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Italian puff pastry horns (cannoncini) recipe

One of italy's classic pastries, crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

20 cannoncini
  • 2 sheets of puff pastry
  • 1 egg for egg wash
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp powdered sugar to decorate
pastry cream
  • 600 ml whole milk
  • 6 yolks
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ⅓ cup corn starch
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • ½ lemon peel

Method
 

  1. Open a puff pastry sheet (sold frozen, so it's a good idea to take them out of the freezer at least 45 minutes prior to use.
     
  2. With a round knife, cut long strips measuring 1 inch wide and 12 inch long.
  3. Wrap the pastry dough strips on the cannoncini/cannoli shaper, starting from the top towards the bottom.
  4. Press the dough on both sides so that it stays inplace.
  5. With the help of a brush, cover the pastry dough with some egg.
     
  6. Sprinkle some granulated sugar on top of the cannoncino.
     
  7. Spray some oil on a cooling rack placed in a pan and spread out all the cannoncini on it.
    Bake them for about 20 minutes in a 365* F preheated oven.
  8. When the cannoncini are done baking, let them cool completely.
     
  9. Remove the shaper from the cannoncino.
     
Prepare the pastry cream
  1. Put the milk in a pot and add the vanilla bean or vanilla extract.
  2. Put a lemon peel in the milk. While mixing it with a spoon, heat the milk until it boils.
     
  3. In an other pot, put the yolks, sugar and corn starch.
  4. Mix it until it becomes smooth.
     
  5. When the milk is boiling, you can transfer it in the yolks in 3 different times using a stariner.
  6. Keep mixing the cream until it thickens.
     
  7. Cover the cream in plastic wrap and let it cool in the fridge until it becomes cold. 
  8. When the cream is cooled, transfer it to a pastry bag and fill the cannoncini with the cream.
  9. Using a strainer, sprinkle some powdered sugar on top of the cannoncino.

Notes

They will lose their crunchiness after 2 days in the fridge because the cream gets absorbed in the pastry.