| In a recent post, I revisited younger days of peak personal creativity; days where art, poetry and much tea prevailed. Later days followed with continued creativity, although accompanied not by tea, but by coffee instead. It was during these years of so much written and visual creation that my love affair with coffee was renewed. Espresso filled days of sketching and painting, and days spent striving to be clever over steaming cups of cappuccino. This is when I was still listening, incessantly, to the distinctive and divine genius of Michael Hedges. So many days of personal creation when pencil and charcoal also made distinctive noise, when pulled across heavy paper.These days, my creativity occurs mostly in the kitchen. And just as charcoal has a distinctive feel when held between fingers creating, thick, sweet dough also has a distinctive feel between fingers baking. Without a pasta roller, working with cannoli dough demands a certain patience. But finally, the dough is ready, then cut, molded, and fried. The results more than reward the effort. A truly happy calm comes from delicious homemade cannoli. Homemade mocha cannoli creates near euphoria.Mocha Cannoli(recipe courtesy The Ultimate Espresso Machine Cookbook, Tom Lacalamita)Ingredients: For the Cannoli Shells:4 teaspoons sugar4 teaspoons vegetable shortening1 large egg, beaten2 tablespoons white white vinegar2 1/2 tablespoons water2 teaspoons honey1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, or more as needed(I added a little unsweetened cocoa also).For the Mocha Cannoli Cream:2 cups whole-milk ricotta1/4 cup granulated sugar (I substituted confectioners sugar)2 tablespoons Espresso Concentrate (I substituted Espresso Coleur)3 tablespoons mini semisweet chocolate chips (I substituted regular sized chips)To finish the Dessert:Vegetable oil for fryingConfectioners sugar for sprinkling (I also dusted with unsweetened cocoa powder.)Prepare the cannoli dough: In a large mixing bowl, cream to |
