Our tour of Italian desserts has taken us through pastures of pretty Pizzelles and has us hopping down Biscotti sidewalks. The next stop on our tour takes us through streets lined with Cannoli. The variety is endless… I see those colors and I smell those scents. I see the cherry ones, the chocolate ones (I could POSSIBLY miss THAT scent!), and there are pistachio-citrus cannolis on both sides of the street. What a view!
A LITTLE STORY…
Now we will talk about the history of this tasty and beautiful dessert! All my research has produced more or less the same historical plot… these Italian desserts date back to the days of Moorish rule and were originally delicacies for the Carnival festivities. They originated in Palermo, Italy. You can find them year-round now in Italy and in the United States. The cannoli dessert consists of a deep-fried wafer that is rolled into a tube. The tubes or shells are filled with a sweetened ricotta cheese that has been filled with candied fruits, nuts, or chocolate drops or chunks. The filling is introduced into the shell with a pastry bag or by placing it with a spoon in the shell. The filling is extremely soft and creamy and the shell is very crunchy. The contrasts between these two consistencies make it necessary to fill the puff pastry and serve it immediately. If the filled pastry sits too long, the moisture from the filling absorbs into the shell and soaks it…and no one wants to eat a soggy cannoli! It is the creaminess of the filling and the aroma of the shell that create the exquisite flavor of these delicious cupcakes.
The cake got its name from its pipe shape, developed for a Carnival sweet, which spread throughout Italy and even became a staple in almost every pastry shop. The dough, which has an elaborate flavor, is wrapped around a metal cylinder and then deep-fried. Once the tubes cool, they are filled with sweetened ricotta or marscapone cheese enhanced with candied fruits, nuts, chocolate, citrus, Marsala wine, rosewater, bittersweet coffee, cocoa powder, and many other flavorings.
MORE INTERESTING DATA…
Turkish hats, another name for this Italian dessert, date back to the Saracens and pre-Christian times. The tube-like shapes may have imitated stelae and menhirs known to be common to druids and thought to be symbols of fertility.
Cannoli can be made finger-sized, called Cannulicchi, or fist-sized, like those found in Piana degli Albanesi, a town near Palermo. Carnival festivals were much like the Mardi Gras we’ve come to know, complete with sporting parades and costumes, so these tasty cupcakes fit right in with the fun and pageantry.
So… have I reached your peak appetite and curiosity? Excellent! Check back in a couple of days for the “rest of the story” and the delicious recipe. See you then… Bon appetit!