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Vegan Cannoli (baked or fried shells)

Kindness Kitchen
Course Dessert, Vegan
Cuisine Italian

Ingredients
  

For the pastry

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tbsp shortening can substitute coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 4 tbsp cooking wine may need a bit more
  • 1 egg's worth of egg replacer I used Ener G

For the filling

  • 2 cups vegan ricotta cheese https://kindnesskitchen.ca/vegan-ricotta/ THE SWEET VERSION, see notes!
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup vegan mini-chocolate chips or grated dark chocolate

Instructions
 

For the pastry

  • Cut the shortening into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs
  • Fold in the sugar and cinnamon
  • Gradually add the wine, 1 tbsp at a time, stirring with a fork between additions.
  • Stir in the "egg" replacer.
  • If the dough is too dry to form a ball, add 1-2 more tbsp of wine (or as needed) until a ragged dough is formed.
  • Form the dough into a ball and chill for 1-2 hours.

For BAKED shells

  • Roll out the dough very thin, about 1/8"
  • Cut out the dough the appropriate size for your tart pan. I used the 1.5-2" round cutter for the mini muffin tin.
  • Dock each round all over with a fork and press into the muffin tin.
  • Bake at 350'F for 12-18 mins (this will depend on how thin you rolled out your dough).
  • Bake until golden and quite dry and crisp.
  • Remove to a rack and let cool completely.

For FRIED shells

  • Roll out the dough very thin, about the thickness of a dime. I have even used a pasta roller to achieve this.
  • Cut out 5" ovals (can use a cardboard cutout as a stencil).
  • Loosely wrap each oval piece of dough around the metal cannoli tube
  • Seal the edges where they overlap with a dab of non-dairy milk.
  • Deep fry in 2" of oil at 400"f.
  • Remove when golden brown all over (about 2 mins).
  • Drain on paper towels and let cool briefly before removing the metal tube/forms.
  • Let cool completely before filling.

For the filling

  • In a medium bowl beat together the vegan ricotta, the vanilla, and the powdered sugar.
  • Fold in the chocolate.
  • Chill in the fridge (it will thicken as it chills).

To assemble

  • Pipe or spoon the ricotta mixture into the shells.
  • For the fried tubes, simply fill to the centre from each end.
  • Fill right before serving.