Recipe: Cannoli Ice Cream (Gelato al Cannolo)

CANNOLI ICE CREAM (GELATO AL CANNOLO)



"When my niece, Omelia, recently visited from Italy, she found me in the kitchen making ricotta ice cream. "It tastes like mama's cannolo ice cream!" she exclaimed. I was intrigued, as I had never heard of a cannoli ice cream before, so I asked her to tell me more about it. She explained that it was very popular in the ice cream shops of Palermo, and that her mother had started making it at home by mixing broken cannoli shells and chocolate chips into a batch of her ricotta gelato. Ingenious! For my version, I left the lemon zest and Strega liqueur out of my ricotta gelato recipe, then folded in my homemade cannoli shells (you can use store-bought, but homemade are best) and candied orange peel, along with a handful of mini chocolate chips. The result? It really does taste like eating a frozen cannolo. My niece, who generally won't touch candied orange peel, thought it was a brilliant addition."

2 cups (454 g) fresh ricotta, well drained*
3/4cup (150 g) sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (240 ml) heavy (whipping) cream
1/4 cup packed (50 g) finely chopped (1/4-inch) candied orange peel
1/4 cup (40 g) semisweet or dark mini chocolate chips
3 (5-inch) cannoli shells

Combine the ricotta, sugar, and vanilla in a food processor and process until the mixture is very smooth. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. With the processor running, add the cream through the feed tube until it is completely mixed in, about 30 seconds.

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.

When frozen, transfer the gelato to a large bowl and use a spatula to stir in the orange peel and chocolate chips. Crumble the cannoli shells in large shards over the gelato; gently stir to distribute them evenly, allowing the shells to break down a bit without making crumbs of them.

Serve immediately, or transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve, preferably the day you make it, when the texture is at its creamiest. If the gelato freezes hard, let it soften in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes before scooping.

*If you can find it, sheep's milk ricotta makes this Sicilian dessert even more authentic.

Makes about 1 quart (1 L)
Used with permission to Recipelink.com from Random House
Source: Southern Italian Desserts by Rosetta Costantino with Jennie Schacht