Ingredients for Cannoli Shells

600g Flour

¼ Pint of Milk

4 Eggs

Vegetable oil for frying

Ingredients for Filling

750g Ricotta Cheese

200g Caster Sugar

100g of Dried Fruit (of your choice)

200g dark chocolate drops

300g whipping cream

Cherries to decorate

Recipe

1. Sift the flour into a bowl and stir in the eggs and milk gradually until a soft, firm dough is formed.

2. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic this should take 5 to 7 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour.

3. For the filling

4. Beat together the ricotta cheese and caster sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until combined. Then beat the whipping cream in a separate bowl until light and fluffy and fold this into the ricotta and caster sugar mixture. Finally fold in the dried fruit and chocolate drops until combined and chill.

5. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut out discs using a 5-inch round cutter.

6. Oil the metal cannoli forms and wrap the dough discs around each one. Seal the edges with egg white.

7. Pour the vegetable oil into a pan until roughly 4 inches deep or alternatively you can use a deep fat fryer. When the oil is very hot, place the shells in one at a time and wait until they are golden and crisp. This should only take a few seconds!

8. Remove each shell carefully and rest the shells on paper towels to collect any excess oils. Once cooled gently remove the metal forms.

9. To assemble, fill a pastry bag with the filling and pipe some filling into one end of the cannoli shell. You should fill the shell halfway before piping into the other end.

10. Decorate with cherries.