Cannoli Filling

[FreecellFanny]

Traditional Filling

4 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup sugar (granulated or powdered)
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 tablespoon Hershey cocoa (more or less to taste)

Beat ricotta until smooth. Add sugar a bit at a time along with vanilla and cocoa.

Keep filling in fridge for several hours (overnight if possible) and then fill your shells. Dust with powdered sugar, dip ends in melted chocolate, sprinkle with chocolate chips, decorate any way you like. Don't fill the shells too far in advance or they will soften up.

Pastry Cream Filling

2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar, divided
6 large egg yolks
Pinch salt
1/3 cup flour
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

In a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil with 1/4 cup of sugar. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with the salt and remaining sugar. Sift the flour over the egg mixture and whisk it in until smooth.

When the milk boils, slowly whisk one-third of it into the egg mixture. Then slowly add the egg mixture to the milk in the saucepan. You must follow these steps to gradually raise the temperature of the eggs. If you add them all at once to the hot milk they will curdle.

Return the saucepan to a medium heat and again bring to a boil, whisking continually. The mixture should begin to thicken.  Allow it to boil for another minute.

Remove from heat. Whisk in the vanilla and cinnamon.

Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and press plastic wrap against the surface.  Refrigerate until very cold, about 2 hours.

Pastry Cream Variations

Orange:  Add the grated zest of one orange to the cold milk and sugar.

Lemon:  Add the grated zest of one lemon to the cold milk and sugar.

Chocolate: Add 4 ounces of chopped semisweet chocolate to the hot pastry cream as it comes off the heat. Stir in and allow to sit for 2 minutes, then whisk it in until smooth.

Coffee:  Add 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder to the cold milk and sugar.

Rum:  Add 2 tablespoons rum or your favorite liqueur to the hot pastry cream as it comes off the heat.

[Stinkerbell]

Sounds yummy~!

[FreecellFanny]

The first one is the recipe I've been using.

The first time I made it I made it with the cocoa; this second time I made it plain but made it with Splenda; my boss is diabetic and I wanted her to have some. Hubby said he couldn't tell the difference between that and real sugar.  :D

[FreecellFanny]

The cocoa is an optional ad.dition. You don't need to replace it with anything.

The basic filling is the ricotta, sugar, and vanilla extract. Very simple!  !@!

If you want to avoid the graininess of granulated sugar you can use confectioners sugar or the Splenda.