Holy Cannoli! It’s vegan cannoli!
I mean if you didn’t know this is a thing, it’s totally a thing! And they are so flipping delicious.
It was actually our 13 year old daughter who decided she wanted to make vegan cannoli. Ya’ll, she is 13! So if she can do it, you can too!
The shells take a little time but are worth it! So worth it! We don’t have a cannoli tube/maker, so made one out of foil. If you plan on making them often, I suggest investing in the the tube. But making your own totally works!
We also used tofu for the filling. We made it into a sweet tofu ricotta and it is super delicious! I love using tofu to make sweet and savory ricottas. The texture is creamy perfection and the chocolate chips add just the right bite.
You could dip your finished cannoli in chocolate, sprinkles, pistachios, whatever. We just wanted to give you the basic recipe and beyond that, get as creative as you want.
Just remember to fill the shells when you are ready to eat them. They tend to get a little soggy if you fill them and let them sit for extended period of time.
So, go forth and make cannoli! Just because you are vegan does not mean you cant’t enjoy the same treats as everyone else. Cannoli included!!
The Dough:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons vegan butter, like Earth Balance
1 egg replacement , we used store bought powdered egg replacement for this recipe
1/2 cup dry white wine
enough oil for frying.
The Filling:
1 package firm organic tofu (drained)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Juice from one lemon
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup mini vegan chocolate chips
Instructions for the Dough:
In a medium sized bowl, mix dry ingredients.
Add in the cold vegan butter to the dry ingredients. Using your hands, mix the butter in until you have a rice like, crumble.
Add the flax egg, and wine, and work mixture with your hands until a soft dough has formed. If it seems too dry, add another teaspoon or two of wine until it comes together.
Flatten dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Pop the dough in the fridge to rest while you make the filling.
Instructions for Filling:
Add all of the filling ingredients EXCEPT the chocolate chips to a high speed blender, or food processor. Mix on high until filling becomes completely smooth.
Once smooth, fold in the chocolate chips with a spoon. Place in fridge until ready to use.
Making the Cannoli:
Remove dough from the fridge, and roll it out to about 1/8 of of an inch thick. You want the dough very thin.
Cut 3-4 inch circles from the dough with a circle cookie cutter, or the rim of a drinking glass.
You should be able to get about 20 circles from the dough.
You will need a cannoli mold, OR you can make some with some aluminum foil (pictured above.) Take 4 sheets of foil, you want tear the foil at about 4 inches. So your sheets will be 4x12 inches. Start rolling the first sheet at the short end into a tight tube. Begin rolling that tube into another sheet, and so on, until all sheets of foil have been used up. Now you have a foil tube. You can make 3 or 4 tubes to make frying a little faster. The tubes get very hot so you will have to wait for them to cool each time before you start another batch.
Heat a deep skillet (I just used a small/medium cast iron skillet) with an inch or two oil on medium heat.
Take a circle of dough and wrap it around your mold. Brush the dough with a tiny bit of water at the seams to help seal them. Use your fingers to flare out the edges just a tiny bit.
Take some metal tongs, and place the cannoli into the hot oil. Let cook for 15 to 20 seconds on one side, then turn it. It will begin to brown instantly. You only need to cook each one for a minute or less. Be carful because the foil tubes will hold oil. When you pick the cannoli up out of the pan, hold it vertically above the pan with your tongs, and allow the extra oil to come out before placing on a wire cooling rack.
After a minute or so, allowing the cannoli to cool, grab the tube with the tongs in one hand, use a paper towel in the the other hand to help you carefully pull the cannoli off the tube. I like to place the still hot foil tubes on a plate, and stick them in the freezer for a few mintues to let them cool enough to handle before starting the next batch of cannoli shells.
Repeat this process until you have fried all of the dough.
Once all of the cannoli shells are done and cooled, fill a piping bag, or large zip lock with the filling. If using a zip lock, snip a corner with some scissors. Pipe the filling into the shells, and dust with some powdered sugar.
The shells will store well at room temperature, so if not serving immediately, wait to fill the shells until ready to serve.
