When I saw the Challenge of this month Daring Bakers I wasn’t thrilled at all. Not the fact that we were not baking this month was bothering me, no I just don’t like Cannoli. Okay, I have to admit it’s many years back I tried last time Cannoli. So I decided to give it try anyway.
First I made the dough. Easy peasy. I did just half of the quantity. Then I made a vanilla custard for the filling. Easy peasy, too.
I don’t have to mention, that as a professed Cannoli hater, I don’t have any cannoli forms, do I? But I’m innovative, so I asked Y. to cut some forms of a dried fig branch. No sooner said than done.
Then we tried to remove the bark. It was impossible. Whatever, I wanted to make my Cannoli now, so I took the cut branches as they were, just cleaned and oiled them. Ready to use.
I don’t like frying smell in the house, that’s why I deep fry „al fresco“.
I set up my super cute electric deep-fryer, rolled out the dough with my Pasta accessory of my food processor, cut out circles and rolled the circles around the cut fig branches. Then I lowered 2 of the Cannoli tubes into the hot oil and fried them about 2 minutes, turning them so that they browned evenly, removed them of the oil and here the drama started…
Shut, I couldn’t remove the forms! Grrrr!
4 woody Cannoli, 4 a kind of Faschnachtschüechli and I still don’t like Cannoli – was the conclusion. ;-)
Head over to the Daring Kitchen Headquarter to see the recipe as well the perfect Cannoli my fellow Daring Bakers made.
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The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.
November 2007 Challenge – Tender Potatoe Bread
December 2007 Challenge – Yule Log
January 2008 Challenge – Lemon Meringue Pie
February 2008 Challenge – French Bread
March 2008 Challenge – Perfect Party Cake
April 2008 Challenge – Cheesecake Pops
May 2008 Challenge – Opéra Cake
June 2008 Challenge – Danish Braid
July 2008 Challenge – Filbert Gateau
August 2008 Challenge – Chocolate Eclairs
September 2008 Challenge – Lavash Crackers
October 2008 Challenge – Pizza
November 2008 Challenge – Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting
January 2009 Challenge – Tuiles
February 2009 Challenge – Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Valentino
March 2009 Challenge – Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno)
April 2009 Challenge – Cheesecake with Lemon Curd Topping
Mai 2009 Challenge – Banana Strudel
June 2009 Challenge – Bakewell Tart
July 2009 Challenge – Milan Cookies
September 2009 Challenge – Vols-au-Vent
October 2009 Challenge – Macarons
More entries and recipes in English.
REPLY:
….zu früh abgesendet vor lauter Lachen…..ich seh Euch an den Hölzchen knabbern wie die Eichhörnchen……Super, Deine Geschichte! Wenn Du Deine Hölzer mit Alufolie umwickelt hättest, ob das funktioniert hätte? Du Arme….
REPLY:
*mitlach* Das mit der Alufolie ist eine gute Idee. Aber ausprobieren werde ich es wohl nicht. Habe die Schnauze voll von Cannoli. ;-)
liebe es. Sie sehen sehr lecker aus und im freien fritieren ist auch nicht die schlechteste idee.
I think that they look perfect and the blisters are exactly right (apart from the problem of getting off the wood LOL LOL) well at least you got some practice at deep frying. Cheers from Audax in Australia.
Your cannoli shells fried up perfectly. I’m sorry to read/see your cannoli shells stuck to fig forms. However, you plated and snapped great pictures. :-)
I really had to laugh when I read your post….of course not about YOU!
You actually started out good, I mean I would never make my own cannoli forms- so good job on that! Too bad they got stuck on the would…hehe….but at least you have this month challenge behind you!
Das Holz ist zu wenig konisch geformt. Solange im Mund behalten, bis das Holz sich auflöst :-)
If it makes you feel any better, I had a hard time even getting mine off of the oiled cannoli forms!
What a shame you don’t like cannoli, you’re definitely good at making them though, haha except for the wood part. I liked the look of the blistering on your shells. looks exactly like the italian shops‘ one that I get them from.
great job
lovely cannoli
in sicily at the beginning we used some bamboo branch cause they have a smooth surface. great and funny job at all
REPLY:
I did read about the bamoo branch. First I wanted to use them, but I didn’t know if they were treated with some chemical product. So I prefered to use our own fig branches. Bad idea. ;-)
REPLY:
Wie Süssholz meinst du. ;-)
Ich glaube nicht, dass es an der Formung des Holzes lag. Andere Blogger haben auch keine konischen Formen verwendet. Ich glaube es lag eher an der Rinde.
Oh, zorra, I love that you took part in this challenge even though you never liked cannoli! I also LOVE the ‚woody‘ cannoli..I chuckled, too cute! I almost want to add that to my entry just to show how ‚anything goes‘ when filling cannoli..LOL You’re awesome, and you know what? Your shells turned out perfect..so it sucks that you couldn’t get the branches out! Thank you so much for attempting something you didn’t like. Your cannolipoleons look fabulous :)
Your deep fryer is cute! Sorry to hear that the cannoli wouldn’t budge from their forms – but they look good, and congrats for trying these although cannoli aren’t your favourite.
That’s a bummer! Anyway, you had a great idea!
Cheers,
Rosa
The wood forms are beautiful, even if they are sticky! You truly are a daring baker to improvise like that, and all that work for a treat that you didn’t like. I love your photos!
I give you full marks actually making cannoli molds out of wood!!! And good for you for trying even though you’re not crazy about cannoli!
Exzellent. :-))) Volle Punkte für den Einsatz und die B Note.
Since you don’t like cannoli, not being able to get them off the branch might have been a good thing! ;P Nonetheless, the shells looks great! They must have been really crispy! :)
The first moment I saw the finished cannoli, I’d taken a double take, as I thought that it was some sort of fancy filling. Laughed when I noticed it was still the wooden forms.
Sorry to hear that things didn’t work out so well for you, and a shame too that you didn’t like it after all that effort. Perhaps you’ll have better luck with next month’s challenge :)
Wow! Oh the things we do to make a Daring Baker Challenge. I really like the woody cannoli…my dog would have loved these…wood and all. Awesome job!
Natalie @ Gluten a Go Go
Darn woody cannoli! Well you can’t say you’re not getting enough fibre now ;) Top marks for effort though, Zorra! :D