Apple cannoli, caramel powder

I have to admit this was my favorite of all of the cannoli we've done so far. The apple obviously pairs perfectly with caramel, but I was surprised by how well the flavor matched with the shell as well.

The caramel powder is the type of thing we've often played with at home, but this was the first time we introduced molecular gastronomy into our menu.  So how does caramel become powder, and then become caramel again in your mouth?  I had several guesses that it was dehydrated, but it's actually a simpler process than even that.  The secret is tapioca maltodextrin.

Tapioca maltodextrin is a food starch derived from, you guessed it, tapioca.  Starches are natural thickeners of water, but tapioca maltodextrin has been modified to thicken fats, meaning you can use it to make powders out of them.  The catch is that it doesn't play well with water, so you need a fairly pure fat.

Nutella Powder

The fun of using this is that whatever fat you powderize reverts to its original form in the presence of moisture (which is why it doesn't play with water.)  It's always fun to watch somebody's first experience with something like caramel powder, when a spoonful of powder becomes a piece of caramel in their mouth.

Peanut butter powder is one of my favorite things to make, and it's great sprinkled over chocolate ice cream.  Nutella powderizes almost too well, and is absolutely amazing atop caramelized bananas.  Olive oil powder sprinkled over a fresh crostini duplicates the Italian favorite of dipping bread in oil.

If you'd like to experiment with this fun substance there are several places to purchase it on the internet, or give us a call and we can obtain it through our distributor for you.  We are able to get it a bit cheaper than you will find on the internet.

When we came up with the idea for doing a caramel powder we began googling for help with a procedure - a normal caramel recipe wouldn't work.  To our delight we found that caramel powder has been done at Alinea (in Chicago.)  We're proud owners of the Alinea cookbook, so we went diving for guidance and ended up basing our recipe on Mr. Achatz's.  If you have any interest in molecular gastronomy, this book should be on your coffee table.

And now, on to the apple cannoli!

Apple puree ingredients

3 pounds Royal Gala apples (peeled, cored and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes)

1 stick butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt

Caramel ingredients

13 oz sugar

12 oz light corn syrup

1 pound heavy cream

1/2 stick butter

(This will make more caramel than you need for this dessert, but it is easier to make in a large batch.  The kids will love the leftovers!)

Caramel powder ingredients

8 oz caramel (recipe follows)

3 oz tapioca maltodextrin (amount may vary, see recipe)

Cannoli filling ingredients

1 lb apple puree (recipe follows)

2 lbs drained ricotta

7 oz powdered sugar

24 store bought cannoli shells (we can sell these if you can't find them)

Chocolate syrup

Caramel powder (recipe follows)

To drain the ricotta, wrap it in cheesecloth and set it inside of a mesh strainer. Place the strainer over a container and place some sort of weight on the cheese. Let drain for 24 hours refrigerated.

Caramel preparation

Before beginning, layer a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  You will need to move quickly when the caramel reaches temperature.

Heat all ingredients in a sauce pan with a candy thermometer.  Remove from heat when thermometer reaches 235 degrees and immediately pour onto prepared parchment paper.  Use caution, the caramel is hotter than boiling water!  

Allow to cool until room temperature, overnight ideally.

Caramel powder preparation

Add 8 ounces of caramel and 3 ounces of tapioca maltodextrin to food processor and process until it is a smooth powder.  You may need to add more tapioca maltodextrin to absorb all of the caramel.

Apple puree preparation

In a 5 quart pot, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the brown sugar and cinnamon.  Cook for 2 minutes.  Add the apples and salt to the pot and mix to coat with the butter.  Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.

Once apples are soft, add to food processor (along with all of the butter in the pot) and puree until smooth.

Push the puree through a fine mesh strainer.  Mix well, and refrigerate.

Apple cannoli, caramel powder 

Cannoli filling preparation

Mix the apple puree, drained ricotta and powdered sugar until smooth. 

When ready to serve fill the cannoli shells using a piping bag, ensuring to not leave an open gap inside of the shell. Coat the ends with the caramel powder and drizzle with chocolate syrup