There is an Italian pastry called “cannoncini”, which means “little cannons”. These are a bit like cannoli, but filled with pastry cream instead of ricotta cheese.
CANNONCINI INGREDIENTS:
• 1 sheet pastry dough 9X9-inches square
• 12 Cannoncini molds
• 1 cup (210 g) caster sugar
• 1 egg
1-1/2 cups Pastry Cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 7 oz (200 ml) whole milk
• 1.5 oz (45 ml) heavy cream
• 5 tbsp (70 gr) caster sugar
• 2.5 tbsp (25 gr) cornstarch
• 1/4 lemon peels
• 2 drops vanilla extractPASTRY CREAM
First, pour the milk in a pot along with the heavy cream, the peels of 1 lemon and the vanilla extract. Place the pot over medium heat until the liquid reaches 165°-170° F, then turn off the flame and cover with a lid.
Finally, pour the mixture again into the pot and place over medium heat: keep wishing until thick(about 5 minutes).
Once ready, pour the pastry cream in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap until reaches room temperature, then store into the fridge up to 48 hours.
CANNONCINI SHELLS
The critical problem using pastry dough sheets is keeping them cold: otherwise, the dough will start to lose consistency. So, you want to work quickly and possibly store the pastry 3 minutes into the freezer when necessary.
FILLING AND SERVING CANNONCINI
Once baked, let the Cannoncini cool down 10 minutes, then remove the molds twisting and pulling very gently. Store the Cannoncini horns into a box up to 2 days, then fill them just before serving. Pour the cream into a pastry bag then fill the Cannoncini, and serve immediately!