Holy Cannoli! Vegan Cannoli!

It had to be done. Veganizing cannoli. I had a recipe from The Vegetarian Site in my task box since January. In light of my sister, a long-time cannoli queen, and my Pop’s July birthdays, I would finally give it a go. After great success in veganizing Rainbow cookies for father’s day, this would be another step in a continual quest to veganize all my family’s favorite snacks.

Being a Sicilian gal it is odd that I never took more than one bite of a cannolo in my lifetime. Cheese-based pastries always “grossed me out the door”, to borrow an old family quote. Cheese danishes, cheese cake, cannoli: no way, no thanks and ehh, no. Of course, I was a food coward in my youth who had no desire to broaden her horizons. But now, making vegan cannoli from scratch sipping on a Moscow Mule with my sous chef FoodSparrow, I was excited to give ’em a taste.

This recipe was indeed a process! I needed to spend a good amount of time retrieving ingredients and supplies. A stop to New York Cake would reward me with my cannoli forms, which are simply long narrow steel cylinders. I also had to shell out big bucks for a quality coconut butter, roaming the aisles with a helpful employee to locate the mysterious product. Artisana raw coconut butter. Mmm.
The filling:
1 cup raw cashews
2/3 cup water
1/2 block of extra firm tofu
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. almond extract
1-2 tsp. rum
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. arrowroot
2 tbsp. coconut butter
8-10 dates
1/2 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil
In a food processor, grind cashews until very fine, and add the water. Blend until smooth. Then add the remainder of filling ingredients and blend until smooth.

The shells:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon stevia
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 cup water
2 tablespoons coconut oil

Combine all ingredients. Add water and coconut oil last. Knead into a smooth ball. Roll out the dough until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick. Cut into 3.5″ by 3.5″ squares. Place a square diagonally on a cannoli mold. Wrap the dough loosely around the mold, sealing with a bit of water. Deep fry the dough in a big pool of oil for about 2 minutes. Carefully slide the form of the mold and drain on paper towels. Repeat! Tip: Try not to make these shells in advance. They loose their crisp and flaky texture when sitting around for awhile.

When they are totally cool, fill ’em up! I used a pastry bag to pipe in the filling and then piped in some left over chocolate buttercream icing. Decorate them as you wish!
And don’t forget to share.
Special thanks to FoodSparrow who took many of the above pictures. View her food porn and assorted goodies here.