to me) is a thing of beauty. But really, is fried and filled the only way to enjoy these Italian treats?

While some are of the mentality that "you shouldn't mess with a classic", I disagree. How on earth will you ever make new culinary discoveries if you're too scared to experiment in the kitchen?

This is all to say that recently, when developing a delicious olive oil cannoli recipe for Colavita, I went through many batches of the little tube-like treats, and along the way I found myself thinking "what if I baked the components as mini custard pies?".

Here's what I did.

Basically, I started out the normal way. I made a batch of cannoli shell dough, and I made a batch of cannoli cream.

But then, instead of frying and rolling the shells into tubes, I simply pressed them into cupcake liners, so that they looked like mini pie crusts.

Then I filled each shell with cannoli cream.

Then I baked them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

And here's how they came out.

They looked absolutely beautiful.

Taste-wise, they provided an interesting experience. It really brought my attention to the fact that the frying is really a vital part of the cannoli experience. Because while these were quite pleasurable as little cheesecake-like tartlets, I would not have taken a bite and said "this is cannoli-flavored!".

The shells were a tad...sturdy. I think that while they require a certain structure to be fried, in baked form they were a bit on the dry side. Not terrible, but not "wow" worthy, and perhaps a little bland. Like I said - that frying in oil goes a long way, flavor and texture-wise.

I'm delighted to report, though: the filling was absolutely gorgeous. Cannoli cream, when baked, really is a thing of beauty. It formed a pleasant little golden crust on the top, and it was almost like eating the center out of one of those cream cheese muffins (really? come on. Cake.) they sell at Starbucks and such. Good stuff.

You know what helped with the slightly dry crust issue, too? A nice dousing with the way-more-flavorful-than-it-sounds water ganache I have become addicted to.

Cannoli baked as mini pies? Great idea, but the crust needs adapting. For better results, I'd use the regular cannoli cream, but use a classic pie crust recipe for the shells instead.

OK. So, to review, in case you want to give this a try:

How I did this:

I prepared the cannoli shells per this recipe, but did not fry them.

Instead of frying them, I pressed them into cupcake liners. I didn't use the entire batch to bake, but if I had, it would have yielded about 18 pies.

I then filled each shell with cannoli cream (from the same recipe).

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees F, and when it was preheated, I baked the pies until golden - about 15 minutes. And then I topped them with ganache, because, why not? Well, let me tell you, I couldn't resist digging in while they were still warm like that (though the rest did "set" more once cooled).

And voila!

Have you ever baked a recipe that is supposed to be fried?

What Happens When You Put Cannoli Cream in an Ice Cream Maker?

August 5, 2015 Jessie Moore

#whathappenswednesday! My favorite day. And today, I've got a really compelling "what if" question to ask.

Full disclosure: perhaps in all honesty I should revise that title to be "what happens when you put slightly faulty cannoli cream in an ice cream maker?".

You see, I have recently been working a lot with a homemade cannoli recipe, trying to perfect it, make it interesting, make it mine. Finally, I did it. You'll see it shared soon, I promise.

Along the way, there have been some good batches, some bad. One thing in particular that I have learned is that you should not mix the ricotta filling in a stand mixer. It becomes too liquid. Every time. Even with whipped cream added as a stabilizer, though that did help--a bit.

But before I realized that hand mixing was the way to go, I found myself with a bunch of delicious--but slightly too liquid--cannoli cream.

Naturally, my first thought was "what would happen if I put this slightly faulty-textured yet deliciously flavored cannoli cream in my ice cream maker?"

And so I did. I piped the entirety of the pastry bag filled with cannoli cream (2 cups or so) into the chilled drum of my ice cream maker. Then I let it churn for 15 minutes.

At first, it was still rather liquid. I thought maybe this hadn't worked out.

But then, I put it in the freezer, and after a few hours, it set to about this consistency:

Softer than traditional ice cream, more like a firm pudding. With a taste that is 100% cannoli. Perfect for serving a cookie or brownie a la mode, or for mixing with a scoop of regular vanilla ice cream.

Oh, happy day.

Cannoli cream churned in the ice cream maker

Printable recipe here

Note: your ice cream maker may require that the drum be chilled for several hours or overnight before using. Do that before making the cream.

About 2 cups cannoli cream, your favorite recipe, or this one that is slightly too liquid:
1 container (15 ounces) whole milk ricotta
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2-3 ounces finely chopped chocolate, or chocolate chips

Combine the ricotta and olive oil in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix to combine.

Add the confectioners' sugar, and mix thoroughly. It will be rather liquid.

Stir in the chocolate.

Let the mixture chill in the fridge for oh, two hours.

Pour it into your ice cream maker. Let churn according to the manufacturer's directions.

Turn the mixture into a bowl, and let it freeze for several hours before enjoying.

Have you ever put a fascinating non-ice cream substance in your ice cream maker?

What Happens When You Make Ganache with Fruit Instead of Cream?

July 29, 2015 Jessie Moore

File under mind-blowing: you can make ganache with puréed fruit instead of cream (the chocolate, of course, remains constant).

I first learned this when I was exploring cream-free ganache varieties for a Craftsy post.

I came across the idea of making ganache with fruit butter, and I thought, gee whiz, in spite of sounding kind of like health food, this additionally seems like a tasty and interesting idea.

And then came the question: what would happen if I made ganache with mashed bananas instead of cream?

So, I mashed up a very ripe banana...

Then I melted some chocolate in a double boiler.

Then I combined them until they were completely mixed.

Since I hadn't actually puréed the banana, I had more just mashed it, there were some textural bits of banana in the mix. I didn't mind at all, though. It was kind of nice in this instance.

The texture was like a thick mousse or frosting. You could probably use/serve it as either; it will eventually set firm.

This ambrosial mixture could be a dessert as-is, could be used as a frosting, as a filling, or as a swirl-in for ice cream.

What happens when you make ganache with fruit instead of cream? Good things.

Here's how to make it happen in your house.

Fruit ganache

Printable version here

Note: this makes close to 1 cup. If you want a larger amount, simply double/triple/quadruple the quantities.

Also, you could substitute any pureed fruit you'd like in the place of banana. Let me know how it turns out if you do!

3 ounces banana, mashed (about 1 large)
4 to 4.5 ounces chocolate, coarsely chopped

Mash the banana, or puree it in a blender if you want a really smooth finished result.
Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. I did a DIY double boiler, placing a heatproof bowl above a pot of simmering water. This also made it easy to add the banana right to the chocolate once it was melted.
Combine the banana and chocolate and stir until completely combined.
There you go! Banana ganache. You can let it set until it's firm enough for whatever you want to use it for.

PS. Here's how the ganache looks like after it has "set" - it firms into a set, frosting-like consistency.

Have you ever made a fruit ganache?

What Happens When You Make Hawaiian Rolls with Mountain Dew?

July 15, 2015 Jessie Moore

Guess what I did, you guys. Well, if you guessed "made Hawaiian rolls with mountain dew", you're right.

If you aren't familiar with Hawaiian rolls, let me briefly educate you. These are a puffy, egg-enriched, sweetened type of roll. They're squishy, and vaguely brioche-like in texture.

They're most famously sold in grocery stores, in a plastic bag, under the label "King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls".

These rolls are oddly addictive. They can go sweet or savory, and are equally great for sliders as they are as an ingredient in bread pudding.

When I found a recipe for a homemade hack on King Arthur Flour's website, I got super excited...until I realized that I had no pineapple juice.

The idea of going to the store seriously bummed me out. I had baking mojo now! No interruptions!

So I looked around for something else to use, and my gaze settled on a can of Mountain Dew. It had been living in the fridge for quite some time--my other half sometimes indulges in the stuff along with popcorn while watching movies.

Well, it had been there long enough.

I was going to do the dew...in my dough.

Other than the Dew, I stayed pretty true to the recipe. And here's how they came out:

Awwww, girl. Awwww, yeah. These rolls came out delicious!

Actually, the Mountain Dew mellowed out during the baking process, and gave the rolls a fascinating flavor. I have since made the traditional version of the rolls, with pineapple juice, for a post on Craftsy.com. Visually they were pretty much identical, but between you and me, I actually think that the Dew ones tasted better. They had a lightly sweet flavor, but something in the carbonation or the sugar in the soda condensed into a slightly malty, sweet flavor in the Mountain Dew batch of rolls.

The rolls tasted fantastic with a pat of butter, just out of the oven, but they were similarly delicious when lightly toasted and used to make mini chicken salad sandwiches later that day. They were also great for breakfast the next morning, served alongside eggs and bacon and with some butter and maple syrup. What versatile rolls! Who knew that Dew could do this?

Honestly, I consider these a great success. Who knew? Mountain dew in bread rolls = a very good thing.

Bread made with Mountain Dew? Why not?

Mountain Dew Hawaiian Bread Rolls