Recipe: Make Italian vegan cannoli filling at home
Cannoli, a Sicilian staple, traditionally features a crispy shell with a sweet, creamy filling. This tutorial introduces a vegan version, using plant-based alternatives to dairy. It ensures the rich, delightful taste of cannoli is accessible to all, without compromising flavor or texture. Let's get cooking and bring this Italian vegan delight into your kitchen, embracing tradition and modern dietary preferences seamlessly.
Gather the following ingredients
To make this vegan cannoli filling, gather one cup of soaked overnight raw cashews, half a cup of coconut cream, one-fourth cup of powdered sugar, one teaspoon of vanilla extract, and two tablespoons of dairy-free dark chocolate chips. Lemon zest from one lemon enhances the filling with a refreshing twist. These ingredients blend to form a rich, authentic cannoli cream.
Prepare the cashew cream base
Begin by draining the soaked cashews and rinsing them under cold water. Place them in a high-speed blender along with coconut cream and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth and creamy; this may take several minutes depending on your blender's power. The goal is to achieve a silky texture without any cashew bits remaining for that perfect creamy base.
Sweeten and flavor the filling
Once your base is smooth, add powdered sugar to the blender. Continue blending until it's fully incorporated. The powdered sugar not only sweetens the filling but also contributes to thickening it, achieving the quintessential cannoli cream consistency. After incorporating the sugar, stir in lemon zest for an aromatic citrus note that beautifully complements the overall sweetness of the filling.
Fold in chocolate chips
Pour the vegan cannoli cream into a bowl. Gently fold in dairy-free dark chocolate chips with a spatula. These chips introduce essential texture contrast and rich flavor bursts, key to traditional cannoli fillings. Each bite offers a mix of creamy and crunchy textures, ensuring the filling authentically captures classic cannoli essence. This step is crucial for achieving the right texture and taste.
Ready to serve or chill
Your Italian vegan cannoli filling is ready to be piped into vegan shells or used in other desserts. For optimal results, chill it for at least one hour before serving. This allows the flavors to blend and the mixture to thicken slightly, making piping easier. This recipe seamlessly combines tradition with modern dietary preferences, ensuring classic desserts can be enjoyed by everyone without compromise.
