Nick Haubrich

Cannoli Pie

Intro

When I was in Rome a few years ago, I ordered a cannoli from an upscale restaraunt in Piazza Navona. While delicious, it vanished in three bites and left more emptiness than substance in my stomach. The vacant feeling followed me to graduate school until, in a Coleridge-esque fashion, inspiration came to me during a bout of research-induced sleep deprivation. Canolli in pie form would contain the filling efficiently and the handcrafted shells could be neglected entirely. The cracker crust and chocolate elements followed naturally while the addition of the hazlenut flavor was to ward off my allergy-prone roommate.

Graham Cracker Crust

• 2c crushed graham crackers (about 1 package of 8)
• 1/2c unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3c sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and cinamon. Add butter and mix more. Press into a 9-inch pie dish (the back of a metal 1c measuring cup is perfect for this). Bake at 350 F until crust just begins to brown, 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely, ~1h.

Ricotta

The internet warned me that the ricotta should be drained as much as possible. After 13 hours of suspension in a fine-mesh strainer (refrigerated, of course) and some manual compression, about a tablespoon of water came out of my ricotta. Perhaps the ricotta’s wetness varies by brand.

• 32 oz whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1/2c powdered sugar

Strain the ricotta as long as desired and mix in the powdered sugar.

Nutella

Don’t refrigerate the Nutella. Seriously, just don’t.

• 7 oz Nutella

Chocolate

The chocolate gets used twice: as chips for the ricotta mixture and as a layer between the nutella and canolli. The Lindt bars were slightly too thick for both purposes, so I remelted it into a thinner sheet.

• 6 oz chocolate (70% cocoa Lindt)

Melt the chocolate with a double broiler, then pour into a large (9-in by 13-in or so) metal baking pan (the chocolate won’t cover the whole dish). Let cool in refrigerator until hard, 45 min. Peel the chocolate sheets off with a spatula (this might have been easier with parchment paper). Make about 2c of 1-cm chips, then cut the rest into 1-inch squares. Mix the chips into the ricotta. Set aside the squares.

Assembly

Spread the nutella (gently) into the cooled crust. Arrange chocolate squares in some cool pattern that won’t be visible in the final dish, and press firmly into nutella.

Spread ricotta liberally over chocolate layer, with more in the center. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Serve. The pie can be refrigerated, but the nutella will harden and be less flavorful after an hour or two chilled.