In today’s recipe, I used frozen puff pastry.
And all I did was roll out the pastry, sprinkle it with a little sugar (for extra crunch), cut it into strips, and roll it into the pan.
Italian Cream-Filled Cannoncini (Puff Pastry Croissants)
YIELD 12
PREPARATION TIME 20 min
COOK TIME 25 min
DOWN TIME 1 hr
TOTAL TIME 1 H & 45 M
Crispy, buttery puff pastry cannoli filled with velvety, rich custard
INGREDIENTS
For the custard
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons (30 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 oz (235 ml) milk
For the cannoli
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed (about 8 oz, 225 g)
1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
1 egg (for brushing)
powdered sugar, for decorating
DIRECTIONS
Start by making the custard pastry cream:
Heat the milk until warm (not boiling).
In a medium saucepan, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla extract, and flour until light and fluffy.
Add the milk a little at a time, whisking constantly, making sure there are no lumps.
Set the saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly until it comes to a gentle simmer. The custard will thicken, so be careful not to let it stick to the bottom. Reduce the heat to low and cook for another couple of minutes, until it reaches the desired thickness.
Pour the custard into a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it cool. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
For the pastry croissants:
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Sprinkle a little sugar on the table and the puff pastry and roll it out into a rectangle about 9 x 12 inches.
Cut into 12 strips (about 1 inch thick). An easy way to do this: cut the dough into thirds, then each piece into four strips.
Roll each strip onto a horn (cone-shaped) mold. The dough should overlap (about half the length).
Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet with the seam (end of the strip) facing down.
Beat an egg with a tablespoon of water. Lightly brush each cone of dough with the beaten egg.
Be sure to keep the beaten egg away from the mold. It will make it harder to remove the horn of dough from the mold once it is baked.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown on top.
Let cool for a couple of minutes and carefully remove from the mold. If the pastry sticks to the mold, you can press it a little into the mold (to reduce the circumference) and very gently turn it inside the pastry until it comes away.
Before serving, fill with the cream using a piping bag. Sprinkle with icing sugar if desired and enjoy!
