Shortcut Cannoli with Chocolate Mousse Filling and a Hanukkah Blog Party! - Overtime Cook (2024)

—

And now let’s talk Cannoli.

Sometimes I feel like it’s a very good thing that I don’t have an Italian granmother, because she might be really angry at me for calling this recipe a cannoli. I am pretty sure that arealitalian would be completely scandalized by the concept of a shortcut in cannoli making. But let’s get real, shall we? I am not Italian. I don’t possess a pasta roller, nor do I possess the energy or time to sit there rolling out cannoli dough as thin as pasta withnothing but my rolling pin.And y’all know how I am totally not into buying premade things, but I made an exception here. You’re going to be deep frying the dough, and you’re going to make a dreamy-creamy-sinfully amazing filling, nobody will complain if you start with something out of your grocery’s freezer. My secret: wonton wrappers! You got it! They are already super thin, and they fry up really nicely (just ask your local Asian restaurant). Trust me. You will completely rethink cannoli once you try this.

Now let’s talk filling. I have made “cannoli” in the past (using store bought wafer “shells” and filled them with lightly sweetened whipped cream. But this time I decided to take things a step further. I made the mostamazingmousse filling for these. I don’t know that there are adequate words in the English language to describe this filling, so make it and you will see what I am talking about.

Shortcut Cannoli Shells:

Ingredients:

canola oil, for frying

45-50 wonton wrappers

melted chocolate, for garnish, optional

Instructions:

Heat about 2-3 inches of oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat.

Meanwhile, prepare the cannoli shells: wrap a wonton wrapper around a cannoli form tightly. Dip your finger in water and rub along the edges. Press well to seal. (If the wrapper isn’t tight enough, or the seam isn’t sealed well enough, the shell will open while frying.) Repeat with all remaining cannoli forms.

Before frying, test that the oil is hot enough. Place a small piece of wonton wrapper in the oil- if it rises immediately it’s ready for frying.

Fry 3-4 cannoli at a time, depending on the size of your frying pan. Don’t overcrowd the pan or they will open. Fry the cannoli for a couple of minutes (about 2-4) until they are golden brown. Remove from pan and place on paper towel to drain the oil, then set aside to cool. When cooled enough to handle, gently remove the cannoli from the form, and repeat with the remaining wrappers.

Once all cannoli have been fried, cooled and removed from the forms, dip the ends in melted chocolate, if desired. Place the dipped cannoli shells on parchment paper to set.

At this point you can store the shells in an airtight container for a day or two, or even freeze for later use. Or you can fill immediately, but then you need to serve the within a couple of hours.

Chocolate (Nutella) Mousse

Ingredients:

1 cup whipping cream or rich’s whip

3/4 cup chocolate hazelnut spread such as Nutella or for a non-dairy option use Schneider’s Delinut

8 ounces cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla

optional 1/2 cup additional cream, for garnish/serving

Instructions:

In the bowl of your electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the cream or whip until stiff. (If using extra for garnish, you can whip it together to save time.) Remove whipped cream from mixer and set aside.

In the bowl of the electric mixer (no need to wash it between this and the previous use) beat together the chocolate-hazelnut spread, cream cheese and vanilla until combined.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the cream (if whipped extra for garnish only use 2/3 of the total amount). Stir gently until all of the cream has been incorporated.

Within a couple of hours before serving the cannoli, fill the shells with the mousse. To get the look in the picture, fit a piping bag with a Wilton 1M piping tip and fill it with mousse. Pipe some mouse in to one end of the cannoli shell, ending with a nice tip, then turn around a fill the other end, again ending in a nice tip. Otherwise, just place the mousse in a bag, snip off the end, and pipe it into the shells.

Serve the cannoli within a few hours of filling them, alongside the reserved whipped cream.

And of course, enjoy!

————————-

Aren’t these the most beautiful and delicious looking little treats? You knowyou want to make them! Thank you, as always, for stopping by, and make sure to enter my giveaway, then click on all the links above for more amazing recipes and lots of chances to win! Happy Chanukkah, Hanukkah, or however else you say it to all my Jewish Friends and readers! -Miriam PS- come back soon for a super cool latke recipe!