Oh, this is a little treat. I think of baking as my hobby,
and as with most hobbies, sometimes you get stuck in a rut. I think brownies
are my rut – I’ve been known to make brownies and only brownies for weeks. They’re
easy, delicious and altogether pleasing. But sometimes you want to get out of the rut. You gotta make
something new, and something a little tricky.
Enter, cannoli.
I have enjoyed these little crunchy sweet morsels a lot in
the last few years, I’ve gotten them from bakeries, markets and Italian delis.
And Italy. So delicious. And too hard to make at home, or so I thought. The hardest bit was sourcing ingredients - I couldn't find any traditional (sweet) marsala wine, so I just used regular white wine and they tasted legit!
Like with most hobbies, you need equipment sometimes. I did
have to buy these cannoli rings to enable me to make them, but they cost £7 and
arrived via next day delivery. That’s the price of 2 costa coffees or one
medium-fancy gin – well worth it because I’ll get my money’s worth. They
will be added to my niche kitchen equipment
collection which includes donut pans and a sugar thermometer. Very useful gear.
I learned a lot by doing this. You need to roll the dough as
thin as you can, with a second roll once you’ve cut it out. And then when
sealing the ends together, seal the entirety of the dough where the two ends meet
or else it’ll open up. Learn by my example!
