A raw, vegan take on the Italian patisserie classic, cannolis make a lovely treat for afternoon tea. Our version teams a crispy buckwheat biscuit dipped in Pana Chocolate and nuts, with a smooth, creamy centre. Bellissimo!
Ingredients
For the cannolis
For the chocolate mousse filling
Method
1 Soak the buckwheat in filtered water for at least 6 hours. Strain and rinse thoroughly, then blend with the banana, dates and 60ml of water until smooth. Weigh 10g of the mixture and place onto a non-stick sheet.?Using a palette knife, form the mixture into a circle approximately 6cm in diameter. Dehydrate for 1 1/2 hours. When dehydrated correctly, the circles should be flexible and easy to shape. If not, leave to dry a little longer in the dehydrator.
2 Shape the cannoli over a cylindrical object, such as a rolling pin, and stick the ends together with a little of the remaining mix. Allow to dry overnight until crispy. Slowly melt the chocolate over a bain-marie, then dip the ends of the cannoli tube in the melted chocolate. Dip the chocolate-covered ends into the chopped activated nuts and allow to set.
3 To make the filling, melt the chocolate and coconut oil together over a bain-marie. Blend all the other ingredients together until the mixture is very smooth. Add the melted chocolate and oil mixture and blend until well incorporated, then set aside for assembly.
4 Pipe filling into cannoli tubes just before serving.
Tip: Raw buckwheat will swell once soaked.
Extracted from Pana Chocolate: The Recipes by Pana Barbounis (Hardie Grant, approx €20). Photography – Armelle Habib.