Cannoli Chip & Dip

Very few things drive me crazier than having to fry cannoli shells and praying that they don't come apart, filling 25 small cannoli shells with the cannoli filling and stressing over if the shells lose their crunch because of the moisture... VERY few things. So to deal with this issue, I've found it easier to make it into cannoli chip and dip instead of the traditional tube (I'd occasionally make them the traditional way for esthetic purposes)


Cannoli Chips:
Ingredients:
1. 1 cup all purpose flour
2. 1 tbsp white sugar
3. 1 egg
4. 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
5. 1/2 tsp white vinegar
6. 1/4 cup water
7. 1/4 tsp of cinnamon
8. Canola/vegetable oil for frying
OPTIONAL: 9. Cinnamon sugar for coating chips in while they're still hot.
OPTIONAL: 10. Powdered sugar for dusting.

Method:
1. Combine all ingredients together until thoroughly mixed. You may want to add more flour depending on how wet & sticky the dough is at this point.
2. Roll dough out on a generously floured surface until it is about 1/4 inch thick.
3. Cut touch as desired (I like cutting it in 3 inch rounds but you can cut it however large or small you'd like. You can even cut the entire rolled dough into triangular shaped-chips)
4. Fill frying pan with about 1 inch of oil and fry on low heat until chips are crispy and golden brown (about 45 seconds to 1 minute)
5. Drain on paper towel.
6. If desired, toss chips in cinnamon sugar as soon as they're fried.


Cannoli Dip: 
Ingredients:
1. 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese
2. 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
3. 2 tbsp heavy cream
4. 1/2 tsp vanilla
5. 3/4 to 1 cup powdered sugar
6. 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Method:
1. Strain ricotta in cheese cloth/strainer to get rid of any excess liquid.
2. Beat mascarpone, ricotta, heavy cream & vanilla together until thoroughly combined.
3. Add powdered sugar and beat until combined (you can add more or less powdered sugar according to how sweet you'd like it)
4. You can also use waffle cones broken up into little pieces if you don't want to make your own.
5. Fold mini chocolate chips into the mixture (you can add more or less)
6. Top with more chocolate chips.


Tips:
1. You can use this same dough recipe to make traditional cannoli. You'd just need more oil for frying & metal cannoli tubes. Can be found here
2. You can add whatever additional ingredients to the dip such as pistachios (common in traditional Italian cannoli), other nuts, candied fruit peel etc.
3. Traditionally, cannoli are made with ricotta so you can use 1 1/2 cups if you can't find or don't want to use mascarpone.

Funnel Cake

I like to call this the "American Galebi". Reminiscent of the carefree, worry-free, stress-free days spent at Disney, I make this whenever the Orlando travel bug bites but I can't hop on a flight. PS: They take JUST like waffles- only fried! *insert heart face emoji*


Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups milk
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
Vegetable/canola oil for frying

Method:
1. Mix all dry ingredients.
2. Mix all wet ingredients.
3. Add wet to dry & mix until well-combined until there are no lumps.
4. Pour into ketchup bottle or any bottle with a thin tip (but big enough so batter can easily come out- I cut a little more off of the tip of the ketchup bottle)
5. Pour into oil in circles, starting small & gradually creating bigger loops.
6. Fry until golden-brown (about 2 minutes) & flip. Fry for another 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
7. Drain on paper towel.
8. Dress as desired! I love a generous dusting of powdered sugar but you can do anything from caramel to chocolate sauce to Nutella to jelly!


Tips:
1. Minis make lovely treats for a tea party or for gifts.
2. The first one (similarly with pancakes & waffles) is usually the worst- feel free to discard!
3. You can freeze the uneaten funnel cakes & toast just like you would prepare frozen waffles.

French Macaron Shells

These finicky little cookies are what made my little dessert business so successful. Being one of the best sellers, I can safely say that practice makes (almost) perfect. They may give you a migraine, but once you get them right you'll feel accomplished & determined to perfect them. They're very versatile & make lovely gifts & favours. At the end of the post, I've included a YouTube video I did which shows each step of the process. DISCLAIMER: The video was shot with my iPhone 6S & is definitely NOT professional. Enjoy! :)



Ingredients:
1. 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2. 1 1/8 cup almond flour
3. 3 large egg whites
4. 6 tbsp white sugar

Method:
1. Sift powdered sugar & almond flour together. Set aside.
2. Whip egg whites, starting on low speed & gradually increasing the speed to the highest.
3. When egg whites start to form foam, start adding white sugar (in 2 batches)
4. Continue whipping until stiff peaks are formed, but not too stiff as they make it difficult to fold & may result in hollow macarons with very big, ugly feet.
5. Once egg whites are properly whipped, fold dry ingredients into the meringue in 2 batches, gently folding but making sure to take some air out of the whipped egg whites.
6. Continue folding until batter starts settling within itself in about 5 seconds. If nothing happens after 5 seconds of leaving batter alone, continue folding.
7. Once properly folded, pour batter into a piping bag fitted with a round tip (my favourite is the Wilton #12)
8. Lay stencil on baking tray (optional) & rest a sheet of parchment paper on top.
9. Pipe macarons onto baking sheet.
10. Remove stencils & secure parchment paper to baking sheet by placing a tiny bit of batter on each corner to glue them together.
11. Either hit the bottom of the tray with your bare hands until air bubbles are popped & peaks are gone or drop the tray on a flat, strong surface.
12. Bake at 300 degrees F for 16 to 19 minutes.
13. Fill & enjoy!


Tips:
1. Practice makes perfect!
2. The "perfect" meringue consistency for me is when the whipped egg white mixture forms a little curl when held straight. It should not topple over & melt back into the meringue on the beater.
3. In my experience, I get the best results making them in air conditioning. This helps the meringue whip nicely & assists in forming a skin & making them on a rainy day is no issue as humidity is their worst enemy.
4. When filled, letting them sit for 24 hours allows them to moisten & this is when they're at their best!
5. Don't be discouraged if you don't get it right the first time :)

Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Tart

The epitome of a dessert that looks & sounds fancy but really doesn't take that much effort, time or fancy ingredients to make. 

Sweet Pastry Crust

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup (1 stick) room temperature butter

2. 1/4 cup white sugar

3. 1 egg

4. 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

5. 1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. Sift flour & salt together. Set aside.

2. Cream butter & sugar.

3. Add egg & beat until fully combined.

4. Beat sifted dry ingredients into butter mixture in 2 batches.

5. Press dough into an 8 or 9 inch tart pan (I prefer the non-stick ones with the removable bottoms. No need to butter the pan as the dough contains enough butter to comfortably be removed)

6. Poke holes in the crust before baking in order to prevent it from puffing up while baking.

7. Bake at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes. 

Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Filling 

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup mascarpone

2. 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

3. 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

4. 2 to 3 tbsp white sugar (I usually do 2 1/2 tbsp)

Method:
1. Add all ingredients to chilled bowl and beat on high until filling is whipped & fluffy. Be careful not to over-whip as this can turn the mixture into butter.


Assembly
1. Brush the base of the cooled pastry tart with any jam of choice. Although the filling isn't liquidy, still do this to ensure that the holes made with the forks are filled.
2. Add whipped filling to cooled pastry tart.
3. Top however you like. My favourite way to serve this is with sliced strawberries & a sprinkle of powdered sugar (as seen in picture)


Vanilla bean paste: https://www.amazon.com/Nielsen-Massey-Madagascar-Bourbon-Vanilla/dp/B003L259AU/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1478618936&sr=1-1&keywords=vanilla+bean+paste