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Italy...those tiny beautiful streets with bakeries, and smell of fresh bread and desserts...
Today I'm sharing with you one of the classic Italian desserts but of course veganized!
And this dessert is Cannoncini, beautiful butter dough filled with light creamy custard, perfectly good for brunch or dessert on a weekend day.
The Cannoncini alla Crema is a typical Piedmontese sweet, incredibly popular in several Northern and Central Italian regions. Entering into an Italian pastry shop is easy to find Cannoncini filled with different pastry creams, but the most popular filling is for sure the Vanilla Pastry Cream.
Let's take a look at Italy's dessert history!
The history of Italy’s desserts is very fascinating and old. Modern casual diners and culinary experts alike love to partake in a variety of rich and delicious Italian desserts, but few know how those desserts came about. For any aspiring chef, learning about this type of dessert will spark the imagination and motivate them to engage in the art of cooking with a newfound passion.
Italy’s First Desserts
Many experts believe that the first desserts were breaded sweets. While sugar was too expensive for many people to have, recipes included natural sweetening foods, such as fruit and honey. One of the most well-known desserts that arose from such tradition was the panforte, whose earliest origins can be traced to Siena. This early version was much less heavy than the contemporary one but ultimately led to modern innovation as tastes advanced. Biscotti, which many people know as a gourmet dessert, also originated in early medieval Italy. Much like with all food at the time, the early version of biscotti was much simpler and included fewer ingredients.
When Sugar Became Readily Available
Slowly, as more and more sugar became readily available as a household item, more and more people were able to enjoy a wider variety of dessert innovations. Many believe that Italy’s most famous dessert, the delicious tiramisu, had originated in the 1500s. Historians believe that this dessert was first introduced to Duke Cosimo de Medici, who had enjoyed it so much that he helped spread its popularity. Whether or not this was the exact origin of the dessert, it is a clear indicator of how available sugar had become in most modern households. Had sugar not become so quickly available, this dessert would have taken much longer to develop. Many other desserts that many believed had originated during this time period are also panna cotta, cheesecake, and cream puffs.
Find the recipe below!
Prep: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Level: easy, medium
Servings: 8 portions
Calories per serving: 202 kcal
Find the recipe & nutrition facts below :
For the dough:
1/2 sheet of puff pastry (or use the dough from this recipe)
1 tbsp oil (for brushing)
1 tbsp sugar
aluminum foil (to create forms for cannoncini)
For the filling:
2 cups of soy milk (or any other plant-based milk)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
2 tbsp vegan butter (coconut butter, margarine)
To sprinkle:
1 tsp powdered sugar (optional)
Method:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 200C.
Step 2: Form from aluminum foil conе-like forms. (shown on photo).
Step 2: Cut the puff pastry into strips around 1-2 cm wide. Roll each strip around your aluminum forms.
Step 3: Brush each roll with some oil, and sprinkle with sugar to evenly cover the dough.
Step 4: Bake each the rolls for around 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool down and then remove the aluminum forms.
Step 4: Mix all the ingredients for the filling, except the vegan butter, in a medium pan. Bring to boil, mixing with a hand mixer frequently. Cook until you have a pudding-like mixture. (cook on medium heat, take care not to burn your cream). Turn off the heat and add the butter.
Let it cool down completely and move to the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Step 6: Beat the cream with an electric mixer to make the texture fluffier.
Step 7: In a pastry pocket place the custard and fill each of the cannoncinis. Sprinkle with some powdered sugar. Keep in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.